Standards and Awarding Manager

At AQA, we’re committed to advancing education and we’re committed to our people. As the largest provider of academic qualifications in the UK, we mark over seven million GCSEs and A-levels each year and it’s our people who make this happen.

Standards and Awarding Manager

Permanent

Manchester: £43,700 - £49,500

Guildford: £45,500 - £51,500

Smart Hybrid Working

Using your skills and experience in Standards, awarding, research or assessment related fields, you will have the opportunity to join AQA, the UK’s largest exam board

Now is an exciting time to join the team. You will be working in a growing team, to develop and implement awarding processes and procedures and ensure that standards of AQA’s awards are fair, defensible and command public confidence. You will be helping to shape the future - challenging what the future of awarding looks like and helping us to continue to develop, really making a difference, to millions of learners.

What’s in it for me?

• Flexible working – 2 days in the office on average per week with occasional travel to the other offices in London, Guildford and Milton Keynes

• Newly refurbished office spaces with a gym or gym discount (depending upon location) access to subsidised eateries and a variety of individual or collaborative workspaces

• 25 days’ annual leave rising to 30 days, plus all Bank Holidays and additional Christmas leave

• 35 hour working week

• Excellent contributory pension (6% - 11.5% dependent on employee contribution)

• Private Medical Insurance & Health Care Cash Reward Plan

What will I need to succeed:

Four key skills are required:

Delivery - Be a visible face of the standards and awarding team. You will be a strong team player, able to cope with pressure and work at pace and have strong stakeholder management as one of your strengths, with the ability to liaise internally and externally as required.

Expertise - Good understanding of assessment matters with the ability to understand, follow and implement awarding approval processes, ensuring awarding procedures meet regulatory and policy requirements. You’ll have an aptitude for data and strong decision making skills with ability to think analytically and make recommendations in complex / pressured / changing situations and the ability to interpret technical /policy requirements and apply them effectively when approving awarding outcomes.

Communication (written and verbal) - Being inclusive, flexible, open to different ideas and encouraging good discussion to support effective decision making, with the ability to collaborate, share ideas and gather feedback but equally confident to work independently to put forward ideas and own reflections with confidence. The ability to schedule / lead /chair meetings, particularly those related to awarding and standards.

Planning - Ability to prioritise and meet deadlines in a timely fashion. Be able to identify and drive process improvement /Continuous Improvement activity.

How do I apply?

Read the full job description, then upload your most recent CV with a cover letter explaining how you meet the requirements of the Standards And Awarding Manager role.

Interviews will be via Teams in the first week of September

#CRE23

Recruitment Agencies

We have a preferred supplier list (PSL) in place.

Unsolicited CVs will be treated as a gift. We will not be subject to or liable under your terms and conditions for agency fees.

Full Job Description

Summary

The Standards and Awarding team is responsible for ensuring that the standards of AQA’s awards are fair, defensible and command public confidence, and that AQA’s awarding process is effective, efficient and secure, thereby securing AQA’s reputation and credibility of its assessments in the broader educational arena.
The Standards and Awarding Managers will support the Head of Standards and Awarding by developing and implementing awarding processes and procedures which are efficient and compliant with regulatory requirements. Postholders will liaise and negotiate with colleagues across the business, ensuring that plans are implemented efficiently and effectively, whilst building and maintaining strong relationships, with colleagues and key stakeholders, especially from Operations and Qualifications and Markets business areas.
Postholders will make recommendations and decisions in complex situations, working with colleagues across the business and/or external stakeholders to prepare for awarding activities, addressing technical, analytic and policy issues. Postholders will train staff and associates to deliver agreed awarding processes and procedures, co-ordinating and supporting the work of Research team and Assessment Design colleagues involved in awarding processes.
This role will also require provisionally approving awards, and identifying those which need to be escalated to senior staff for further attention.Section 1 – Accountabilities
Customer (External or Internal)
Being trusted and reliable in assessment design and delivery
Working with colleagues from across the business, develop and deliver standards and awarding projects, processes and procedures for the business, addressing, as appropriate, technical, analytic and policy issues.
Develop and maintain collaborative working practices that feed into organisational objectives, for example, working closely with Research team colleagues to initiate, plan and implement research projects to inform standards and awarding activities.
Provide proactive advice and guidance to colleagues involved in awarding, and stakeholders across the business, on standards and awarding issues, and the relationship of these to their areas of work.
Build effective working relationships with staff and associates, influencing thinking in relation to standards and awarding.
Represent the team on AQA groups, sharing insights to inform and support AQA decision making.
Evaluate and monitor the requirements for standards and awarding services in the organisation and provide expertise in relation to the provision of solutions to standards and awarding issues.
Cash (Finances)
Ensuring sound financial management and a robust asset base
Ensure that standards and awarding activities meet business needs flexibly, responsively and to agreed time, cost and quality criteria.
Demonstrate commercial flexibility by undertaking other responsibilities which are of a commensurate level as business needs change.
Product and Internal Processes
Delivering quality products and outcomes – as recognised by the customer
Ensure full preparation for each awarding series, including the recruitment, training and allocation of colleagues involved in awarding processes, training of staff and associates, establishment of key dates for Standards and Awarding in the processing schedule, and the implementation of JCQ/Ofqual decisions.
Establish and maintain awarding processes and procedures which are efficient and effective that produce accurate outcomes, and are fully compliant with regulatory requirements.
Ensure that the awarding processes and procedures are fully documented, updated and disseminated to relevant participants in the awarding process.
Ensure that work uses state of the art methods and approaches to standards and awarding as far as possible within the constraints of regulatory requirements, reviewing the impact of and approaches to standards and awarding taken by similar organisations.
Contribute to the ongoing development of the team’s standards and awarding practice.
Ensure AQA is safe and legally compliant by applying AQA’s policies and other legislative requirements including but not limited to HSE, Equal Opportunities and ISMS.
People and Culture
Ensuring we have great people achieving their potential
Contribute to a motivated and positive team culture, focussed on service delivery and continuous improvement.
Model appropriate behaviours to get the best from colleagues and associates working on awarding processes, while continuously seeking to enhance awarding delivery in line with business objectives.
Work with others to achieve the organisation and team vision, modelling AQA’s values and behaviours, contributing expertise and developing self and others to achieve excellence.
Technology
Delivering demonstrably secure, reliable, agile and cost-effective systems
Ensure that AQA makes good use of appropriate and innovative technologies to enhance the quality and efficiency of awarding processes in support of the achievement of AQA strategic objectives.
Government and external
Providing timely, valued insight and evidence that inform policy
Maintain a public voice in the standards and awarding technical community that ensures the maintenance and enhancement of AQA’s reputation in standards and awarding and its influence on the development of standards and awarding policy and practice.
Make an influential contribution to debates on standards and awarding policies and processes at inter-board and regulatory meetings, maintaining the organisation’s reputation as a centre of excellence in standards and awarding.
Where appropriate, represent AQA at seminars and conferences and on industry-wide groups, sharing insights and expertise to inform and influence decision making and thought in the industry.
Section 2 – Key Relationships and Performance
Key Internal Relationships:
Senior Analyst (Awarding and Results)
Colleagues in the Research and Development and Analytics and Data Science teams
Qualifications and Markets Heads of Assessment Design and Curriculum
Assessment Design Managers and Curriculum Managers
Operations: Data Control staff, especially Head of Data Control
Key External Relationships:
JCQ
Equivalent staff in JCQ Awarding Organisations
Members of the Ofqual Standards team
Key performance indicators:
Delivery of error-free, accurate, and timely award outcomes.
Section 3 – Person Profile
Knowledge
A/I/T - A thorough knowledge of standard setting approaches, especially those related to curriculum-embedded assessments, including a sound knowledge and understanding of the main statistical methods, especially multivariate parametric techniques.
I/P - Understanding of the assessment research environment and awareness of key debates, players and influencers.
A/I/P - Broad understanding of the political, educational and business context within which AQA works.
Qualification
A - Educated to higher degree level in a field with a significant quantitative element, or equivalent professional qualification or demonstrable experience for the role.
Skills
A/I/T - The ability to think analytically, to understand and synthesise complex, diverse and incomplete information and to present reasoned arguments
A/I/T - The ability to produce, gather and interpret complex quantitative and qualitative information to support sound decision-making
A/I/P - Strong interpersonal and communication skills, able to influence and build rapport with a diverse range of stakeholders internally and externally
A/I/P - The ability to compile and present reports in a variety of formats, and in both written and spoken forms, to meet the needs of different purposes and audiences.
A/I/P - The ability to work both independently and as part of a team, leading and supporting projects as required.
A/I/P - The ability and willingness to constructively challenge the thinking of others
A/I/P - The ability to think creatively and solve complex problems.
A/I/P - The ability to use business and commercial judgement effectively
A/I/P - The ability to assess risks and recommend actions
Behaviours
A/I/P - We treat everyone well and with empathy
A/I/P - We achieve amazing things by working together
A/I/P - We are open and honest
A/I/P - We do what we say we are going to do
A/I/P - We continuously learn and improve
A/I/P - We act in the best interests of AQA
A/I/P - We are optimistic and determined
A/I/P- We value everyone’s expertise
Experience
A/I/P - Experience of leading and supporting awarding and standards activities.
I/P - Experience of using appropriate methodologies to deliver solutions to standards and awarding issues in a high stakes regulated environment. 
I/P- Experience of influencing senior internal and external stakeholders.
Assessment key (criteria to be assessed at the selection stage)
A – application (it is essential to provide evidence on application for shortlisting purposes)
I - interview
T – test (or work sample)
P – probation
AdditionalThis role supports business critical activities that take place across AQA’s Manchester and Guildford sites, and candidates should be prepared for a significant level of travel.