Quality Assurance and Enhancement Specialist (Wales and Northern Ireland)

This is an exciting time to join an organisation with an essential role in the UK’s tertiary education sector.

QAA is the UK’s independent quality body for tertiary education, and our purpose is to ensure that students and learners experience the highest possible quality of education. We have changed to meet the evolving needs of a sector that has undergone reform across all nations of the UK.

We are the UK’s authority on quality and standards, acting as custodian on behalf of the sector of reference points including the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, Subject Benchmark Statements, and the Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications. 

Throughout the UK we are the trusted partner of governments and funding bodies. In Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, we work in collaboration with the sector to meet the needs of each nation. In England, our highly successful membership programme provides a rich source of resources to strategic leads, quality specialists and students and learners alike. Globally we are recognised as one of the world's leading quality bodies and support the UK sector as it welcomes international students and extends its reach through transnational education.

We are a world-leading quality agency with unmatched experience of providing impartial regulatory and collaborative quality assurance and enhancement. We support universities and colleges in working with students and learners, governments, funders and regulatory bodies to evidence and enhance the excellent quality and high standards of the education they provide.

We are a remote first organisation and encourage day-to-day flexibility. It’s important to us that our working environment enables us to deliver our services in a way and location that provides the best outcomes for our stakeholders and customers and meets their expectations. Alongside this we want individuals and teams to feel empowered to work where, when, and how they want, providing that business needs are met.

About the role 

This role is an opportunity to help shape collaborative and innovative working across the tertiary education sectors in Wales and Northern Ireland and to contribute to the enhancement of the student learning experience.

Working as part of a small team, as well as a project lead, this varied role supports our enhancement, engagement and review work in Wales and Northern Ireland. The role, reporting to the Head of Wales and Northern Ireland, supports our programme of grant work for the tertiary regulator in Wales, Medr, as well as supporting QAA’s membership activity in Wales. This role will also support the delivery of membership activity in Northern Ireland, as well as working with the funder, the Department for the Economy. An important component of the role is developing and maintaining effective networking and liaison with higher education and further education providers, sector bodies and stakeholders.

Our work supports a range of networks and communities of practice and their activities and delivers a range of programmes of enhancement activity to strengthen working between the further and higher education sectors. You will lead, manage and support these programmes of work to respond to the needs of stakeholders and contribute resources to the benefit of the sector.

You will work closely with the other members of staff and teams within the Regulatory Services Directorate, particularly the Nations Operations team (responsible for the delivery of reviews) and the Nations Enhancement team, to ensure synergy and coordination of work across the devolved nations.

In addition, the role contributes to and supports development and evaluation of our review methods and processes, and the future alignment of review processes between higher and further education as well as their alignment across the devolved nations.

About you 

You will have a good understanding of the challenges facing tertiary education across the UK, especially in Northern Ireland and/or Wales, and a thorough understanding of the content, role and practical application of the baseline quality requirements in UK higher education.

You will need to be able to lead, manage and support projects as a member of a team and support a range of high-quality assurance and enhancement projects and resources. You will have excellent written and verbal communication skills and ability to develop and maintain strong and effective working relationships at many levels. The ability to manage your own work in a structured and well-planned way will be essential. As a membership organisation, you will need to be sensitive and understanding of working in a customer and service-focussed environment.

If you are committed to enhancement of the student learning experience, excited by potential for change and innovation by bringing together higher and further education and enjoy working with people and organisations to achieve this, then we want to hear from you!

Position: Quality Assurance and Enhancement Specialist (Wales and Northern Ireland)

Location: We offer employees the opportunity to work flexibly from home, providing it is within the UK. There will be a need to visit higher education providers in this role, travel will be expensed.

Job type: Full-time

Hours: 35 hours per week, flexible working available

Band: 5

Salary: £37,792 - £47,574 per annum, dependent upon knowledge, skills and experience, plus excellent benefits

Closing date: Sunday 19 January 2025

More information about this role can be found in the job description. If you would like more information in advance of applying please contact careers@qaa.ac.uk

The role will close to applications at 8pm on Sunday 19 January 2025 so please do not hesitate to apply!

To apply, please create a profile on our recruitment portal and submit your CV with a covering letter outlining your experience. Only applications which include a CV, and a cover letter will be considered for the role.

QAA recognises the positive benefits of equity, diversity and inclusion. Our aim is to be truly representative of all sections of society, and for all to feel respected, free to be themselves no matter what their identity or background, and able to give their best. We value the differences that a variety of backgrounds, experiences, perspectives and skills brings and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants to apply and join us.

We are committed to ensuring accessibility for all applicants. If you need any reasonable adjustments to participate in the recruitment process, please careers@qaa.ac.uk. We are committed to working with all to understand what accommodations are necessary to ensure a fair and accessible process.

If you have not heard from QAA within three weeks of the closing date for this vacancy, then your application has not been successful. Please be aware that we are unable to provide feedback on individual job applications.

Arbenigwr Sicrhau Ansawdd a Gwelliant (Cymru a Gogledd Iwerddon)

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