Education Operations Officer

The General Optical Council; Greater London; Remote; GBP 36,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

The General Optical Council is seeking a proactive Education QA professional to contribute to the delivery and monitoring of education activities across the UK. You will review approval and quality assurance processes, draft reports, and support the Education Visitor Panel with governance and policy guidance.

Based in the UK with occasional travel to London for meetings, you will work with the Education Development team to refine processes, templates, and guidance, ensuring compliance with

Qualifications

• Experience with education quality assurance in higher or further education.
• Ability to present complex information clearly in writing and verbally.
• Experience working with multiple stakeholders and project outputs.

Responsibilities

• Lead and support QA activities for providers offering GOC approved qualifications.
• Analyse data to identify risks and prepare ad-hoc reports for stakeholders.
• Respond to queries on education outcomes and processes with evidence-based arguments.
• Support EVP coordination, agendas and follow-up work for stakeholder events.

Skills

Education QA knowledge

Stakeholder engagement

Data analysis

Report writing

IT skills (Word/Excel)

Education

Degree in Education / Higher Education

Knowledge of education quality assurance standards

Job description

Please see job description for more information

Role Purpose

To contribute to the daily delivery and monitoring of the General Optical Council’s (GOC) education activities. This role predominantly consists of the review, management and successful delivery of approval and quality assurance activities and all related processes under the direction of the Education Operations Manager.

The role will ensure that quality assurance activities are conducted in accordance with our policies, processes, standards and requirements and against agreed KPIs.

Quality assurance activities involve desk-based, virtual and in-person meetings and visits with key stakeholders. Attendance at in-person meetings and visits may involve attendance at education providers across the UK and may require weekend working/travelling on occasion. As part of our quality assurance processes, the role holder will attend meetings and provide support to the Education Visitor Panel, advise on relevant processes and standards, and act as secretariat to the panel.

As part of all quality assurance activities, the role holder will also be responsible for drafting reports, conducting risk reviews and analysing information. They will also support the implementation and quality assurance of the new Education and Training Requirements (ETRs).

The role will involve regular stakeholder engagement, including dealing with and responding to queries from education providers, outcomes and quality assurance and enhancement methodology.

The role holder will work collaboratively with the Education Development team to contribute to the development of policies, processes, documentation, templates and guidance for staff, education visitors and providers to ensure that current legislation and good practice is continually reflected. The postholder can be based anywhere in the UK but will need to travel to the office based in London (Canary Wharf) for meetings, based on business need.

Key Accountabilities

The role holder will:

• Conduct new and ongoing quality assurance activities (remotely/physically) for providers who offer, or intend to offer, GOC approved qualifications.
• Analyse data to identify and escape any operational and/or regulatory risks and produce ad-hoc reports and information. This will include making recommendations on the findings, to a range of stakeholders including internal colleagues, senior management, education providers, education visitors and GOC Committees.
• Ensure that queries and issues raised, both internally and externally, on matters relating to education outcomes or process are quickly and effectively resolved.
• Contribute to the coordination and delivery of stakeholder events such as EVP and provider workshops. This will include supporting the creation of agendas, content and follow-up work as well as delivering content when necessary.
• Ensure that statistical and KPI data is accurately maintained for reporting purposes and that education visitor panel (EVP) work logs are up to date to ensure they are paid correctly and on time;
• Maintain an environment of continuous improvement by collecting and feeding back views from stakeholders and working collaboratively with the Education Development team to design and implement policies, processes and department projects.
• Other duties as required.

Essential Skills/Experience/Qualifications

• Education quality assurance knowledge and experience.
• Well-developed understanding of higher and further education, assessment/awarding bodies, (degree) apprenticeships and career frameworks
• Well-developed understanding of professional / statutory body programme accreditation and qualification approval processes.
• Ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders with excellent presentation / verbal communications skills.
• Ability to analyse and assimilate complex information and produce evidence based arguments.
• Excellent written communication skills, with an ability to write clearly, precisely, and accessibly on complex issues, with attention to detail and accuracy.
• Experience of managing multiple workflows and project outputs simultaneously.
• Embraces team-working, collaboration and negotiating with colleagues to deliver communications objectives.
• Excellent IT skills, including Word and Excel.

Closing date for applications is 02 November 2026 11:59pm, please note we reserve the right to close the role early dependent on number of applications.

Please note that your application will only be considered if it includes both CV and a cover letter. The cover letter should be no longer than 2 A4 pages and must demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria of this role.