Qualification Development Lead

AQA; Guildford; Hybrid; GBP 56,000 - 64,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension with up to 18.5% contributions

35-hour week

25 days annual leave + Christmas days

Private medical insurance (BUPA)

Employee networks (LGBTQ+, Disability,

Volunteering days

Job summary

AQA is recruiting a Qualification Development Lead for Digital Assessments. This permanent role offers hybrid working with minimum 2 days in the office, and salaries in the Milton Keynes/Guildford area.

You will shape future digital qualifications, align with regulatory standards and collaborate with subject experts to deliver high-quality qualifications for teachers and learners across the UK. The role reports to a Senior Qualification Development Manager and focuses on turning complex

Qualifications

• Experience developing digital qualifications, implementing digital qualifications or assessments across schools or colleges, or digitalisation in other complex educational contexts.
• Experience building effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders and subject matter experts.
• Strong planning and organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• The ability to analyse information, balance different perspectives and support sound decision‑making.
• Excellent attention to detail whilst maintaining sight of the bigger picture.
• Resilience and adaptability when working through feedback, change and competing priorities.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate the development of digital qualification specifications and associated materials, ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements and agreed development briefs.
• Ensure alignment between qualification development and digital exam platform functionality.
• Work with Associates, subject matter experts and specialist colleagues to develop high-quality qualifications and supporting materials.
• Bring together expertise from across assessment, product and qualification development teams to support successful accreditation and delivery.
• Build strong relationships with stakeholders, balancing different viewpoints and helping to shape evidence‑based decisions.
• Monitor risks, issues and dependencies throughout the qualification development lifecycle.
• Contribute to continuous improvement, helping to strengthen qualification development processes and ways of working.

Skills

Digital qualifications

Stakeholder management

Planning & organisation

Analytical thinking

Attention to detail

Adaptability

Job description

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 10 million exam papers each year and it’s our people who make this happen.

Qualification Development Lead – Digital Assessments

Permanent

Manchester: £53,000 - £61,000

Milton Keynes or Guildford: £55,500 - £63,500

Hybrid Working | Minimum 2 days per week in the office

Help shape the future of digital qualifications.

You are an education, assessment or qualification specialist who enjoys turning complex requirements into high-quality digital qualifications that make a difference to teachers and learners.

Reporting to a Senior Qualification Development Manager, you’ll play an important role in developing and accrediting future digital qualifications, bringing together policy requirements, educational expertise and customer insight to create qualifications that support teachers and learners.

Working at the intersection of education, assessment, product development and regulation, you’ll collaborate with subject experts, Associates and specialist colleagues to develop digital qualifications that meet regulatory requirements, reflect customer needs and support positive outcomes for learners.

Whether your experience comes from digital qualification development, assessment, curriculum leadership, educational publishing or another education‑focused environment, we’d love to hear how your skills and experience could contribute to the future of qualification development at AQA.

Why this role matters

You’ll help shape digital qualifications through a significant period of curriculum and assessment reform.

Working across the qualification development lifecycle, you’ll bring together subject matter experts, Associates and specialist teams to develop digital qualifications that meet regulatory requirements and support positive outcomes for learners.

The role offers a unique blend of educational expertise, collaboration and problem‑solving, giving you the opportunity to influence qualifications that will be used by teachers and learners across the UK.

What you’ll be doing

• Coordinate the development of digital qualification specifications and associated materials, ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements and agreed development briefs.
• Ensure alignment between qualification development and digital exam platform functionality.
• Work with Associates, subject matter experts and specialist colleagues to develop high-quality qualifications and supporting materials.
• Bring together expertise from across assessment, product and qualification development teams to support successful accreditation and delivery.
• Build strong relationships with stakeholders, balancing different viewpoints and helping to shape evidence‑based decisions.
• Monitor risks, issues and dependencies throughout the qualification development lifecycle.
• Contribute to continuous improvement, helping to strengthen qualification development processes and ways of working.

You’ll thrive in this role if you have:

• Experience developing digital qualifications, implementing digital qualifications or assessments across schools or colleges, or digitalisation in other complex educational contexts.
• Experience building effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders and subject matter experts.
• Strong planning and organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• The ability to analyse information, balance different perspectives and support sound decision‑making.
• Excellent attention to detail whilst maintaining sight of the bigger picture.
• Resilience and adaptability when working through feedback, change and competing priorities.

Why join us?

This is a rare opportunity to join a newly formed team and contribute to work that will directly influence future qualifications and the experience of learners and teachers across the UK.

Alongside meaningful and impactful work, you’ll benefit from:

• A fantastic pension with combined contributions of up to 18.5%
• 35‑hour working week
• 25 days annual leave, rising with service, plus additional Christmas office closure days
• Private medical insurance with BUPA
• Employee networks including LGBTQ+, Disability, InterFaith, Neurodiversity, Parents and Carers, and Empowering Women
• Up to five paid volunteering days each year

If you are currently an Associate of AQA, you would need to relinquish this post.

Please note, this post is exempt from the ROA 1974 and enhanced DBS checks will be required for the successful candidat e.

Diversity and Inclusion

At AQA, we are committed to fostering a workplace that celebrates diversity and promotes equity and inclusion. We believe that a diverse team brings richer perspectives and drives better outcomes. Our ED&IC strategy ensures that everyone—regardless of religion, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, age, disability, sexual orientation, or background – is valued, respected, and empowered to thrive.

We actively promote inclusive language, avoid stereotypes, and strive for representation across all dimensions of diversity. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and lived experiences.

Full Job Description

Summary

Purpose

This is a pivotal role in the development and accreditation of reformed qualifications.

The Qualification Development Lead is responsible for leading and managing the development of high quality, regulatory compliant qualification specifications and supporting materials. They will manage the work of Associates and Assessment Design and Principles Leads, and work closely with product management colleagues, operations teams and Quality and Regulatory Leads to ensure that newly developed qualifications align with the internal balanced scorecard, gain regulatory accreditation and are aligned with market needs.

They will be accountable for the core qualification deliverables (Specification, Specimen Assessment Materials and Assessment Strategy), ensuring that these materials remain aligned throughout the development lifecycle.

They will be responsible for developing detailed specification content aligned with Department for Education (DfE) and Ofqual requirements and AQA’s internal Development Briefs, making a significant contribution to assessment strategies and ensuring that all relevant materials are of a high standard and ready for submission to Ofqual.

They will ensure the customer view is taken into account through concept and market testing, and that feedback is actioned appropriately throughout. They will support the creation of market ready specifications using appropriate technology.Landscape:

This role will report into a Senior Qualification Development Manager and will be responsible for the development of specifications, which may include those for digital exam components. They will manage Associates and matrix manage work of the Assessment Design & Principles Lead responsible for the development of high‑quality specimen assessment materials (SAMs) and Part 2 of the assessment strategies.

This role will own the qualifications under development; they will be responsible for ensuring that the whole qualification is high‑quality, meets the regulatory requirements, is fit for purpose and is successfully accredited by Ofqual.

They will also be responsible for managing Associate performance throughout the development lifecycle.

They will build key relationships with:

• Assessment Design & Principles Leads
• Associates and the Associate Experience team
• Product Managers/Heads of Product/Subject Sector Leads
• Quality and Regulatory Leads

Activities

Qualification Development

• Manage the work of Associates (SMEs) to create detailed specification content that aligns with DfE subject content, policy requirements and subject specific development briefs.
• Champion and align with our approach to diversity and inclusion and other key cross‑cutting themes in our specifications.
• Ensure the accuracy, clarity, and coherence of specification sections, with appropriate structure and coverage across subject content.
• Ensure the specification meets the requirements detailed in the subject specific Development Brief and the balanced scorecard.
• Maintain version control and documentation across all developed materials.

Accreditation

• Ensures all materials are ready to support their timely submission to Ofqual for accreditation.
• Works with the Quality & Accreditation Lead to review feedback reports from Ofqual, ensuring that all required amendments are allocated to a member of the team and actioning those directly related to the specification.
• Defines the resubmission timeline through negotiation with internal and external teams where needed.
• Ensures all materials are ready to support timely resubmissions to Ofqual.

Assessment Strategy Support

• Responsibility for ensuring alignment and consistency between the specification, SAMs and assessment strategy during development and the accreditation process
• Contribute to the development of assessment strategies, ensuring alignment between qualification content and assessment models
• Collaborate with, and matrix manage the work of, Assessment Design & Principles Leads, to ensure consistency and validity across specification content, assessment decisions, and specimen materials
• Record decisions and rationales in sufficient detail to support the development of Part 2 of the assessment strategy and assessment materials

Quality, Regulatory Alignment and Risk Management

• Maintain the subject specific RAID (Risks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies) log, ensuring risks and issues are captured, monitored, and escalated as appropriate.
• Maintain appropriate decision logs and complete all required reporting to maintain a clear audit trail.
• Apply regulatory requirements to all aspects of qualification development
• Actively respond to and implement feedback from regulatory, quality, and internal review processes.

Cross Functional Collaboration

• Manage the work of: Assessment Design & Principles Leads to ensure continuous alignment between content and assessment.
• Associates to develop high quality content that is appropriate to the subject.

Work Closely With

• Quality & Accreditation Leads to ensure compliance and agreed best practice is embedded throughout the development process.
• Product Manager/Subject Sector Leads to support concept development, market testing, product positioning and to ensure subject relevance, market appropriate content and the customer viewpoint.

Lead and/or Participate in Cross Functional Meetings, Review Sessions, and Workshops

To ensure coherence across the qualification.

Technology and Document Production

• Use internal publishing and development tools to create market ready versions of specifications and related materials
• Ensure that final documents meet organisational standards for accessibility, formatting, and presentation

Market and Concept Testing

• Contribute to concept and market testing activities to validate qualification design and gather stakeholder feedback.
• Use insights from testing to refine specification content and support wider product improvements.
• Work with customers during concept and market testing activity and throughout development and launch of the newly developed qualifications.

Resource and Support Offer Development

• Make recommendations to the Product Manager for amendments or enhancements to the customer resource and support offer, based on insights gained during development and testing.

To be successful in this role, you will need to demonstrate:

Essential Criteria

• Experience in developing materials in line with a development or design brief.
• Understanding of DfE subject content and regulatory frameworks and the Ofqual accreditation process.
• Excellent written communication skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to work collaboratively with multiple stakeholders including external associates.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage documents, decisions, and version control.
• Experience working with SMEs or associates in content creation.
• Ability to work at pace in an agile manner, delivering to tight deadlines in a sometimes uncertain environment.
• Ability to assess and categorise risk and form clear mitigation plans.

Desired Criteria

• Experience in qualification or assessment development within an awarding organisation or similar environment or a demonstrable ability to learn quickly in a time-sensitive context.
• Awareness of assessment principles and evidence-based assessment design.
• Experience using document production or publishing tools.
• Understanding of centre needs, learner experience, or education market.