Qualification Quality Lead

AQA EDUCATION; Guildford, Milton Keynes; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 63,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

35-hour week

25 days annual leave

Pension plan

Healthcare

Wellbeing programs

Volunteering opportunities

Diversity networks

Job summary

AQA in the United Kingdom seeks a Qualification Quality Lead to shape QA across qualification development programmes and embed robust quality assurance and accreditation readiness. You will help define governance and assurance frameworks that underpin regulatory compliance and ensure materials are submission-ready.

Working with the Head of Qualification Quality, you’ll design and embed quality processes, coordinate audit approaches, and support teams to deliver high-quality materials across

Qualifications

• Experience building quality assurance frameworks.
• Experience in regulated environments.
• Experience with audit, governance, and compliance activities.
• Ability to lead assurance programmes across qualification development.

Responsibilities

• Build and shape quality assurance processes from the ground up.
• Design and embed quality frameworks, governance processes and audit approaches.
• Support accreditation submissions and regulatory engagement activities.
• Influence qualification development across multiple subject areas.
• Work with senior stakeholders across the business to embed best practice.
• Identify opportunities to improve quality, consistency and compliance.
• Leave a lasting impact on how qualification quality is managed at AQA.

Skills

Quality assurance

Regulated environments

Audit governance

Documentation control

Risk identification

Stakeholder influence

Cross-subject processes

Job description

Qualification Quality Lead

• Guildford
• London
• Manchester
• Milton Keynes

Full time

2 Year Fixed Term Contract

• Guildford or Milton Keynes: £57,000-£62,500
• Manchester: £54,500-£60,000

Hybrid Working

Shape the future of qualification quality at AQA

Quality isn't just about checking what's already there. It's about defining standards, creating robust frameworks and building the processes that make excellence possible.

As a Qualification Quality Lead (known internally as a Quality & Accreditation Lead), you'll play a key role in shaping how quality is managed across AQA's qualification development programmes. You'll help create and embed the quality assurance approach that underpins qualification design, supports regulatory compliance and ensures materials are ready for accreditation.

This is a rare opportunity to influence how quality, governance and accreditation are managed across a major education organisation during a period of significant reform.

Purpose of the role

This isn't a role where you'll inherit mature processes and simply maintain them.

You’ll help define what good looks like.

Working closely with the newly appointed Head of Qualification Quality, you'll help establish and embed quality approaches, governance processes and assurance frameworks that will shape qualification development across AQA.

Working across qualification development, assessment design, regulation and compliance, you'll design and embed quality assurance frameworks, develop audit approaches, establish governance processes and support teams to consistently deliver high-quality qualification materials.

You’ll also play an important role in accreditation activity, helping to ensure qualification materials are submission-ready, supporting regulatory engagement and helping coordinate responses to feedback throughout the accreditation process.

In this role, you'll be responsible for:

• Build and shape quality assurance processes from the ground up
• Design and embed quality frameworks, governance processes and audit approaches
• Support accreditation submissions and regulatory engagement activities
• Influence qualification development across multiple subject areas
• Work with senior stakeholders across the business to embed best practice
• Identify opportunities to improve quality, consistency and compliance
• Leave a lasting impact on how qualification quality is managed at AQA

What's in it for you?

The qualifications you support will directly influence the experience of learners across the UK. You'll have the opportunity to shape how quality is embedded across qualification development, helping to establish the standards, controls and governance processes that others rely upon. You'll be joining at a time when qualification reform is creating a rare opportunity to build and embed new approaches to quality assurance, accreditation readiness and continuous improvement across the organisation.

AQA are proud to offer a comprehensive benefits package including: a 35-hour working week with flexible, hybrid working; 25 days' annual leave rising to 30, plus Christmas closure days; up to 11.5 percent combined pension contribution, BUPA healthcare support, wellbeing programmes and volunteering opportunities and an inclusive, values-led culture with employee networks including LGBTQ+, neurodiversity, empowering women, wellbeing, ethnic diversity and Interfaith.

You'll thrive in this role if you have:

• Experience building or improving quality assurance frameworks
• Experience working within regulated environments
• Experience of audit, compliance, governance or assurance activities
• Experience managing complex documentation, audit trails or version control processes
• The ability to identify risks, inconsistencies and opportunities for improvement
• Experience influencing stakeholders and embedding new ways of working
• Experience working across complex, cross-subject processes involving multiple stakeholders, dependencies and competing priorities, with the resilience to work through ambiguity and the confidence to challenge constructively when needed.

We're particularly interested in hearing from candidates who have brought structure to complex environments, introduced best practice and developed sustainable quality processes that others rely upon.

You may currently work in quality assurance, governance, audit, accreditation, compliance, process improvement or another regulated environment where attention to detail, quality oversight and continuous improvement are critical.

You’ll be skilled at asking thoughtful questions, constructively challenging where needed and helping others adopt new approaches while maintaining independent quality judgement.

Interview process