Qualification Quality Lead

AQA; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

35‑hour working week

Hybrid working

Pension contribution

Healthcare support

Wellbeing programmes

Volunteering opportunities

Inclusive culture

Job summary

AQA, a major education organisation in the UK, is seeking a Qualification Quality Lead to shape how quality is managed across qualification development programmes. You’ll establish and embed QA approaches, governance, and assurance frameworks to support accreditation and regulatory submissions.

You’ll collaborate with the Head of Qualification Quality and cross‑functional teams to drive quality improvements, manage complex documentation, and embed best practice across the organisation.

Qualifications

• 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.

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
• 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

Job description

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
• 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.

• 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-organisational 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.

What’s Next?

Join us and help define the future of qualification quality at AQA.

23:59 on Tuesday 29 September 2026

Diversity and Inclusion Statement

At AQA, we're committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels they belong and can do their best work.

We value the different perspectives, experiences and backgrounds our people bring, knowing they strengthen our culture, decision-making and impact.

We foster an inclusive environment where everyone is treated with respect, has access to opportunities to grow and contribute, and feels able to be themselves.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and lived experiences.