Standardisation Administrator

AQA; Milton Keynes; On-site; GBP 25,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading educational organization is looking for a Standardisation Administrator in Milton Keynes to ensure fairness and consistency in marking. The role includes supervising temporary staff, facilitating standardisation events, and managing queries. Applicants should have strong organisational skills, excellent communication abilities, and familiarity with Microsoft Office. The position offers a competitive salary and a supportive work environment with opportunities for professional development.

Benefits

25 days’ annual leave, rising to 30 days

Private medical insurance

Competitive pension scheme

Qualifications

• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail required.
• Excellent verbal and written communication is essential.
• Confidence in handling and supervising temporary staff.

Responsibilities

• Handle and store candidates’ artwork safely.
• Supervise temporary workers during busy periods.
• Facilitate standardisation events for examiners.

Skills

Strong organisational skills

Excellent communication skills

Confidence in supervising staff

Proactive mindset

Tools

Microsoft Office (Word, Excel)

CRM systems

Job description

Overview

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.

Standardisation Administrator

Permanent

£24,240.00

Location: Milton Keynes

On-Site Working

Ready to turn your eye for detail into decisions that make a real difference for students?

Do you thrive in a role that combines organisation, collaboration, and hands-on activity?

We’re looking for a dedicated Standardisation Administrator to join our team and help deliver excellence in marking and moderation.

About the Role

As a Standardisation Administrator, you’ll play a vital role in ensuring fairness and consistency in learners’ results while delivering exceptional service to schools and associates. You’ll build strong relationships, handle queries with confidence, and support processes that underpin accurate marking and moderation. This is a dynamic and varied role where attention to detail, proactive thinking, and a passion for continuous improvement will help you make a real impact.

What you’ll be doing

• Safely handling and storing candidates’ artwork from schools, booking in new artwork to ensure accurate tracking and secure return.
• Supervising temporary workers during peak periods to maintain smooth operations.
• Facilitating standardisation events that guide examiners and moderators on assessment materials.
• Producing and collating training materials for examiners and moderators.
• Managing queries and providing excellent customer service to associates and stakeholders.
• Working as a Team to deliver compliant teacher standardisation.
• Networking with key stakeholders to deliver on AQA’s mission to ‘never let a learner down’.

What You’ll Bring

• Strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Confidence in supervising and motivating temporary staff.
• Ability to work on your own initiative independently when required but also as part of a wider supportive team to deliver the exam series.
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel) and CRM systems.
• A proactive mindset with a can-do attitude focused on continuous improvement.
• Comfortable with physical aspects of the role, including the safe movement and storage of artwork

What’s in it for you?

• A 35-hour working week.
• 25 days’ annual leave (rising to 30 days), plus bank holidays and additional office closure days over Christmas.
• Private medical insurance and a competitive pension scheme (combined contributions up to 18.5%).
• Access to employee network groups (including LGBTQ+, neurodiversity, disability, ethnic diversity, empowering women, and more).
• Opportunities for volunteering, professional development, and well-being support.

AQA is an equal opportunity employer, committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace where everyone - regardless of religion, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, age, disability, sexual orientation, or background - is valued, respected, and supported to thrive.

How to Apply

Please submit your CV and a cover letter outlining how your skills and experience align with the requirements of this role. The closing date for applications is 23.59 on Sunday 18th January. Interviews will be held at our Wolverton office on Tuesday 27th January.

Full Job Description

Summary

Purpose: The Standardisation Administrator role is responsible for the delivery of tasks which support standardisation activities for associates and teachers. Our Administrators are key to providing support and driving quality and efficiency throughout the delivery of Standardisation, which is the process that ensures quality and consistency of Marking and Moderation. Standardisation enables accurate and effective Marking, Moderation, and Post-results Reviews and is key in maintaining the parity and confidence in Learners’ results and ensuring we maintain the expectations of teachers and students.

As a team, Standardisation owns the relationship with associates at a key time for building trust; we engage positively with associates and demonstrate the values that underpin the trust that our customers place in AQA. Standardisation Administrators work flexibly and responsibly dealing with stakeholders both face to face and via telephone to ensure that agreed actions and key processes are completed compliantly within given timeframes according to the Team’s Departmental Plan. Our Administrators approach their duties with a high degree of professionalism so that customers and associates have a great experience of AQA at every opportunity.

Standardisation Administrators add value by keeping waste to a minimum and look for opportunities to continuously improve our business operations. They collaborate to drive personal performance, deliver training to share their knowledge and demonstrate AQA values.Landscape: The Standardisation Team sits within the Standardisation, Marking and Moderation area of the larger Chief Operating Office, which is responsible for managing the development, marking and grading of 3.8 million candidates\' examinations across A-Level, GCSE, and other qualifications. We are a cross-site team of around 32 staff with representation in Manchester, Milton Keynes, and Guildford.

The Standardisation Administrator role reports into the Team Leader or the wider Standardisation management team. The role holder will work closely and collaborate with colleagues across the business in Associate Management, Logistics, Assessment, Marking, and Post-results.

Activities

• Delivering customer service in line with our world class service ambition, providing support in-person, via CRM and on the phone.
• Facilitate both remote and in-person standardisation events designed to guide examiners and moderators on the use of assessment material to determine an appropriate mark. To qualify the marker’s performance ensuring that marks are always awarded on the same basis as intended.
• Producing and collating material to support the training and standardisation of examiners and moderators.
• Support the delivery of new processes, in response to reform and technological changes.
• Self-motivate and manage tasks, ensuring timely and efficient completion of work.
• Supporting and engaging with the culture of continuous improvement across the team and applying it to your work; to drive quality, customer experience and satisfaction levels; removing waste to achieve cost efficiencies.
• Use relevant systems, reports and trackers to plan and record delivery and to meet delivery targets and goals.
• Responsible for identifying and escalating risks and issues in good time.
• Delivering process specific training to seasonal staff, enabling them to effectively support events and handle associate enquiries.
• Manage queries which require specialist knowledge for relevant departments to ensure that queries are resolved promptly to a high standard.
• Build strong relationships with our external suppliers, internal teams, and our associates to deliver a best-in-class service that meets our customers’ needs.
• Represent the Standardisation team by actively engaging in stakeholder meetings
• Ensure AQA is safe and legally compliant by applying AQA’s policies and other legislative requirements including but not limited to HSE, Equal Opportunities and ISMS.

Requirements

• How to exemplify the behaviours, values and leadership habits we wish AQA to be famous for, and to inspire seasonal staff and team members through consistently demonstrating these behaviours internally and externally.
• Good understanding of Microsoft Office programmes including word, excel, and dynamics CRM. Familiarity with database systems beneficial.
• How to complete operational tasks and activities within a time sensitive and regulated environment.
• How to check material with speed and accuracy demonstrating strong attention to detail
• How to communicate clearly and effectively in person, on the phone and in writing.
• Understanding of Continuous improvement models and practices and how best to support the application of these to develop and improve processes.
• How to manage your workload to deliver quality outcomes against multiple deadlines.
• How to effectively manage a team of seasonal staff, working flexibly and adapting leadership style to get the best performance from team members.
• You will need an understanding of the political, educational and business context within which AQA works.
• How to support the implementation of change.
• How to follow and contribute towards robust, effective departmental plans and escalate when tasks are off track.
• How to demonstrate commercial flexibility by undertaking other responsibilities which are of a commensurate level as business needs change. As we are a cross-site team this may include working across the various AQA sites to meet business needs.