Vocational Reform Assurance Manager

Permanent
London / Milton Keynes: £72,800 - £81,600
Manchester: £69,900 - £78,400
Hybrid - typically 2 days per week in the office

Introduction

You'll join AQA at a pivotal point as we expand our vocational portfolio in response to major national reform. There are now several organisations within AQA Group, including TQUK, that are delivering and supporting high-quality vocational education, which gives us a strong foundation to develop new qualifications and apprenticeships. This is a high judgement role operating across the Group in a fast moving and still evolving landscape, where clarity is often emerging rather than settled.

You'll bring strong understanding of vocational, FE and skills contexts, alongside the confidence to work through ambiguity and reform. Your focus will be on assurance, challenge and alignment - helping AQA Group take well judged decisions as we design and deliver new vocational qualifications and apprenticeships.

You'll provide expert oversight across AQA's vocational reform programme at a time when expectations from government, regulators, employers and sector bodies are increasing. Delivery will involve close working with vocational specialists across the Group, including in TQUK.

You'll sit at the centre of the vocational reform programme, providing hands-on programme level assurance - bringing together planning, risk, governance and quality insight to support confident senior decision making in a complex reform environment.

This role is not about owning policy design in isolation, nor about running operational delivery. It sits deliberately between those worlds - bringing vocational expertise, strong stakeholder judgement and an assurance mindset to help the organisation navigate reform well.

In this role, you'll be responsible for:

• Providing expert assurance and constructive challenge on vocational reform activity, ensuring assessment design, quality processes and delivery plans are robust and credible in a post16 context.

• Providing programme level assurance across vocational reform activity, with a particular focus on risk, interdependencies and delivery readiness.

• Exercising sound judgement in conditions of uncertainty, helping teams test assumptions, surface trade-offs and make proportionate, evidence based decisions.

• Tracking progress, identifying risks early and escalating issues where clarity, pace or alignment are at risk.

• Maintaining oversight across assessment methodology, compliance and cross team working to ensure a coherent end-to-end approach.

• Supporting effective governance and senior decision making across a complex and evolving programme.

You'll thrive in this role if you bring:

• Strong experience of vocational, post16, FE or skills qualifications - including assessment, quality assurance, regulation or delivery.

• Comfort working in ambiguity and reform, where direction is developing and judgement matters as much as process.

• The credibility and confidence to challenge constructively, particularly with senior stakeholders.

• Strong stakeholder judgement - building trusted relationships while knowing when to probe, when to escalate and when to enable progress.

• Experience of programme, project or assurance environments, without being tied to a single policy or operational lens.

You'll make a meaningful impact while benefiting from:

• The opportunity to shape a high profile, nationally significant vocational reform programme.

• A role that builds visibility and influence across AQA's vocational strategy and leadership community.

• 25 days' annual leave, rising to 30 with service, plus bank holidays and additional closure days at Christmas.

• A 35hour working week with flexible working arrangements.

• An excellent contributory pension scheme (6%-11.5% depending on your contribution).

At AQA, we are committed to fostering a workplace that celebrates diversity and promotes equity and inclusion. We believe that diverse teams bring richer perspectives and better judgement. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and lived experiences.

Application process

To apply, please submit your CV and cover letter. Applications close on Wednesday 8 April. xbpsjku

First stage will be held via MS Teams w/c 13th April.

Second stage interviews will be held in-person w/c 20th April