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.
Operations Shift Team Leader Permanent Milton Keynes Salary: £28,500 - £29,500 On-site role
Looking for a leadership role where you can make a real impact? At AQA, we don't just process examination scripts, we help millions of learners receive the qualifications that shape their futures.
As an Operations Shift Team Leader, you'll lead teams, improve processes and play a key role in delivering one of the UK's largest examination processing operations.
At AQA, this role is known as a Shift Team Leader.
What's in it for you? By joining AQA, you'll make a genuine difference to the lives of millions of learners while developing your own career.
Our benefits include:
- Extensive learning and development opportunities
- A 35-hour working week.
- 25 days’ annual leave rising to 30, plus Christmas closure days.
- A comprehensive benefits package including up to 11.5 percent pension contribution, BUPA healthcare support, wellbeing programmes and volunteering opportunities.
- Overtime and shift premium opportunities during peak operational periods
- Employee networks supporting wellbeing, disability, ethnicity, LGBTQ+ and women's development
What makes this role particularly exciting? This is a fantastic opportunity for someone looking to build on their leadership experience within a unique operation. You'll lead a team of Operations Coordinators year-round and support a larger seasonal workforce during peak exam periods, helping ensure examination scripts are processed accurately, securely and on time.
You’ll have the opportunity to influence operational performance, improve processes and work with colleagues across the business to deliver successful exam series. For approximately six weeks each year, between May and July, the operation runs extended hours, including day and night shifts, Monday to Saturday, offering valuable experience leading larger teams during our busiest period.
In this role, you will be responsible for:
- Leading, developing and supporting a team of Operations Coordinators and a larger seasonal workforce during peak periods.
- Managing operational performance, ensuring productivity, quality and service targets are achieved.
- Using data and operational insight to identify trends, solve problems and improve performance
- Supporting workforce planning, training and resource management to meet operational demand.
- Creating a positive, inclusive and high‑performing team environment where colleagues can thrive.
- Driving continuous improvement initiatives that enhance efficiency, quality and colleague experience.
We’d love to hear from you if you have:
- Experience leading, supervising a team in a fast-paced operational environment.
- Strong people leadership and communication skills
- The ability to interpret data and use information to support decision making and performance improvement.
- A proactive approach to problem solving and driving positive change.
- Experience managing performance and developing others.
- A commitment to creating an inclusive and supportive team environment.
- Experience identifying and implementing improvements to processes, systems or ways of working.
Diversity and inclusion statement 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&I 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 experience.
Full Job Description Summary Purpose:
The Shift Team Lead is responsible for leading allocated Scanning Centre operational areas and line managing around 6 Operations Coordinators to support the successful delivery of high-volume, time-critical and regulated examination processing activity. The role ensures teams are trained, supported and performance-managed to meet agreed productivity, quality, compliance and service-level targets, while supporting workforce planning, budget control, continuous improvement and effective stakeholder communication in line with AQA’s operational goals.
Landscape:
Reporting to the Scanning Centre Manager and working alongside operational colleagues, the Shift Team Lead will oversee key processes and support the day-to-day management of end-to-end physical script operations. The role operates in a high-volume, target-driven and time-critical environment, supporting peak-period delivery of approximately 11.4 million scripts through extended operating hours and a large temporary workforce. The Shift Team Lead will lead allocated operational areas, support continuous improvement activity and ensure progress, risks, issues and concerns are communicated clearly and promptly.
Activities:
Manage key operational areas processing high-stakes, time-critical examinations, including general qualifications such as GCSEs and A-levels, functional skills and on-demand formative educational assessments for multiple customers. Lead allocated operational areas to achieve agreed delivery and quality targets, while ensuring regulatory compliance is maintained throughout each series. During peak periods, ensure sufficient operational capacity to process 11.4 million scripts, operating up to 20 hours a day, six days a week, supported by 500 temporary colleagues and requiring flexibility across day or night shifts. Produce accurate management information and reports to support effective governance, decision-making and operational oversight. Support effective budget control by monitoring agency spend and consumable usage, taking appropriate action to manage costs in line with operational requirements. Collaborate with the Deputy Scanning Centre Managers in planning temporary workforce requirements, delivering temporary workforce induction training, ensuring staffing levels and skills align with the approved capacity plan. Delivering series planning against agreed specifications, ensuring pre-live setup, end-to-end testing and readiness checks are completed for each customer ahead of go-live. Identify operational risks, incidents or blockers in real-time, taking appropriate action and escalating where required to protect delivery, quality and service levels. Hold direct line management responsibility for 6 allocated reports, conducting regular monthly check-ins to review performance, wellbeing, development and support needs. Supervise, coach and mentor staff, ensuring behaviours and ways of working align with the culture and values of AQA. Create an inclusive and supportive team environment where colleagues understand expectations, feel able to raise concerns, and are treated fairly and consistently. Actively promote diversity and inclusion by leading teams fairly, recognising individual needs, and creating an environment where all colleagues feel respected, supported and able to contribute fully. Oversee individual and team performance across the permanent team throughout the year and the temporary team during peak periods, against agreed productivity, quality and behavioural expectations, providing timely feedback and support where required. Lead the team to ensure up-to-date and accurate work instructions are in place for allocated customer jobs, providing timely feedback and input where changes are required. Identify any issues relating to understanding, capability or performance within the team, resolving or escalating them as appropriate. Collaborate with other Shift Team Leads to ensure consistency in the day-to-day management of Operations Coordinators and the delivery of operational activities. Oversee the completion of all quality control activities, ensuring they are delivered consistently and in line with agreed processes during each series. Contribute to the design, development and implementation of clear process controls and supporting documentation for all activities within the Scanning Centre operation. Encourage and capture improvement ideas from colleagues, using lessons learned and operational insight to improve process efficiency, quality and colleague experience. Lead the implementation of continuous improvement projects that deliver measurable improvements to process efficiency, quality, colleague experience and operational performance. Maintain clear and timely communication with internal stakeholders, ensuring progress, risks and decisions are shared appropriately. Ensure mandatory PPE is used correctly and safe systems of work understood and followed consistently and in line with health and safety requirements.
To be successful in this role, you will need to know:
- Develop and coach a high-performing, resilient team using a clear goal setting and performance-led approach.
- Demonstrate experience of leading teams in high-volume, target-driven, regulated or time-critical operational environments.
- Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders to create confidence in the delivery of all scanning-related activity.
- Use performance data and operational insight to identify trends, address underperformance and support continuous improvement.
- Operate within the agreed governance framework for end-to-end series delivery.
- Engage with wider business strategic priorities and share subject matter expertise as required, for example Project Turing.
- Communicate clearly and confidently, escalating risks, issues and decisions in a timely and appropriate way.
- Consistently model AQA’s values and behaviours.
AQA is an independent charity that sets and marks over half of all GCSEs and A-levels in the UK every year. Our purpose is to advance education by helping students and teachers to realise their potential. As part of AQA, you’ll very quickly appreciate the determination and unwavering passion to deliver this goal in everything we do. To help drive these ambitions, AQA invests in the development of its people by offering a range of professional development and learning opportunities leading to over 50% of our permanent roles being filled internally.
Reasonable Adjustments:
If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process or in the role, please contact the recruiter named in the vacancy advert or your interview correspondence. They will work with you to ensure the appropriate support is in place and that the process is as accessible and equitable as possible. If you're unsure who your recruiter is, or can't reach them, contact Faye Harrison (she/her) at fharrison@aqa.org.uk or 07813 724161, and she'll direct you to the right person. Please note that Faye cannot assist with temporary vacancy enquiries or non-recruitment matters. For temporary vacancies, contact temprecruit@aqa.org.uk.
Smart Working:
We’re operating a smart working model. This allows for our colleagues to work from two days a week in one of our offices across England.
Conflict of Interest:
Please note that due to the confidential nature of our work, we are unable to employ people for our temporary roles who are currently a candidate for Key Stage 4 and 5 public examinations.
Safeguarding:
AQA is committed to the safeguarding of children and adults at risk. We’re dedicated to reducing the risk of employing or contracting any person intent on abusing their position of trust, along with identifying and responding to any incident of alleged abuse from its employees or associates fairly and swiftly. For more information on safeguarding at AQA please visit the AQA website here.
We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and lived experiences.
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