Approved Qualification Lead (12 month fixed term contract)

Responsibilities

• To lead on the development and delivery of Approved Qualifications (AQ).
• To manage and maintain the running of the AQ schemes, liaising directly with awarding bodies and external stakeholders, providing recommendations for change based on assessment and review.
• To provide guidance to AQ partners, to influence best practice in training.
• To liaise with awarding bodies and lead on the promotion of the AQ scheme to potential new partners, be the main point of contact and facilitate the development of working relationships.
• To assess AQ applications whilst ensuring alignment with the associated AQ scheme standards.
• To manage the process for setting up and reviewing contractual relationships with awarding bodies along with the Contract and Procurement team.
• To set up and chair annual review meetings with AQ partners to monitor the delivery of AQs and address emerging issues.
• To liaise with the Assistant Registrar and Membership Manager to resolve any emerging issues in relation to the Certificate of Proficiency and Membership with AQ centres and their students.
• To manage and resolve complaints about the AQ schemes and to identify opportunities for improvement to the schemes, escalating to the PS Operations Manager when required.
• To maintain and review the AQ website content, escalating significant changes as necessary, and regularly updating it to ensure it serves as a relevant and useful information resource.
• To support the development of new AQs mapped to BACP Competence Frameworks and curricula by proposing new approved qualification criteria and associated guidance to the PS Operations Manager, Competence Lead, Head/Deputy Head of Professional Standards.
• To implement new AQ schemes mapped to the SCoPEd framework by making changes to processes and guidance and by supporting AQ partners through the change process.
• To keep accurate and up to date data on AQ partners and their centres, and to identify any emerging themes or concerns, reporting these directly to the PS Operations Manager and Head/Deputy Head of Professional Standards.
• To support the work of Professional Standards and BACP more widely by sitting in relevant groups, contributing to the development of documents, research, public protection, and review processes as necessary.

Knowledge & Experience

• Educated to degree level (or equivalent).
• Qualified counsellor/psychotherapist, with at least 5 years post-qualifying experience, and either holding individual accreditation with BACP or eligible for and working towards individual accreditation.
• Experience of delivering counselling and/or psychotherapy training, including course design/delivery at further education level.
• Good awareness and understanding of Awarding Bodies and their regulatory requirements.
• Excellent knowledge and experience of quality assurance schemes and other regulatory requirements relating to counsellor training.
• Excellent inter-personal skills to manage partner working relationships and the ability to communicate at all levels.
• Effective verbal and written communication, adapting to audience.
• Ability to work within a team and on own initiative, organising and prioritising workloads.
• Good level of computer literacy skills across different systems, MS Office and ability to learn and adapt to IT systems.
• Good awareness and understanding of contract management procedures.