Compliance & Funding Manager - Apprenticeships

Compliance & Funding Manager

Contract: Full-time, permanent Location: Remote (UK), with occasional in-person meetings Salary: £45,000 per annum starting salary Start Date: Flexible Closing Date: Monday 9 November 2026 (We may close this advert early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications. We encourage early applications.)

Join KnowledgeBrief

KnowledgeBrief is an apprenticeship and training provider helping people and organisations build the skills they need across business management. Our expertise spans leadership and management, digital, and business and professional services. Through apprenticeships, professional qualifications, workshops and coaching, we connect learning to real work, helping people make better decisions, lead change and improve organisational performance. Our vision is a future where every organisation can turn learning into measurable performance through confident people, modern leadership and practical capability. We bring together specialist expertise, our own learning technology and personalised support to help people apply what they learn and make a meaningful difference in their roles. We are a values-driven organisation: inspirational, innovative and authentic, with relationships at the heart of how we work. Joining KnowledgeBrief means being part of a team that values the joy of learning and cares about the impact we create for our learners, clients and each other.

About the Role

Reporting to the Head of Apprenticeships & Training, the Compliance & Funding Manager will lead KnowledgeBrief 's apprenticeship compliance, onboarding, funding assurance and learner data function. You will manage the team and make sure funding claims are accurate, supported by clear evidence and ready for scrutiny. As our technical lead for apprenticeship funding assurance, you will lead our response to DfE funding audits and work closely with Finance, Delivery, Quality, Curriculum, Sales and Digital.

Key Responsibilities

You will:

• Lead KnowledgeBrief 's response to DfE funding audits and appointed external auditors, including audit preparation, learner samples, evidence requests, fieldwork responses, findings and follow-up actions.
• Plan and deliver internal funding assurance reviews, mock audits and learner file sampling.
• Investigate errors, identify whether issues are systemic and assess potential funding exposure with Finance.
• Own the monthly and year-end ILR cycle, from data collection and validation through reconciliation, submission and review of funding and acceptance reports.
• Maintain accurate learner and funding records across PICS, KBPro, the apprenticeship service and internal systems, resolving discrepancies and keeping a clear audit trail.
• Oversee learner eligibility, prior learning, onboarding evidence, apprenticeship agreements, training plans, assessment registrations and gateway checks, ensuring claims are supported and learners are ready for assessment.
• Lead and develop compliance, onboarding and data colleagues, setting clear priorities and maintaining cover around learner starts, submission deadlines and assessment activity.
• Translate funding rule changes into practical processes, controls, templates and guidance, and work with teams to make sure changes are applied consistently.
• Work with Finance to reconcile funding earnings, receipts and adjustments, monitor co-investment and additional payments, and resolve funding risks or discrepancies.
• Maintain the compliance risk register and audit action tracker, reporting findings, corrective actions and potential funding exposure to the Head of Apprenticeships & Training and senior leaders.

Experience, Skills & Qualifications Essential

• Demonstrable experience leading a training provider's response to an external apprenticeship funding assurance audit carried out by DfE, ESFA or an appointed audit firm, including auditor liaison, evidence, findings and corrective actions.
• Practical experience designing and carrying out internal funding audits, testing learner evidence and controls, investigating systemic errors and assessing potential funding exposure.
• Substantial experience in apprenticeship funding, compliance, learner data or MIS, including accurate monthly ILR returns and year-end processes, plus current knowledge of funding rules, ILR specifications, apprenticeship service requirements and funding evidence.
• Experience managing compliance, onboarding or learner data colleagues and prioritising work against recurring deadlines.
• Experience reconciling funding with Finance and understanding employer co-investment, levy transfers, additional payments and evidenced learning support claims.
• Knowledge of apprenticeship onboarding, prior learning, off-the-job training, gateway and assessment administration, and how delivery evidence supports funded data.
• Strong analytical, spreadsheet and data management skills, with the ability to investigate inconsistencies and present findings clearly.
• Level 2 English and

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