External Quality Assurer for Functional Skills and Preparation for Life and Work

Contract: Permanent

Location: Home based

Hours per week: 29.6

Salary: Up to £28,132 (FTE: £35,166) depending on experience

About the role

We’re excited to be looking for an External Quality Assurer for Functional Skills and Preparation for Life and Work to join our External Quality Assurance team. The External Quality Assurance team is responsible for maintaining the integrity of our internally assessed qualifications including the approval, monitoring and evaluation of our centres. The purpose of this role is to ensure quality assurance compliance, to drive a high standard in assessment activities and continuous improvement in practice within our centres so that we can ensure a first-class service which meets the needs of both our customers and learners, supporting market growth and promoting advancement in learning.

You will assess and manage risk and performance of centres and their staff through analysis and review of data and evidence from a variety of sources, including regulators and customers, which forms part of the quality process to ensure qualification and regulatory compliance.

How you’ll make an impact:

• Carrying out external quality assurance activities, completing reports within specific Service Level Agreements (SLA) to a high standard, ensuring all relevant parties are kept informed of the outcomes.
• Collaborating with relevant internal and external stakeholders to ensure quality assurance activities are tailored to specific centre requirements, clearly communicated and documented within CRM, delivered on time whilst budgeting is considered.
• Ensuring compliance of all qualifications within your regional area in line with NCFE requirements, the General Conditions of Recognition and any other relevant regulatory criteria.
• Delivering exceptional customer service to all stakeholders, internal and external, reflecting on feedback received through a range of sources to drive improvement in your own work practices and processes as well as the wider EQA team.

We’d love to hear from you if you offer the following:

• Relevant subject expert, qualified to at least Level 3 in English and Maths.
• Recognised teaching qualification.
• Qualification in external quality assurance or be willing to work towards.
• Qualification in assessment & internal quality assurance.
• Evidence of at least 3 years of working in an educational quality assurance role with knowledge of assessment and external quality assurance principles.
• Knowledge of current developments in education and assessment.

What will we offer you in return?

• Annual leave starting at 25 days and increasing up to 30 days with length of service.
• 8 bank holidays and an additional 3 days off during the Christmas closure.
• YOU celebration day to celebrate your birthday or another life event.
• YOU hour allowing you one hour per month to spend time on something that promotes your wellbeing.
• Learning and Wellbeing fund of up to £200 per year.
• £400 towards any NCFE accredited qualifications per year.
• Up to 20 Volunteering hours per year.
• Flexible working culture with a hybrid working approach.
• Early finish on a Friday at 4:30pm to start your weekend early.
• Health cash plan through Westfield to claim towards health costs such as dental and optical.
• Tech and Home scheme with savings at Currys and IKEA.
• Employee Assistance Programme with a confidential helpline and access to face to face and telephone counselling.
• Pension of up to 9% employer contribution when you contribute 3%.
• Death in service payment worth 4 x your salary.

In addition to our benefits package, our Colleague Experience Charter sets out the unique experience you can expect when working at NCFE, to enable a thriving, engaged culture.

Shape real change with an NCFE career

Imagine a career where your contributions affect not only what people learn, but the way that learning is developed and delivered. With over 170 years of education experience our core purpose remains at the heart of the organisation – to promote and advance learning to create a fairer, more inclusive society, making sure no learner is left behind.

How to apply

Before applying, please note that we require all candidates to be able to demonstrate proof of Right to Work in the UK. Ready to join us and shape real change? Apply with your CV if you have the commitment to excel in this position.

Closing Date: Thursday 4 June 2026

Interview Date: Monday 15 June 2026

If successful in this post you will be required to complete an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare any cautions, convictions, reprimands, and final warnings that are not protected (i.e., that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013).

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) statement

We're committed to building rich diversity into our workforce at all levels, to ensure that we understand and are representative of the communities and customers we serve. We do not discriminate against anyone due to their gender, sexuality, race, age, religion, beliefs, identity, social background, visible or hidden disability, or neurodiversity. Instead, we pride ourselves on our collaborative, vibrant and high-performance culture which embraces everyone, celebrates uniqueness, and enables everyone's voice to be heard.