Independent Assessor in Sheffield

Sheffield Hallam University is proud to deliver the Assistant Practitioner (Health) Higher Apprenticeship and is seeking Independent Assessors to join our established End Point Assessment team. We are committed to maintaining a robust, fair, and fully independent assessment process. This role offers a rewarding opportunity to contribute to the assessment and development of Assistant Practitioners, ensuring high standards of professional practice across health and care settings. Independent Assessors play a vital role in ensuring the integrity of the End Point Assessment. You will independently judge performance against the assessment plan requirements.

Main duties of the job Independent Assessors will:

• Meet the apprentice to plan the tasks at a time to suit you and the apprentice within the timeframe given.
• Assess and grade End Point Assessment components in line with the end point assessment plan.
• Conduct and assess the two components for each apprentice: Task 1: Observation of practice in the apprentice's workplace; Task 2: Professional Discussion, underpinned by a portfolio of evidence via video conferencing.
• Provide clear, constructive, and timely feedback to apprentices using agreed feedback mechanisms.
• Record assessment outcomes accurately within relevant systems and to required deadlines.

Support and Development:

• Full training and ongoing support will be provided (With yearly updates).
• Clear assessment guidance and documentation will be supplied.
• Opportunities to work flexibly, running twice per year in July/August and November/December.

Why Join Us?

• Support high-quality assessment in a growing healthcare apprenticeship pathway.
• Work with an experienced and supportive assessment team.
• Play a key role in maintaining professional standards and learner success.
• Flexible and meaningful work aligned to healthcare education and practice.
• Work in line with quality assurance requirements and University procedures.
• Engage with Standardisation processes.

About us

The School of Health and Social Care delivers a well-established, large and diverse portfolio of undergraduate, postgraduate and degree apprenticeship courses leading to registration in 14 different professions. These include Nursing (all fields), Midwifery, Social Work, Paramedic Science, Operating Department Practitioner, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Diagnostic Radiography, Radiotherapy and Oncology, Dietetics and Art Psychotherapy. We support practitioners to continue to develop their professional roles through our extensive continuing professional development portfolio, our graduates working in local, national, and international health and social care sectors. Our research portfolio is cutting edge and applied, undertaking challenge‑led collaborative interdisciplinary research, innovation and knowledge exchange to inform and transform health and social care.

Job responsibilities

• To work as part of panel team to carry out synoptic independent assessment in accordance with the Assessment Plan for the relevant Apprenticeship Standards.
• To carry out the role of Independent Assessor through the methods stipulated in the Assessment Plan.
• To carry out training and continuous professional development to maintain awareness of current developments in the design and delivery of relevant assessments.
• To ensure independence in assessment verification and moderation in‑line with internal moderation and processes set out in the End-Point Assessment Operational Plan.
• Work with other panel members to ensure consistency of assessment methods.
• Work with Assessment Boards (Apprenticeships) and other quality assurance activities to support the validity, fairness and reliability of assessment.
• To attend meetings, training and moderation events with Sheffield Hallam University and maintain and supply records appropriate continuing professional development activities relevant to their sector and area of expertise.

Person Specification

Experience

• Recent occupational experience within the relevant field as covered by the programme of study to meet minimum requirements of the Assessment Plan.
• Experience relating to designing and operating a variety of assessment tasks appropriate to the subject and operating assessment procedures.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Excellent communication skills (both written and verbal).
• The ability to establish good working relationships and work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders.
• Good planning and organisational skills and the ability to manage conflicting demands and meet deadlines.
• Experienced in carrying out training and assessment of staff for training purposes in a workplace or academic environment (for example in healthcare on service users) and prepared to engage in training and development.

Qualifications

• Knowledge and understanding of UK sector agreed reference points for the maintenance of academic and industry standards and assurance and enhancement of quality.
• Holds a professional qualification in a relevant field, to at least the level of the qualification being externally examined (Level 5). (To meet the minimum requirements of the End Point Assessment).
• Hold recent and relevant industry experience, as per any PSRB requirements, or as set out in the apprenticeship standard as a minimum.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.