Chief Examiner for iESOL

Permanent Full-time

Location: Remote/Agile, UK

Reports to: Awarding Team Manager

Salary: £30,000 - £34,000 DOE

Line management responsibilities: Yes

Overview

Training Qualifications UK is the fastest-growing Awarding Organisation in the UK, and a market leading End-Point Assessment Organisation. We work with over 500 schools, colleges, universities, and training providers across the world to provide qualification certificates, endorsements, and apprenticeships to over 150,000 learners.

The Chief Examiner – ESOL International plays a central role in maintaining the integrity and credibility of TQUK’s international ESOL assessments. The role ensures that all assessment decisions are fair, consistent, and aligned to recognised standards such as the CEFR, supporting confidence in outcomes for learners, centres, and wider stakeholders. We are seeking an experienced and authoritative assessment professional to lead the examining and awarding activity across our ESOL International qualifications. The Chief Examiner will oversee standardisation, marking, moderation, and awarding processes across all assessment components, including speaking, listening, reading, and writing. This role is responsible for ensuring that assessment judgements are valid, reliable, and consistent across a global network of examiners and centres. It will also play a key role in monitoring assessment performance, maintaining standards over time, and supporting continuous improvement in assessment practice. Working closely with internal teams and subject experts, the Chief Examiner will provide expert oversight of assessment delivery and act as a key point of accountability in upholding standards, supporting regulatory compliance, and ensuring a high-quality assessment experience for all users of the qualification.

Key Responsibilities

• Attend and contribute to Question Paper Evaluation Committee (QPEC) meetings to ensure assessment materials meet ESOL standards, CEFR alignment, and design principles.
• Chair QPEC meetings where required.
• Chair awarding meetings, ensuring robust and consistent application of awarding processes and appropriate setting of grade boundaries.
• Produce Chief Examiner reports evaluating assessment performance across all components (reading, writing, listening, and speaking), including trends, performance, and areas for improvement.
• Maintain, track and monitor relevant data for performance.
• Oversee and support the recruitment, training, and standardisation of examiners and assessors, including speaking examiners.
• Ensure consistency and accuracy of marking and assessment decisions across global centres through standardisation activities.
• Monitor examiner performance using appropriate quality assurance methods, including sampling, seeded responses, double marking, and moderation of speaking assessments.
• Manage examiner performance, including addressing underperformance and supporting continuous improvement.
• Support the development and maintenance of mark schemes, assessment materials, and standardisation guidance.
• Work collaboratively with Qualification, Assessment, and Operations teams to ensure effective delivery and awarding.
• Provide expert input into assessment-related queries, appeals, and complaints, acting as an authoritative voice where required.
• Contribute to malpractice investigations where subject expertise is required.

Essential Skills and Experience

• Substantial experience in ESOL assessment, including speaking, listening, reading, and writing components.
• Strong understanding of assessment principles, including validity, reliability, fairness, and standardisation.
• Experience of awarding, moderation, and maintaining standards over time within a qualification or assessment context.
• Sound knowledge of CEFR and its application within ESOL assessment design and delivery.
• Experience working within an awarding organisation or similar regulated environment (desirable).
• Ability to interpret assessment data and evidence to inform judgement, reporting, and decision-making.
• Experience recruiting, training, and managing examiners or assessors, including addressing underperformance.
• Clear and confident communication skills, with the ability to provide authoritative guidance to internal teams and centres.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities across assessment cycles, including standardisation, marking, and awarding.
• Efficient and effective data and file management; inputting, filing, and monitoring of data.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and open to using e-technologies for collaboration.
• Understanding of international delivery contexts and challenges associated with global centre networks.
• Commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion in assessment practice, ensuring accessibility and fairness for all learners.
• Experience supporting or contributing to investigations into appeals, complaints, or malpractice.

Cultural and Communication Experience

• Promote a culture of consistency, accuracy, and continuous improvement in assessment practice.
• Uphold assessment standards by applying agreed principles and challenging decisions where required.
• Work collaboratively with internal teams to ensure effective delivery of assessment and awarding processes.
• Take ownership of assessment decisions within remit, ensuring they are evidence-based and defensible.
• Balance differing perspectives to reach fair and consistent assessment outcomes.
• Apply sound judgement in complex or borderline cases, including during awarding and standardisation activities.
• Contribute to the development and refinement of assessment processes and guidance.
• Support clear and consistent communication with examiners, assessors, and centres.
• Engage confidently in professional discussions, including where decisions may be challenged.
• Represent TQUK as a subject expert in ESOL assessment when required.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of ESOL assessment practice and relevant sector developments.

Key Benefits

• Training, Qualifications & Apprenticeships. It’s what we do!
• Company sick pay upon completion of probation.
• 25 days annual leave plus 8 days Bank Holiday (33 in total).
• Additional annual leave day each year, after 2 years of continuous service (up to 28 days).
• An extra day off to celebrate your birthday.
• Annual Loyalty Bonus.
• Annual salary review.
• Bupa healthcare benefits.
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
• NEST pension.
• Cycle-to-work scheme.
• A positive and supportive working environment.
• Comprehensive onboarding.
• A workplace that supports a healthy work/life balance.

*We are an equal opportunities employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Should you require any additional support during the recruitment process due to a disability, please contact us so we can assist you.