Manager – International Education Benchmarking

UK NARIC is the designated UK’s National Agency responsible for the recognition and comparison of international qualifications and skills. It performs this official function on behalf of the UK Government.

UK NARIC also offers research and consultancy, delivering education-focussed research and evaluation reports for a diverse client base that includes exam boards, universities, government agencies and professional bodies.

Job Role:

Your main role will be to manage the international evaluation and benchmarking projects conducted on behalf of our clients: awarding bodies, higher education institutions and professional bodes around the world. The role involves line managing a small research team; ensuring projects are completed to schedule, budget and quality requirements.

The ideal candidate will have demonstrable experience in researching and analysing international qualifications, curricula, assessment and quality assurance, and be able to guide and support others in their work, and ensuring the UK NARIC benchmarking methodology is consistently applied. They will also need to be highly organised, able to oversee the team’s progress on multiple projects running in parallel, whilst also conducting research and analysis of their own on further projects, as required.

The work we do is solutions-focussed, aimed at providing bespoke research and analysis to meet the specific and varying needs of our clients so above all, it’s important that your enthusiastic, committed, able to work well on your own initiative, and have a genuine aptitude and appetite for problem-solving.

Responsibilities include:

• Line managing a team of researchers and analysts
• Inducting and training new starters on the work of the International Education Benchmarking team
• Conducting thorough reviews of project team reports, providing constructive feedback and suggested edits, reviewing as necessary to reach the level of quality required
• Providing timely and constructive feedback on others working on the project (cross-team and cross-department) to inform future resourcing and performance reviews; contribute own, and review others’, ideas to the development of processes or outputs to improve efficiency or effectiveness of benchmarking projects and services, as needed.
• Drafting high quality research and evaluation reports for external clients
• Managing projects, liaising with clients throughout the project lifecycle to project completion and post-project consultation as needed
• Conducting clear pre-project scoping and negotiation, and preparing high quality commercial research proposals to new support business development
• Supporting with other tasks, as necessary and directed.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Please Note:

Applicants MUST hold a current permit or visa showing their right to work and reside in the UK.

Qualifications and Experience (essential unless otherwise stated):

 Master’s degree

 A project management qualification or training (desirable)

 At least three years’ experience in an analytical role focussing on at least one of the following:

• Qualification design review
• Curriculum comparisons
• Educational assessment review/comparison
• Educational quality assurance,

Experience in writing successful funded/commercial research proposals

Skills/Attributes (essential unless otherwise stated):

• Curriculum and/or assessment: research and analytical skills
• Excellent report writing skills, with the ability to synthesise complex information clearly for a range of audiences – preferably for those involved in developing, assessing or marketing qualifications
• Good MS Excel skills (desirable)
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written skills in order to create and maintain relationships with colleagues and clients at all levels
• The ability to manage own time and workload effectively, and oversee others’ to ensure deadlines are met whilst maintaining high quality standards
•  A successful track record in the management and/or delivery of projects (desirable)
•  An innovative approach to work with an aptitude for problem-solving and a willingness to continually evaluate and improve practices
•  Assertive, professional and credible in all business communications
•  Committed, and willing to be flexible on occasions in order to meet demands
•  Fluent verbal and written English Language skills minimum CEFR C2

Applications should be submitted in the Europass CV format  detailing full employment and education history, with a covering letter and details of two referees to: recruitment@naric.org.uk

Closing date:               Friday 29^th March 2019

Interview dates:           3^rd and 4^th April 2019.

Interview Venue:         UK NARIC, ECCTIS LTD, Suffolk House, 68-70 Suffolk Road, 

                                      Cheltenham, GL50 2ED