OCR Appeals Committee Members

Job Description

Salary : Fee paid per meeting to cover preparation, attendance, travel and subsistence allowancesOur client, a world-leading academic publisher and assessment organisation, and a proud part of the University of Cambridge.They are looking for Appeals Committee Members to sit on the OCR Appeals Committee. The Committee helps us make sure that students, teachers and other education staff involved in assessment, mainly in the UK, have a voice in the decisions they make aboutthem. The Committee help us ensure they treat them fairly, at the same time as upholding the standards and integrity of their qualifications.Appeals Committee Members review individual cases about the fairness of grades, malpractice sanctions and how students with special circumstances are supported through assessments independently. These cases can involve complex, sensitive issues that havea serious effect on peoples lives and futures.Appeal hearings are held in Cambridge, Coventry and online, made up of a panel of three committee members, including a chair / deputy chair and at least one independent member. They are supported by a secretary drawn from OCR staff. Further details of theappeals process can be found in the JCQ guide to the awarding bodies appeal processes.Their mission is to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence. Which is why every year, Cambridge University Press & Assessment gives vital support to millions of peoplein more than 170 countries around the world. From teachers and learners to researchers and academics, they help to build confidence, unlock potential, and enable success. They give people the opportunity to show what theyve learnt, they spread knowledge,spark enquiry, and aid understanding.They achieve this by embracing change, and continuously focusing on their customers needs. And by collaborating, and carefully listening to their customers and to each other, they keep moving forward, keep innovating, and keep finding newer and better waysof doing things.The RoleYou will be a member of OCRs Appeals Committee and form part of the panel for appeal hearings, reading case papers in advance of appeal hearings. You will attend appeal hearings, listen to the cases made by OCR and the people appealing, question them anddecide whether to uphold or reject appeals in full, or in part, based on JCQ regulations and the available evidence. When upholding appeals you may recommend or direct that OCR:

• carries out further work, such as:
  • reviewing the marking of an examination, or moderation of non-examined assessment
  • re-investigating a malpractice allegation
  • re-considering a special consideration or access arrangement decision
• changing a malpractice sanction
• removing a malpractice sanction or finding of malpractice

Training is supplied and needed to carry out the role. It usually occurs annually, but this can be more frequent if needed.They ask for your availability for hearing dates in advance and pay a fee for each meeting to cover preparation and attendance. They will also pay travel and subsistence allowances at the current rate (in person meetings only).About youtTheyre looking for people with the highest personal and professional standards, who can reach fair and proper outcomes to difficult situations. You should have:

• Excellent communication skills, including conscious listening
• Ability to interpret, analyse and question complex evidence
• Impartiality for making unbiased decisions
• A strong sense of integrity and fairness
• Confidence in handling difficult conversations
• Experience of leadership
• Experience of teaching and / or administration in an education setting

Ideally, they are looking for people who have not been employed by, or marked for, OCR within the last five years in any capacity, so they can act as independent members of the committee. However, they also welcome current and former assessors.They ask for your availability for hearing dates in advance and pay a fee for each meeting to cover preparation and attendance. The current day rate is £159.75, and they will also pay travel and subsistence allowances at the current rate (in person meetingsonly). They are looking for an availability commitment of at least 1 to 2 hearing dates a month on average. Not every hearing date is used and more tend to be needed in autumn and winter.Please note: this is a rolling campaign, and therefore they will be holding interviews as and when applications come in. Once they have found enough committee members, they reserve the right to close the campaign earlier than the statedclosing date. Therefore, please do not delay submitting your application. They welcome applications from all candidates, regardless of demographiccharacteristics (age, disability, educational attainment, ethnicity, gender, marital status, neurodiversity, religion, sex, and sexual identity), cultural, or social class/background.They believe that diversity of thought, background, and approach create better outcomes. More importantly, fostering an inclusive culture is the right thing to do, and its part of how they achieve their purpose: to contribute to society through thepursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. Ensuring that anyone, no matter who they are, feels they belong here is an essential part of who they are and the contribution they make to society, and to theirplanet.

Keyskills :
MarkingDifficult SituationsEmbracing ChangeUnbiasedSanction