Head of Marking Operations

Job Description

Do you have experience of leading complex and high-profile marking programmesDo you have experience managing multi-disciplinary teams within a testing environmentIf so, then consider the role of Head of Marking Operations with Reed in Partnership.Role title: Head of Marking OperationsSalary: £65,000 - £75,000 Location: UK based - remote with occasional (fully expensed) office visitsReports to: Programme Director Reed in Partnership is a public service provider delivering a range of services that transform people and their communities. These services are delivered across our Assessment, Employability, Wellbeing, Citizen Services and Environment divisions.Our Reed Assessment division, a national provider of trusted and secure testing and assessments, is planning for the significant expansion of its testing operations during 2024. We are currently bidding for the delivery, on behalf of the Standards and TestingAgency (STA), of Key Stage 1 & 2 testing to all Primary School students in England. Securing this multi-million pound contract would see Reed Assessment responsible, directly and through its supply chain partners, for the production, distribution, markingand moderating of all key stage tests across Primary Schools.We are now looking to build an experienced implementation and delivery team ready to successfully mobilise this contract from April 2024. Please note, travel to the West Midlands region (Birmingham) will be expected at key points of the implementation cycle, the frequency of which will vary. We’re looking for somebody to join our team in April 2024.What is the role aboutThe Standard Testing Agency (STA) project is implementing the administration, delivery and marking of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 tests in Primary Schools in the UK. Reporting to the Programme Director, you will take ownership for the Marking element of theOperational Delivery Plan, ensuring the team are on track to meet key milestones and manage any dependencies.You will be driving forward continuous improvement initiatives and change initiatives to enable client satisfaction and service improvement. Responsible for the collation and reporting of key MI to internal teams and the client.Just some of your day-to-day responsibilities will include;

• Overall responsibility for the delivery of all Marking Phases: Marker Retention and Recruitment, Training Material Development, Marking (UAT, Onscreen Marking, Manual Marking and Review Marking), ensuring achievement of key performance/quality measuresand milestones.
• STA’s single point of contact for Marking Operations, responding quickly to requests for information, meeting reporting requirements and promoting their participation in delivery.
• Working in partnership with SQA, Civica and Iron Mountain to develop processes and procedures for all Marking Phases.
• Overall responsibility for ensuring we have sufficient resource.
• Works with supply chain to produce: the Marking operations Plan, Marker Register, Recruitment & Resourcing Plan, Marker Performance Management Plan, Marker Training Plan, Marking Quality Technical Report, Seed Selection and Retirement Plan, Scanning Qualitymanagement Plan, Exceptions Handling Plan, and sign-off of all Training Materials.
• Accountable for Marking Quality throughout each Test Cycle.
• Overall accountability for ensuring the scanning operation meets required quality and volume threshold.
• Identification of risk and implementation of mitigation activities.
• Working with subcontractor’s Operational Managers (Iron Mountain/SQA) to coordinate scanning and marking operations with the SCM & MCM
• Leading Daily Operational Checkpoint Meetings with subcontractor Operational Managers to ensure progress against plans, coordinating any adjustments as required.
• Supporting Project management Team to manage activity scheduling, delivery to plans and interdependencies.
• Supervising all post KS2 administration Exceptions (issues with materials) to their resolution via Power BI dashboards visualising management information and Daily Checkpoint Meetings with subcontractors to resolve specific cases.
• Overseeing the transfer process to ensure accuracy and timeliness of Test Script files being uploaded.
• Using MI expressed in PowerBI data dashboards, captured from subcontractor systems.

What’s in it for youAlongside a generous base salary (pro-rata for part time), and great flexibility with your working schedule, we offer training, development and progression opportunities. You will have access to a wide range of Reed in Partnership benefits, which include:

• 25 days annual leave (pro-rata for part time) + Bank Holidays
• Reed Pension Scheme
• Award Winning Management & Leadership training
• Professional & Personal Development Funds
• Bi-annual pay reviews
• Plus much more that can be found Here

With the chance to dramatically make a difference to the local community, this role offers immense job satisfaction.To be successful in this role, we are looking for someone with;Essential Criteria:

• Degree level or equivalent; minimum of 2 A-Levels or an equivalent Level 3 Diploma
• Significant experience of leading complex and high-profile marking programmes
• Consistent track record of meeting strict KPIs/Targets
• Strong leadership skills with experience of managing multi-disciplinary teams within a testing environment.

Diversity and Inclusion;