Senior Manager Quality and Performance - Apprenticeships

Weekly Working Hours: 37

Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract

Fixed Term Contract: End Date: FTC for 18 Months

Welsh Language: Not Applicable

Change your career, change lives

The Open University is the UK's largest university, a world leader in flexible part-time education combining a mission to widen access to higher education with research excellence, transforming lives through education. Find out more about us and our mission by watching this short video (you will be taken to YouTube by clicking this link).

The Senior Manager Quality & Performance plays a key role in ensuring the quality, performance and continuous improvement of the Open University s Apprenticeship provision. Working in partnership with Faculties, Apprenticeship Services and wider University stakeholders, the role is responsible for developing and embedding effective quality, performance and assurance arrangements, supporting positive apprentice outcomes, regulatory compliance and organisational excellence.

The postholder will provide oversight of apprenticeship performance, identification of risks and drive improvement activity across the portfolio. This role will lead the OU's apprenticeship self-assessment and quality improvement processes, ensuring that interventions result in measurable improvements. The postholder will work collaboratively across the University to embed a culture of continuous improvement, accountability and high performance. The role also plays a key part in maintaining organisational readiness for external inspection, audit and regulatory review, working closely with colleagues across functions to ensure the OU continually meets regulatory requirements to deliver high quality apprenticeship provision.

• Support the development, implementation and review of quality, performance and assurance measures, which will lead to continuous improvement.
• Lead on the monitoring of Apprenticeship quality and performance indicators, ensuring regular reports on quality, standards and emerging risks are produced for key governance groups and committees.
• Work with Faculties and other Units to deliver measurable improvements in Apprenticeship quality and performance indicators across the OU.
• Support the design, implementation and review of the OU's quality assurance frameworks, systems, processes and policies for Apprenticeship provision.
• Ensure quality assurance activities lead to measurable improvements in performance and are integrated within wider governance processes.
• Lead risk informed challenge and support interventions where quality indicators, performance or compliance indicators identify emerging risks; ensuring that robust actions are in place and monitored and that any areas of ongoing concern are raised through appropriate governance structures.
• Work collaboratively with Apprenticeship Services, Faculties and other business units to support the development, implementation and monitoring of the University Self-Assessment Report and Quality Improvement Plan.
• Support organisational readiness for external inspections, audits and reviews.
• Work collaboratively across Apprenticeships Services teams to identify, monitor and address risks relating to Apprenticeship regulatory requirements.
• Work collaboratively with the faculties, relevant Apprenticeship Services teams and other key stakeholders, to support continuous improvement in the quality of Practice Tuition and learner support, improving apprentice progress, achievement, satisfaction and outcomes.
• Deputise as a representative for Apprenticeship Services on University groups, committees and in external meetings, as required.
• Contribute to the successful management of change and the development of a culture of continuous improvement in Apprenticeships.

• Essential:Experience in a senior quality, performance, assurance or continuous improvement role within apprenticeships, further or higher education, with a demonstrable track record of delivering organisational improvement.
• Experience of leading quality assurance, self-assessment and quality improvement activities, including preparing for and supporting external inspection, audit and regulatory review processes (e.g. Ofsted and apprenticeship regulatory requirements).
• Proven experience of designing, implementing and monitoring quality, performance and assurance frameworks, systems and processes that drive continuous improvement and successful apprentice outcomes.
• Experience of developing, monitoring and delivering against key performance indicators, using data and management information to identify trends, risks and opportunities, and translate insights into effective improvement actions.
• Good understanding of apprenticeship quality, compliance and regulatory requirements, and the ability to evaluate adherence to policies, procedures and assurance frameworks.
• Demonstrable experience of identifying, assessing and managing organisational risks, implementing appropriate interventions and ensuring issues are escala