Quality and Continuous Improvement Officer
Medr
Apply before 11:55 pm on Tuesday 22nd October 2024
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About the job
Job summary
About us
We are a new arm’s length body of the Welsh Government, responsible for the strategy, funding and oversight of:
- further education including colleges and school sixth-forms;
- higher education including research and innovation;
- adult education and adult community learning; and
- apprenticeships and training.
Operational since 1 August 2024, we work in close collaboration with our partners to enable a tertiary education and research system which is centred around the needs of learners; society; and economy with excellence, equality and engagement at its heart.
Our values really matter to us, they help shape the culture of our organisation:
- Dysgu (to learn; to teach; to educate) - learning is at the heart of everything we do. We believe curiosity fuels innovation and helps expand our horizons.
- Cydweithio (to work together; to collaborate; to co-operate) - we can achieve far more together than we ever could alone.
- Cynnwys Pawb (to include everyone; to involve everyone) - we are passionate about inclusion, seeking to create the right conditions for everyone to achieve their full potential.
- Rhagori (to exceed; to excel) - we have high aspirations for tertiary education and research in Wales and always set high standards for ourselves to be the best we can be.
Location
Our headquarters is a newly refurbished office in Capital Quarter, Cardiff, specifically designed to meet our needs. We expect this to be the place that most colleagues will use to collaborate, both with each other and with stakeholders.
As we operate across Wales, we also have collaboration and limited office space in Welsh Government offices in Llandudno Junction, Aberystwyth, Swansea and Merthyr Tydfil.
Main purpose of the job
You will support the development and implementation of tertiary education policy relating to areas under the responsibility of the Quality and Continuous Improvement team. This will include liaising with other teams within the Learner Experience directorate, and teams across Medr.
Job description
What you’ll be doing
- Support the team to help deliver its responsibilities regarding quality and continuous improvement, to ensure that tertiary provision meets the needs of learners.
- Contribute to policy development through the drafting of papers, analysis of data, responses and other information, and by recommending new or amended processes and procedures to team leaders.
- Organise and support internal and external meetings.
- Support project development, management and monitoring
- Liaise with stakeholders to contribute to the delivery of the work of the team, including the dissemination of information and guidance.
- Support colleagues to undertake a range of relevant corporate tasks, which may include grant payments, grant monitoring and other tasks regarding finance.
- Other tasks and duties required as commensurate with the grade of the post.
Key challenges you will face
- developing an understanding of the work of the team and the requirements of the Tertiary Education and Research Wales Act 2022;
- supporting all members of the team, including managing different pieces of work to a variety of deadlines;
- producing / proofing high quality text and papers, sometimes to short timescales;
- analysing data and responses, which may include conflicting information;
- developing and maintaining your knowledge across the breadth of the work of the team and the tertiary sector.
About your team
You will be part of the Quality and Continuous improvement team, located in Medr’s Learner Experience Directorate. The team comprises five people and is responsible for ensuring oversight of the quality assurance of tertiary education in line with Medr’s statutory responsibilities and ensuring continuous improvement across tertiary provision.
Your line manager
Nicola Hunt - Senior Quality and Continuous Improvement Manager.
Nicola has worked in tertiary education for twenty years, initially in the higher education sector and more recently at the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales. Her roles have covered a range of areas, including student services, admissions, quality assurance and the student experience.
Person specification
What you will bring
Attributes
- Drive: You take initiative to complete tasks. You take ownership of projects and drive them to successful completion.
- Agile: You respond effectively to changing priorities, can adjust your approach and support others through change.
- Resilient: You adapt effectively to change and persevere to achieve goals in demanding situations.
- Act with Integrity: You act with integrity, consistently aligning your actions with the organisation's values and professional standards.
Experience
- Experience of working in the tertiary sector, ideally supporting projects, initiatives or policy development.
- Experience of delivering high quality outputs with proven organisational skills working to a high level of accuracy.
- Ability to analyse data and/or complex information and communicate it clearly and effectively.
Welsh language requirements
We have undertaken an evaluation of the Welsh language requirements of this post to ensure we are living our values in relation to our Welsh Language.
For this post the Welsh language requirements are:
Desirable levels:
- Reading: Can read some basic words and phrases with understanding
- Spoken: Can hold a basic conversation in Welsh
- Understanding: Can understand parts of a basic conversation
- Written: Can write basic messages on everyday topics
Benefits
We recognise the importance of looking after ourselves in work and in life. Your wellbeing is fundamental to you being your best self so in recognition of this we provide:
- 33 days annual leave a year (pro rata) to give you time to reboot; top up your energy banks and spend time doing the activities you love.
- An environment that embraces work life balance.
- A culture that celebrates diversity and welcomes everyone.
- Dedicated wellbeing time to all our people each week.
- A Cycle to Work Scheme to make owning a bicycle more affordable.
Additional Support when you need it
We know that sometimes you may face challenges or life events that mean you need additional support.
- We provide a comprehensive employee assistance programme with remote access to resources and in person support whenever required.
- We have a special leave policy ensuring everyone in the organisation receives the support they need during difficult times.
More than just a workplace
- We have an active sport, social and wellbeing committee who offer a range of activities for our people to come together outside the work setting. You can participate as much or as little as you want.
- You will be entitled to take 5 days paid leave per year to undertake voluntary work to support the communities we serve.
- We know that the bonds we make in work sometimes go beyond the working day and lead to networks that last for life. We will encourage you to grow your networks across Wales, the UK and internationally.
Personal and professional development
- Once you’re offered a post, we will get to know you and work with you to develop a personalised onboarding plan which considers your experience, skills, learning style and knowledge.
- We’ll help you shape your development plans with personalised career conversations and objectives, taking account of delivery goals alongside your career aspirations and helping you own your career.
- We support all our staff to learn or improve their Welsh language skills.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
We are really interested in you as an individual and what you will bring to our organisation.
Our blended assessment process is designed to help us get to know you better enabling us to appoint someone who will thrive in the role and who shares our organisational values.
If you are interested in working with us, please send us your application through Civil Service Jobs.
You will need to include a personal statement demonstrating how you meet the essential requirements for the post.
To be fair to everyone who applies, we won’t accept:
- Late applications
- Applications with missing or incomplete information
- Personal statements over 1,250 words
The deadline for application submission is 22 October 2024.
There will be 2 assessment stages for this recruitment campaign - a sift and an interview. A desk-based exercise will be required as part of the interview process.
The following attributes and experience will be assessed at sift and interview stage:
Attributes
- Drive: You take initiative to complete tasks. You take ownership of projects and drive them to successful completion.
- Agile: You respond effectively to changing priorities, can adjust your approach and support others through change.
Experience
- Experience of working in the tertiary sector, ideally supporting projects, initiatives or policy development.
- Experience of delivering high quality outputs with proven organisational skills working to a high level of accuracy.
- Ability to analyse data and/or complex information and communicate it clearly and effectively.
The initial sift will take place on 31 October 2024.
Candidates who successfully navigate the sift stage will be required to complete an online exercise to enable us to determine their behavioural and personality preferences. Immediately on completion you will be given a report which highlights your strengths plus some development tips to help you prepare for interview. Candidates should note that the online exercise is not intended to eliminate anyone from consideration. Instead, it serves as a tool to aid in the decision-making process.
Following this, you will be required to participate in an interview and a desk-based exercise, both of which will be conducted at our headquarters on 12 November 2024.
The following attributes will also be assessed at interview:
- Resilient: You adapt effectively to change and persevere to achieve goals in demanding situations.
- Act with Integrity: You act with integrity, consistently aligning your actions with the organisation's values and professional standards.
- The desk-based exercise will use Microsoft Word and Excel to assess your broad skillset. The outcomes of the exercise will inform the decision-making process.
We strive for a diverse and inclusive workplace and we want to help you demonstrate your full potential whatever type of assessment is used. We are happy to discuss any person-centred adjustments required to the recruitment process. Please contact pobl@medr.cymru
We're looking forward to meeting everyone invited to interview at our new headquarters in Capital Quarter, Cardiff. We don’t usually pay travel expenses, but if this presents a real barrier to your attendance in person or if you require a reasonable adjustment, please let us know in advance by emailing pobl@medr.cymru so we can discuss and agree arrangements prior to your interview.
Following interview we are committed to offering constructive and actionable feedback to support you on your future career journey.
Next steps
Interested…? Want to find out more?
We know how important it is for you to find out more about us so we will be holding a virtual information session for candidates on 15 October 2024 at 15:30 on Microsoft Teams.
This will be an opportunity for you to hear more about our organisation; the role and how we invest in our people.
If you would like to attend, register by emailing pobl@medr.cymru.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : People and Culture team
- Email : pobl@medr.cymru
Recruitment team
- Email : pobl@medr.cymru
