Job Description
Permanent Full-time
Location: Remote/Agile, UK
Reports to: Director of Product Development
Salary: Circa £65,000
Line management responsibilities: Yes
Overview
About TQUK
Training Qualifications UK, part of the AQA Group, is the fastest-growing Awarding Organisation in the UK and a market-leading Apprenticeship Assessment Organisation. We work with over 500 schools, colleges, universities, and training providers across the world to provide qualification certificates, endorsements, and apprenticeships to over 150,000 learners.
Training Qualifications UK is entering its next phase of growth – and we’re investing in top talent to build what comes next. And what comes next is big. Multiple senior roles. Launched together. One shared future. This isn’t a backfill. It’s a build. We’re looking for exceptional people across qualification development, assessment development, people services and marketing & communications to help define what a market-leading organisation in vocational education and FE really looks like.
About the Head of Product Development role
The Product Development Pillar is responsible for shaping and expanding TQUK’s portfolio of qualifications, endorsed products, and learning resources. It ensures that our offer remains innovative, relevant, and compliant, while meeting the needs of learners, employers, and providers.
We are seeking an experienced and visionary leader to head up our Product Development function. The Head of Product Development will be accountable for the strategic design, review, and management of TQUK’s qualifications, endorsed products, and learning resources, ensuring they support business growth, regulatory compliance, and sector innovation. This role is pivotal in driving stakeholder engagement and positioning TQUK at the forefront of vocational education reform.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead and manage the Product Development team, including Managers, Leads and Developers.
- Lead the Learning Resources team, ensuring the creation and maintenance of high-quality teaching, and learning that support effective delivery of TQUK qualifications and endorsed products.
- Drive stakeholder engagement initiatives, building strong relationships with providers, employers, and sector bodies to inform product development, validate qualification design, and enhance market reach.
- Own and deliver TQUK’s product development strategy, covering qualifications, endorsed products, and learning resources.
- Oversee the design, review, and maintenance of qualifications and endorsed products to ensure they are current, valid, inclusive, and fit for purpose.
- Develop and expand TQUK’s learning resource offer, ensuring materials support effective teaching, learning, and assessment.
- Facilitate collaborative development projects with internal teams and external stakeholders, including Training Providers, Employers, and Sector Bodies.
- Ensure qualifications and endorsed products are mapped to appropriate standards and frameworks, and meet funding eligibility where applicable.
- Monitor and analyse product performance data, including uptake, stakeholder feedback, and market trends, to inform continuous improvement.
- Anticipate and respond to sector reforms, policy changes, and regulatory developments impacting product design.
- Act as a senior representative of TQUK in regulatory communications, consultations, and sector forums.
- Champion innovation and continuous improvement in qualification and product design, delivery, and resource development.
- Manage departmental budgets and resources to deliver projects efficiently and effectively.
- Provide expert advice and guidance on qualification content, endorsed products, and learning resources in response to enquiries, complaints, or regulatory queries.
Cultural and Communication Expectations
- Foster a culture of collaboration, creativity, and psychological safety within the Product Development team.
- Drive and deliver a culture that emphasises continuous improvement, efficiency and value for money, creating psychological safety for others and challenging each other and the status quo.
- Be a cultural architect. Use the non-negotiables to inform all decisions, conversations and actions, influencing others to do the same, holding them to account as required.
- Work closely with other Heads to manage cross-pillar issues, initiatives and incidents, taking full accountability for completion of company objectives.
- Shape strategies and plans which help put into practice and support TQUK’s vision and long term direction taking account of financial and implementation issues.
- Weigh up competing views to generate ways forward which will meet organisational goal.
- Take quick, confident decisions at a strategic level to move things forward.
- Define and integrate clear structures, systems and resources required across the Pillars to promote efficient service delivery, making difficult decisions about allocation of resources as necessary.
- Ensure an in-depth and evolving understanding of the broad range of customer requirements is embedded in TQUK.
- Be an excellent, proactive communicator, prepared to have difficult conversations and communicate or defend unpopular messages company-wide.
- Represent TQUK, speaking credibly and authoritatively on behalf of the Executive Team as required.
- Remain an expert in your own areas of responsibility.
Essential Skills and Experience
- Remain an expert in your own areas of responsibility.
- Proven leadership experience, ideally within an awarding organisation or regulatory environment.
- Strong understanding of qualification development, endorsed product design, learning resource creation, and Ofqual/CCEA regulatory requirements.
- Analytical skills with the ability to interpret complex data and make evidence-based decisions.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage diverse stakeholders.
- Experience leading teams through change and fostering innovative, improvement-focused cultures.
- Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities.
- Knowledge of the vocational education landscape and current sector reforms.
- Please see the full person specification here.
Key Benefits
- 25 days annual leave plus 8 days Bank Holiday (33 in total).
- A further 3 days holiday awarded after long service.
- An extra day off to celebrate your birthday.
- BUPA Private Medical Insurance.
- BUPA Healthcare Cash Plan.
- Life Insurance.
- Income Protection Insurance.
- Annual Loyalty Bonus.
- NEST pension.
- Employer supported volunteering.
* We are an equal opportunities employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Should you require any additional support during the recruitment process due to a disability, please contact us so we can assist you.
