AQA Recruiting
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion lead (ED&I) page is loaded Equality, Diversity and Inclusion lead (ED&I) Apply locations Manchester Milton Keynes time type Full time posted on Posted 3 Days Ago job requisition id R4727 At AQA, we’re committed to advancing education and we’re committed to our people. As the largest provider of academic qualifications in the UK, we mark over seven million GCSEs and A-levels each year and it’s our people who make this happen.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead

Permanent

Manchester: £55,921 – £63,050 / Milton Keynes: £58,227 – £65,650.

Hybrid

Purpose

The purpose of the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Lead role is to drive our organisation towards a more inclusive and equitable future. By drawing on external best practices in ED&I, this role will lead strategic initiatives to position AQA as an equitable and inclusive workplace, resulting in better outcomes for our customers, enhanced employee engagement, and sustainable business performance.

Landscape

This role will report to the Head of Resourcing, Talent and ED&I, and work closely with the Director of People, who is AQA’s sponsor for ED&I for colleagues and associates. The role will work collaboratively with others within and across the organisation, as well as externally, to drive forward our ambitious programme of change.

Repsonsibilities will include:

Thought leadership and benchmarking: stay at the forefront of thought leadership in ED&I and continuously benchmark our practices against industry standards, ensuring our approach remains cutting-edge and value-driven.
ED&I strategy: input to, implement, and refine our ED&I strategy to achieve our goals.
Create and implement an ED&I roadmap to systematically close existing gaps and drive continuous improvement.
Assessment and advice on diversity of AQA people practices: assess and provide guidance on how our people practices can better reflect and support diversity, enhancing the value of our workforce.

Manage the ED&I budget on behalf of the business for investment in significant initiatives that will enable us to achieve our ambitions.
Lead efforts to create an inclusive and diverse organisational culture.
Stakeholder engagement: cultivate relationships with external organizations and community partners aligned with our ED&I goals.
Affinity network acceleration: enable employee-led network groups through the provision of tools, communication, advocacy and resources.
Positive action interventions: collaborate to create interventions that support under-represented groups.
Coach and upskill: coach managers and employees on the value of diversity and inclusion.

ED&I reporting: Prepare regular reports and communicate progress to the leadership team and externally.

To be successful in this role, you will need:

A track record of significant ED&I impact in comparable organisations
Cultural competence
Demonstrates resilience
Stakeholder engagement and influencing
Data and analytics proficiency
Social and economic trends awareness
Leadership
Change management to encourage adoption and behaviour change
Effective communication and storytelling
Project management
Strong external network with ED&I related groups and individuals

What’s in it for you:

At AQA we recognise our employees’ contribution and in return we are proud to offer an extensive reward and benefit package.

This includes:

25 days’ annual leave rising to 30 days with service, plus all Bank Holidays and additional Christmas office closure
Flexible working environment and professional and personal development at your fingertips.
35 hour working week
Excellent contributory pension (6% – 11.5% dependent on employee contribution)
Life assurance, BUPA PMI and Health Cash Plan
Enhanced maternity/paternity scheme

What next?

If the role looks of interest and you would like to apply, please do so by following the link provided.

We are reviewing applications as they come through and reserve the right to close this role early.

Recruitment Agencies

We have a preferred supplier list (PSL) in place.

Unsolicited CVs will be treated as a gift. We will not be subject to or liable under your terms and conditions for agency fees.

Full Job Description Summary

AQA supports a diverse range of teacher and students. To do that effectively we need to ensure that both our products and colleagues fully reflect the communities we serve. This is important to us, that’s why it’s a strand in our strategy. The purpose of the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Lead role is to drive our organisation towards a more inclusive and equitable future. By drawing on external best practices in ED&I, this role will lead strategic initiatives to position AQA as a leader in creating an equitable and inclusive workplace, resulting in better outcomes for our customers, enhancing employee engagement, and our business success.At AQA, we recognize that embracing diversity, fostering inclusion, and ensuring equity are fundamental to unlocking innovation, productivity, reputation, and overall business success. When delivered in an integrated way, ED&I creates value to both organisations and wider society.
We’ve set ambitious Equality, Diversity and Inclusion targets and although we have made progress, that progress has been slower that we would like. Our commitment to ED&I requires a significant shift and our Board of Trustees and Executive team are determined that we will achieve our ED&I ambitions.
We’re investing in this ED&I role so that we can accelerate our progress across our employees, as well as our associates, who are largely teachers involved in the annual setting and marking of our general qualifications. This role is a key influencer in the organisation, working with senior leaders to gain their commitment to initiatives which create long-term value for AQA.

Reporting: This role will report to the Head of Resourcing, Talent and ED&I, and work closely with the Director of People, who is AQA’s sponsor for ED&I for colleagues and associates. The role will work collaboratively with others within and across the organisation to drive forward our ambitious programme of change.

Responsibilities :
Leadership and expertise
Thought leadership and benchmarking: stay at the forefront of thought leadership in ED&I and continuously benchmark our practices against industry standards, ensuring our approach remains cutting-edge and value-driven

ED&I strategy: input to, implement, and refine our ED&I strategy to achieve our goals.

Develop and deliver ED&I roadmap: create and implement an ED&I roadmap to systematically close existing gaps and drive continuous improvement.

Assessment and advice on diversity of AQA people practices: assess and provide guidance on how our people practices can better reflect and support diversity, enhancing the value of our workforce.

Policy enhancement: review and advise on HR policies and procedures to align with best practices and legal requirements.

ED&I product strategy: partner with the ED&I Product Strategy workstream to align with organizational objectives.

Making change happen
Manage the ED&I budget on behalf of the business for investment in significant initiatives that will enable us to achieve our ambitions

Education and training: Develop and deliver ED&I education programs, enhancing broader workforce awareness and understanding.

Cross-functional collaboration: engage with leaders, managers, and employees across all departments to promote understanding and commitment to ED&I initiatives, adding value by fostering a unified and inclusive workplace culture.

Affinity networks: establish and enable new and existing affinity networks to foster a sense of belonging among underrepresented groups, adding value by creating supportive communities

Cultural transformation and change management: Lead efforts to create an inclusive and diverse organisational culture.

Stakeholder engagement: cultivate relationships with external organizations and community partners aligned with our ED&I goals.

Positive action interventions: collaborate to create interventions that support under-represented groups.

Drive devolved accountability into the business: promote accountability for ED&I initiatives across the organization, ensuring that every department and individual contributes to the value-driven ED&I strategy – and feels the consequences of their achievements

Coach and upskill: coach managers and employees on the value of diversity and inclusion.

Reporting and insights
Data analysis: work closely with our People Management Information specialist and with our Reward manager to conduct comprehensive analysis of pay gaps, identifying key drivers and root causes.

ED&I reporting: Prepare regular reports and communicate progress to the leadership team.

To be successful in this role, you will need:
A track record of significant ED&I impact in comparable organisations

Legal and regulatory expertise

Industry and sector understanding

Cultural competence

Data and analytics proficiency

Social and economic trends awareness

Leadership

Change management to encourage adoption and behaviour change

Stakeholder engagement and influencing

Effective communication and storytelling
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Equality, Diversity and Inclusion lead (ED&I) Full Time

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