Head of the Academic Quality Service (Maternity Cover)

The University

At Durham University we are proud of our people. A globally outstanding centre of educational excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, a unique and historic setting - Durham is a university like no other. We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things professionally and personally. Across the University we have a huge variety of roles and career opportunities, which together make us a large and successful community, which is a key hub of activity within our region and nationally. We would be thrilled if you would consider joining our thriving University. Further information about the University can be found here

The Department and Role

The University offers an education that is challenging, difficult, enabling and transformative. The Academic Quality Service supports this offering.

Reporting to the Deputy Academic Registrar (Quality Assurance and Academic Services), the Head of the Academic Quality Service provides leadership for the University's quality assurance and related functions, and leads a team of 20 staff. In this role, you will be responsible for the support of the University's Education Committee (and its sub-committees), running and analysing Durham's student surveys, managing student appeals and academic misconduct processes, and overseeing the development and maintenance of new programmes, apprenticeship and educational partnerships (including the national Common Awards partnership, working with the Church of England and Theological Educational Institute (TEIs) partners across England, Scotland and Wales).

Researching, preparing and writing detailed evidence-based reports, you will advise committees (e.g, Education Committee) and senior leaders (e.g. Pro-Vice-Chancellor Education, Academic Registrar) within the institution. You will oversee the internal regulation of education, and be responsible for external engagement with key regulatory bodies as they relate to the oversight of education, and for the University's response to external review (QAA, TEF etc).

The Academic Quality Service is part of the Student & Academic Services Directorate. The Directorate provides a professional administrative support service to staff, students and potential students of Durham University. The Directorate - which also includes Student Registry, Student Immigration and Funding, and Student Recruitment and Admissions - sits within the Education Division, alongside the Careers and Enterprise Service and the Durham Centre for Academic Development (DCAD). The Education Division is led by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor Education

All of the services are based at the Palatine Centre in Durham City.

This role is available as maternity cover until 30 January 2026.

Further information about the role and responsibilities is at the bottom of this job description.

Working at Durham

A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University: you will also receive access to the following fantastic benefits:

- 30 Days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year - a total of 42 days per year.

- The University closes between Christmas and New Year - please include or delete if not applicable.

- We offer a generous pension scheme, as a new member of staff you will be automatically enrolled into this University Superannuation Scheme (USS).

- No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered. We have ample parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies.

- There is a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally. There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University. All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities.

- Lots of support for health and wellbeing including discounted membership for our state of the art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.

- On site nursery is available and access to holiday camps for children aged 5-16 throughout the year.

- Family friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, which are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).

- The opportunity to take part in staff volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community

- Discounts are available via our benefits portal including; money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, the cinema and days out at various attractions.

- A salary sacrifice scheme is also available to help you take advantage of tax savings on benefits.

- If you are moving to Durham, we can help with removal costs and we have a dedicated team who can help you with the practicalities such as house hunting and schools. If you need a visa, we cover most visa costs and offer an interest free loan scheme to pay for dependant visas.

Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion

Our collective aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work. As a University equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key part of the University's Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It's important to us that all of our colleagues are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI.

We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. If you have taken time out of your career, and you feel it relevant, let us know about it in your application. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.