Director of Education, Training and Examinations

Royal College of Anaesthetists

About the Organisation

Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) is the professional body and registered charity responsible for the specialty of anaesthesia throughout the UK. We work to ensure the highest standards of patient care across anaesthesia, pain medicine and perioperative care. We continue to have a close partnership with the College of Intensive Care Medicine through shared services, working practices and objectives.

Anaesthetists are specialist doctors who have undertaken at least seven years of specialist postgraduate training. Anaesthesia is the largest single hospital specialty in the NHS, and the RCoA is the third largest medical royal college in the UK, with more than 26,000 fellows and members.

Our employees and volunteers deliver a wide-ranging portfolio of education, training, assessment, professional support, advocacy and policy work. We work alongside our members to support them throughout their careers, while representing the interests of our specialties and the patients they care for. Our membership spans different career stages, specialties and professional experiences. Understanding those differences - and responding to them effectively - is central to our future.

We want every fellow and member to feel that the College understands their needs, values their contribution and represents their interests. That means listening carefully, using evidence and insight to inform our decisions and ensuring that our services remain relevant as professional practice and expectations change.

We also have an important external role. We advocate for our members and patients at national level, contributing evidence and expertise to debates about healthcare, medical education, workforce planning and the future of the NHS. We want to remain a leading voice for our specialties while ensuring that our advocacy is grounded in evidence and focused on better outcomes for patients and the public.

The healthcare environment in which our members work is changing rapidly. The Government’s 10 Year Health Plan sets out a vision for healthcare based around three shifts from hospital to community, analogue to digital and sickness to prevention. These changes have significant implications for anaesthesia and perioperative care.

Our members have an important role to play before, during and after surgery. Approaches such as prehabilitation, shared decision-making and early discharge planning can improve patient outcomes and support greater efficiency across the NHS. The move towards more integrated, community-based care, alongside the development of a single patient record, creates opportunities to embed these approaches more widely. At the same time, significant challenges remain. Workforce shortages continue to place pressure on services and professionals.

Our latest workforce census provides important evidence to support our work - from workforce planning through to improving the working lives of anaesthetists and other professionals across our specialties. Our external influence is already delivering results; our work has contributed to additional anaesthetic training places in England and Northern Ireland and influenced new perioperative measures within the Elective Reform Plan. We will continue to use our expertise, evidence and the collective voice of our membership to shape policy and practice.

Royal College of Anaesthetists is at an important moment in its development. At the heart of everything we do is our purpose to ensure patients benefit from the highest possible standards of care in anaesthesia, pain medicine and perioperative care. Our members support patients through some of the most significant and vulnerable moments of their lives. It’s our privilege, as their professional body, to help them grow and develop throughout every stage of their careers and provide the best possible care.

Our 2022–2027 Strategy has provided a clear sense of direction, and we’ve made significant progress in strengthening our voice, services and organisational foundations. As we develop our next strategy, we have an opportunity to think ambitiously about how we serve and engage our members, and mobilise their expertise to improve patient care and shape the future of the NHS.

About the role

The Director of Education, Training and Examinations is a member of the Executive Team and shares responsibility for the leadership, performance and effective stewardship of the College. The postholder provides strategic leadership for the College’s work in education, training, examinations and assessment, continuing professional development and relevant workforce matters.

They will ensure that these activities maintain high professional, regulatory and educational standards, respond to the changing needs of anaesthetists and the wider health service and provide excellent services to members and doctors in Training. This role is responsible for the performance, people, budgets and resources of the Education, Training and Examinations directorate.

Working closely with clinical leaders, volunteers and suppliers, this role will maintain effective relationships with regulators, statutory education bodies and other partners, and develop opportunities to extend the reach, influence and commercial potential of the College’s education, examinations and assessment expertise.

The postholder will lead and oversee governance, regulations and policies for furthering and maintaining professional standards in anaesthesia and associated subspecialty areas. The postholder will also drive innovation in learning and assessment, ensuring our offer remains relevant, effective and responsive to the evolving needs of the profession.

Responsibilities

Executive Leadership:

• Be an active and collaborative member of the Executive Team, contributing to the development and delivery of the College’s strategy and organisational priorities, demonstrating and upholding the principle of collective responsibility for outcomes across the College
• Provide strategic leadership and direction to the Education, Training and Examinations directorate, establishing clear priorities, accountabilities and measures of success
• Provide advice to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Council, Board of Trustees and relevant committees on matters within the portfolio
• Work collaboratively across the College and represent the College externally at senior level

Education, Training and Professional Development:

• Lead the development and delivery of the College’s work in education, training and professional development, maintaining high standards across the UK anaesthetic training programme and supporting anaesthetists throughout their careers
• Oversee the development and maintenance of curricula, credentials and associated educational and assessment frameworks for which the College is responsible
• Ensure robust quality management and assurance of training, curricula and educational standards
• Lead the College’s contribution to anaesthetic workforce strategy and policy, ensuring it is informed by the best evidence on the needs of the UK-wide workforce
• Lead the College’s approach to continuing professional development, lifelong professional learning, registration and revalidation
• Work with colleagues in the Digital, Data and Technology directorate to optimise the
• Lifelong Learning Platform, with a particular focus on content ownership while technology colleagues enhance the platform and functionality
• Oversee and manage the College’s statutory duty to provide external assessors for the Advisory Appointment Committee Consultant appointment process
• Lead the College’s work to develop and oversee Physician Assistants in Anaesthesia
• Maintain effective relationships with trainees, College Tutors, Regional Advisers, Training Programme Directors, Heads of School and other clinical and educational leaders

Examinations and Assessment:

• Lead the development and delivery of the College’s examinations and assessment strategy, including the Fellowship of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (FRCA), Fellowship of the College of Intensive Care Medicine (FCICM), Fellowship of the Faculty of Pain
• Medicine of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (FFPMRCA) and other examinations delivered by the College
• Ensure examinations and assessments are valid, reliable, fair, inclusive and delivered to consistently high standards
• Ensure appropriate arrangements for standard setting, quality assurance, moderation, results, examiner recruitment and technology
• Ensure equality, diversity and inclusion are appropriately embedded in examination and assessment, including through analysis of outcomes and differential attainment
• Oversee examination reviews, appeals and significant incidents and ensure that data and evidence are used to support assurance and continuous improvement
• Develop commercially viable opportunities to extend the reach of the College’s examinations and assessment expertise, including through international delivery, licensing and partnerships

Performance, Finance and Development:

• Take overall accountability for the performance, people, resources and budgets of the directorate
• Establish and monitor appropriate objectives, Key Performance Indicators and measures of quality, impact and user experience
• Ensure effective financial management and value for money
• Identify and manage strategic and operational risks
• Lead continuous improvement and innovation across the directorate, including opportunities to simplify services and make effective use of digital technology, data and insight
• Develop opportunities to grow and diversify sustainable income from examinations, assessment and professional development in the UK and internationally
• Ensure international activity is strategically aligned, proportionate and normally financially self-sustaining, with any College subsidy justified by a clear strategic or charitable benefit

People, Partnerships and Governance:

• Provide visible and inclusive leadership to the directorate, developing senior managers and creating a culture of accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement
• Build effective relationships between employees, clinical leaders, members and volunteers
• Maintain effective relationships with the General Medical Council, statutory education bodies across the four nations, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, other colleges and faculties, NHS organisations and other relevant partners
• Ensure Council, the Board of Trustees and relevant committees receive timely and high-quality advice and assurance
• Ensure effective governance and compliance with legal, regulatory and professional requirements
• Undertake other responsibilities or strategic projects reasonably required by the CEO

Skills, Competencies, Experience & Attributes

Knowledge & Experience:

• Significant senior leadership experience in a complex organisation, with responsibility for people, services and budgets
• Significant experience of leading education, training, examinations, assessment or professional standards
• A strong track record of leading teams and delivering high-quality services, continual improvement and change
• Experience of developing strategy and translating strategic objectives into effective delivery
• Strong understanding of education and assessment principles, including quality assurance and standard setting
• Senior leadership experience within education, assessment, professional standards, healthcare, a membership body, regulator or comparable complex environment
• Understanding of, or ability to rapidly acquire, knowledge of postgraduate medical education and the UK medical training environment
• Experience identifying and delivering opportunities for service improvement, organisational growth, commercial development or new markets
• Strong financial and commercial awareness

Skills & Abilities:

• Excellent judgement, communication and influencing skills, with the credibility to work effectively with senior professional stakeholders, regulators, boards and committees
• Strong analytical capability and the ability to use data and evidence to assess performance and inform decisions
• Ability to balance professional, educational, operational and financial considerations and manage significant risks
• Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and to ensuring fairness in education, training and assessment
• Collaborative, inclusive and values-driven leader who demonstrates integrity, professionalism and sound judgement
• Resilient, adaptable and committed to innovation, continuous improvement and customer excellence

Compensation & Benefits

• 34 days Annual leave
• Probationary Period: 6 months
• Notice Period: 3 months
• Standard Life auto-enrolment of Employer 10% / Employee 5%
• With the option of reducing or increasing contributions to 3%, 4% or 6%, and the College will then automatically contribute double the amount you choose. You may wish to contribute more than 6%, but the College’s contribution is capped at 12%.
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
• Benenden Healthcare
• Annual flu vaccinations
• Annual eye test and glasses allowance
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Weekly wellness hour

Working locations

• Hybrid model, working in the London office and remotely

How to apply

• To make an application, please click on Apply Now, with the following prepared:
  • Your CV (no more than three sides).
  • A supporting statement (no more than two sides) explaining why you think this role is the right move for you and how you meet the knowledge and experience criteria.
• We would also be grateful if you would complete the Equality and Diversity monitoring form as part of the online application process. This form is for monitoring purposes only and is not treated as part of your application.

Interviews

• Starfish will conduct preliminary interviews. The final stage of the process will combine a stakeholder advisory group of team members and Trustees/Council members with a final interview panel focusing on technical competency and alignment with the person specification.
• Preliminary interviews are Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th November 2026
• Final panel interviews are w/c Monday 7th or w/c Monday 14th December 2026

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