Qualification Support Assistant

Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

Length of contract
July 2027

About the Organisation

Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) is the UK's chartered professional body dedicated to educating, developing and regulating actuaries based both in the UK and internationally.  The IFoA regulates and represents over 34,000 members worldwide, overseeing their actuarial education at all stages of qualification and development throughout their careers. We set examinations, continuing professional development, professional codes and disciplinary standards for our members. 

About the role

We are currently recruiting a Qualification Support Assistant. This role is to support users of the IFoA’s qualification processes, predominantly members, non-members, employers and self-employed contractors. There are over 15,000 learners who are registered to sit the assessments relating to the IFoA qualifications. There are 26 assessments which run twice a year (in April and September) plus a further 3 assessments which can be sat throughout the year relating to the IFoA qualifications.

All these assessments must be added accurately onto the exam platforms in sufficient time for the assessment to take place on the agreed date. Supporting 40+ exam centres, each requiring a secure file platform to allow for transfer of data, which includes over 400 attendance registers, which are manually collated.

The role will have responsibility for the accuracy of the assessment material and data entered onto the internal and external platforms, working with external suppliers and IFoA colleagues to deliver all key assessment processes within the agreed dates. There are over 400 external examiners and markers who support this work whom the post holder will be engaging with.

Responsibilities

Principal Accountabilities:

• Providing multi-channel first-line support to both centres and individual candidates sitting remotely on the exam days, including by phone, Teams and email.
• Effective management of key inbox traffic which is essential to maintaining a smooth communication flow, prioritising critical tasks, and ensuring timely responses to both internal and external stakeholders. The two key inboxes receive high volumes of messages from candidates, employers, other Actuarial Associations, markers, and examiners as well as internal colleagues such as the Member Services team that range from urgent action items to routine updates. The traffic to these inboxes has more than trebled as the move to exam centres has increased the overall number of queries and increased the complexity of Access Arrangements, Mitigating Circumstances and Appeals which need to be managed efficiently within tight deadlines. 
• Supporting the exam centres that all need a secure file platform to allow for transfer of data, which includes the manually collated attendance registers.  Support is needed to ensure that each centre has the correct imagery set up and the correct data sets for the different exams. Whilst the exams are running, there is a need to support centre incidents and reconcile the data received from each centre after the exam.
• Detecting and reporting breaches of examination regulations through reviewing video recordings and other documentation for candidates sitting the examinations online or other instances where a candidate may have breached the rules in a centre. These breaches may include cheating, plagiarism, use of unauthorised materials, impersonation, or other forms of misconduct during an assessment. If a concern is raised and substantiated, then there needs to be evidence collection, notifying the candidate, receiving any response, and preparing cases for the Panel to review before notifying the candidate of any outcome of the panel meeting. 
• Effective support of the self-employed contractors setting up secure file transfers, ensuring documents are accurately moved at key times, setting up marking meetings and formatting examiner reports which aid candidates in their revision.
• To administer the CERA seminars, professionalism courses, CB3 (Business Management) and exam counselling.

Skills, Competencies, Experience & Attributes

Knowledge & Experience Essential:

• Excellent attention to detail and able to maintain high levels of accuracy
• Excellent customer care skills including sensitivity to the needs of the customer 
• Confident phone manner
• Effective communication skills
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision and as part of a team.
• Must organise own workload and take responsibility/ownership 
• Strong IT skills 
• Ability to multitask and prioritise.
• Integrity, discretion and diplomacy in the handling of confidential and sensitive information

Desirable:

• Experience within a professional body or higher education provider
• Working with volunteers

Conditions of employment

• Applicants must have the right to work in the UK.

Working locations

• Hybrid model, working in the Oxfordshire office and remotely
• You will be in the hub 1 or 2 days per week, with daily attendance during exam periods in April and September. 

How to apply

• Please email the HR Team if you require:
  • Any information regarding our vacancies in an alternative format
  • Any adjustments to support you to fully participate in any part of the application and recruitment process
• To apply, please send a CV and cover letter to [email protected] by the closing date of 31st July 2026.
• This vacancy may close early if we receive a high volume of applications, so please submit your application as soon as possible.
• Any information shared will be used only to enable us to make reasonable adjustments to support candidates to participate in the recruitment process. It will not inform selection decisions.
  You can reach us at [email protected].

Interviews

• Interviews will take place in the week commencing 10th August 2026.

Policies

The IFoA encourages applicants from a variety of backgrounds and levels of experience and welcomes diversity with regard not only to protected characteristics but also to diversity of thought. Diversity, equity and inclusion are more than just words for us. That’s why we are committed to creating a culture where everyone feels included and respected, and where no one is unfairly discriminated against.

Consequently, we promote diversity, equity and inclusion in all our policies, practices and procedures, and actively encourage applications from a diverse range of potential candidates. All applications for our roles are considered on merit alone, and if you don’t meet all the criteria but believe you have something to offer, we want to hear from you. For more information on our commitments, please see our DEI strategy page. 

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