At AQA were committed to advancing education and were committed to our people. As the largest provider of academic qualifications in the UK we mark over 10 million exam papers each year and its our people who make this happen.

Production Planning Administrator

6 Month Fixed Term Contract

Guildford

24550 to 26500

Hybrid Working Available approx. 1 day per week WFH

Imagine being at the heart of a process that helps millions of learners sit their exams with confidence. As a Production Planning Administrator your precision and planning will be part of what makes it all possible. Youll join a friendly focused team thats central to AQAs mission of fairness and reliability.

Youll be part of the Secure Print Operations team helping to manage the final stages of the question paper printing process. Your work will ensure that over 10 million papers are printed and dispatched accurately and on time supporting learners across the country.

Key Responsibilities

In this role youll be responsible for:

• Managing and approving final digital versions of question paper files and coordinating their secure transfer to printers.
• Handling queries from internal teams and external suppliers ensuring smooth communication and resolution.
• Maintaining accurate records of stock levels production progress and archiving hard copies for reference.
• Checking approving and archiving hard copies of question papers.
• Making question paper files available for download.

About You

Youll thrive in this role if youre someone who enjoys working with detail and collaborating with others.

• Strong attention to detail and ability to spot issues in documents.
• Effective communication skills with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to work under pressure and manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Proactive problem-solving and decision-making abilities.
• Team-oriented mindset with a flexible and positive approach.
• IT skills comfortable using Microsoft packages such as Excel.

Whats in It for You

We will give you a great pension which could see up to 18.5% combined contributions 25 days annual leave with Bank Holidays and extra closure days at Christmas on top among other benefits. Over 50% of our roles are recruited from within the company.

AQA is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace where everyone - regardless of religion ethnicity gender identity or expression age disability sexual orientation or background - is valued respected and supported to thrive.

How do I apply

To apply please submit your CV and a cover letter outlining your suitability for the role. The closing date for applications is 23.59 on Sunday 26 October interviews will take place in our Guildford office on 5th and 6th November.

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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

Purpose: As a Production Planning Administrator you will be focusing primarily on the latter stages of the question paper printing process ensuring that the correct question paper documents are progressed and printed ready for dispatch to centres for examinations. This role is key in upholding AQAs high standards for reliability and fairness and making sure they never let a learner down.

Your main responsibilities will primarily revolve around the administration of the final stages of the production process. This will include approving documents and hard copies of exams liaising with internal and external stakeholders to deal with queries and handling data regarding stock levels and production progress. You will also be required to support in making the correct versions of each exam paper available for day of download by centres as well as filing hard copies of question papers into our archive for reference during the exam : Each year there are consistently over question papers printed for over 500 separate components. These are not only standard question papers but also modified versions for candidates who require larger font papers as well as braille and tactile versions. Your role within Secure Print Operations will act as a link between the Assessment Management team who create the question paper files to the external suppliers who produce the hard copy printed versions. Our main job is to ensure the question paper files get to the external printers in time for them to print the papers to get them ready for dispatch to centres. This role is critical in getting question papers ready in time for centres to be ready for exams.

Secure Print Operations works as a small team. As an administrator you will be led by two leads as well as the department manager. You will need to be able to communicate with internal colleagues within Assessment Delivery Assessment Design and Outbound Logistics primarily. Externally we have printer companies braille suppliers CD duplicators and material suppliers that we also communicate with.

Activities:
Checking final passed for press versions of question paper files
Sending checked files to the external printers as well as any other internal colleagues who require them in a secure and prompt fashion
Dealing with queries from internal teams regarding question papers
Checking hard copy versions of question papers
Archiving hard copy versions of question papers
Keeping on top of all administrative requirements in relation to question paper production including updating all data in our spreadsheets moving files securely between locations saving backups of files to name a few
Acquiring data from external suppliers to help monitor stock levels of materials and delivery information and act on the insight required
Creating and updating documents required by internal and external parties which stem from the data we receive through our processes
Supporting in the creation of spreadsheets required by the team to aid our processes
Involved in the management of issues regarding question papers and resolving
Supporting with invoicing where appropriate
Making final versions of all question paper and supplementary files available for day of exam download


To be successful in this role you will need to know:
Attention To Detail to spot any possible issues with the material you will be checking
Initiative to be able to take on tasks that emerge and may not have been part of any previous plans
Effective Communication you will need to be happy talking to stakeholders inside and outside the company in a positive and professional manner to deal with queries
Problem Solving/decision making queries can arise which may require you to find out who needs to solve them or potentially find ways of solving them yourself with support from others
Team working Working alongside others in a co-operative and friendly manner with the collective purpose of achieving the teams goals. Making plans together with the other administrators to understand who will do what tasks within the team to help fulfil our purpose
Working under pressure Our team handle a lot of documents and its possible there maybe multiple queries occurring at the same time as well as different tasks that need juggling. You will need to remain calm so as to better fulfil your tasks in a timely positive and professional manner
Planning and prioritising There may be multiple tasks that you need to look at. You will need to be able to understand what tasks require prioritising and plan to carry out those tasks in an order that makes sense