Qualifications Committee - Vacancy for Deputy Chair

The British Psychological Society is seeking to appoint a Chartered member to act as Deputy Chair of the Qualifications Committee (QC). The successful candidate will take over the role immediately.

The role of Deputy Chair of the Qualifications Committee involves supporting the Chair of the Qualifications Committee in all activities pertaining to quality assurance and oversight of the society's qualifications.

The holder of this voluntary post will be required to act on the Chair's behalf as needed to chair meetings, facilitate discussions and represent the Committee and society qualifications at relevant meetings and events.

Role Profile

The remit of QC is to oversee the society's Qualification Leadership Teams as follows:

to oversee and maintain Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) approval of all society qualifications
to review and monitor the delivery of qualifications to ensure that the required standards are maintained
to develop and issue appropriate guidance and support for candidates
to propose changes in policy/regulations as appropriate
to monitor the quality of all existing provision

The role of the Deputy Chair involves:

To chair meetings of the Committee in the absence of the Chair and ensure equitable debate on all matters
To support the Qualification Manager in investigating complaints in line with the society's Complaints Policy and to monitor complaints reported to the Qualifications Office
To attend and contribute to the Membership and Standards Board meetings and other committees /working parties on behalf of the Chair of the Committee
To sit on and contribute to panels convened on an ad hoc basis to consider issues which may arise with regard to enrolment on one of the society's qualifications
To support the Chair of the Committee in ensuring Qualifications Boards' compliance with the regulatory bodies' standards (e.g. HCPC) and BPS accreditation standards as well as the Boards' active participation in required activities
To review the Annual Monitoring Reports to the HCPC and other quality assurance mechanisms and activities and to ensure that appropriate action is taken on issues raised by the Qualifications Boards
To lead on the development of robust quality assurance processes for the society qualifications
To set direction to individual Qualifications Boards in relation to quality assurance Membership and Standards Board Qualifications Committee
To ensure that the Committee holds Qualifications Boards to account on all matters relating to quality assurance, candidate data and outcomes, Board performance and complaints against the qualifications
To approve correspondence and appointments between meetings where necessary

Person Specification

To qualify for the role, the successful candidate must have:

Significant experience as a Chartered psychologist, Full membership of one of the divisions of psychology and registration with the HCPC
Knowledge and understanding of the society's qualifications, including enrolment and assessment
Experience of assessing at a postgraduate level in psychology
Knowledge and experience of quality assurance processes for competence-based qualifications Experience of chairing a board, committee
Experience of work involving maintaining standards on behalf of an organisation
Experience of maintaining high standards on a postgraduate training programme

And possess the following personal qualities:

Consultative leadership style
Willingness to embrace and positively respond to change
Commitment to maintaining high standards
Ability to make and stand by decisions that may prove to be contentious
Ability to withstand pressure
Excellent communication skills
Excellent organisational skills
Excellent facilitation and mediation skills

Meeting Schedule

QC usually meet up to five times during the year.

Attendance at other meetings, to represent QC may also be required.

It is estimated that this commitment will be approximately 7 days a year, including any face-to-face meetings.

How to apply

The deadline for submission of statement of interest forms is Friday 6 December.

Submit a statement of interest

The appointment will be fixed term and cover a period of three years, there is an option for the tenure to be extended by a further three years (maximum) if this is desired.

Please note that this is a pro bono role.

For further information, please contact [email protected]

Interested parties are welcome to contact the Director of Research, Education and Practice for an informal discussion please contact Research, Education and Practice Admin Team [email protected] to arrange a meeting.