Position Overview
The Head of Compliance is responsible for developing, implementing, and overseeing the organisation’s compliance framework across all educational operations. This role ensures that the institution adheres to relevant laws, regulations, accreditation requirements, funding rules, safeguarding standards, and internal policies. The Head of Compliance will act as a strategic advisor to senior leadership, fostering a culture of integrity, accountability, and regulatory excellence.
Key Responsibilities
Regulatory Compliance
* Lead the development and maintenance of a robust compliance strategy aligned with statutory and sector-specific requirements.
* Monitor changes to education-related legislation, regulatory frameworks, and funding rules (e.g., Ofsted, Ofqual, DfE, ESFA, regional or international equivalents).
* Ensure institutional compliance with safeguarding requirements, student data protection (e.g., GDPR), equality legislation, and health & safety obligations.
* Oversee compliance for curriculum delivery, examinations, quality assurance processes, learner records, attendance, and assessment integrity.
Policy & Framework Development
* Develop, implement, and review compliance policies, procedures, and codes of conduct.
* Establish clear processes for risk assessment, audit, incident reporting, and policy governance.
* Provide guidance to departments to ensure policies are consistently understood and applied.
Monitoring, Auditing & Reporting
* Lead internal audit programmes to assess compliance across academic and operational areas.
* Prepare compliance reports for the Board, executive team, regulators, and accreditation bodies.
* Coordinate responses to external audits, inspections, and regulatory reviews.
* Identify non-compliance issues and oversee corrective action plans.