Apprenticeship - Customer Service Practitioner - End Point Assessor (New)

This job is closed and is displayed for reference only. 

Reference:IEA/EPA/CSP 

Closing date:14 July 2023 at midnight 

Job description: 
 
Independent end-point assessor for Customer Service Practitioner (Level 2) End Point Assessments - 
Recruiting for locations: Norfolk, Gloucestershire, Essex, East Midlands & The North East only.
 
About Pearson
 
Pearson is the world's leading learning company, with 35,000 employees in more than 70 countries working to help people of all ages to make measurable progress in their lives through learning. We put the apprentice at the centre of everything we do, because wherever learning flourishes, so do people. Find out more about how we can help you and your learners at qualifications.pearson.com

Overview of the independent end-point assessor role
 
The UK Government has introduced a requirement that all apprenticeships contain an end-point assessment (EPA) which is a holistic assessment of the Knowledge, Skills and Behaviour (KSBs) that have been learnt throughout the apprenticeship. This is to make sure that apprentices meet the rigorous standard set by employers and are fully competent in the relevant occupation. Pearson must provide employers with the confidence that completing an apprenticeship means an individual is fully job-ready and that all apprentices, following the same standard, are assessed consistently, regardless of where they are undertaking their apprenticeship or who they are doing it with.
 
An independent EPA means that those making a decision on the competency of the apprentice have nothing to gain from the outcome of the assessment. To maintain independence within the scope of this EPA, an independent end-point assessor (IEA) can only undertake end-point assessments of apprentices, with whom they have no conflict of interest. This means he/she must be independent of the registered apprenticeship training provider at which the apprentice completed their on-programme element, and must not have been involved in the on-programme training, assessment, or line management of such apprentices.
 
The end-point assessments will be conducted onsite, on dates agreed with employers. Independent end-point assessors will record and submit the EPA outcomes, with clear justifications for the grading decisions. EPA activities will be quality assured by Pearson quality assurance representatives.
 
IEAs will meet the occupational profile of the apprentices they are assessing and will be trained, standardised and approved to operate as IEAs. The IEAs will undertake EPAs in line with the associated apprenticeship assessment plan and the materials provided by Pearson. Please see the below Key Accountabilities and Person Specification sections for further details.

Key Accountabilities:
 
The independent end-point assessor will:
 
● Take part in regular training and standardisation activities, associated with the role of  independent end-point assessor for this EPA
● Maintain and provide evidence of ongoing, relevant Continuous Professional  Development (CPD)
● Assess the performance of candidates in accordance with published assessment and grading criteria and procedures, ensuring overall standards are maintained
● Follow the protocols set out in Pearson’s specifications, assessment materials and quality
assurance protocols, relating to the EPAs
● Maintain service-level agreements with regards to responding to EPA planning, operational activities, reports and submissions of assessment outcomes
● Report all risks and issues encountered during the end-point assessment to Pearson, including any suspected malpractice/maladministration
● Ensure all EPA reports and assessment evidence are high quality and recorded accurately
● Support Pearson, if necessary, with any appeals from apprentices, regarding assessment
decisions
● Allow additional time for travel, when making EPA arrangements
● Raise any conflicts of interest, including in relation to the independence of assessment
● Ensure that any personal actions are completed, as required by Pearson
● Contribute to the continuous improvement of Pearson’s end-point assessment activities
● Contribute to the external quality assurance activities undertaken by Ofqual.

Person Specification
 
Occupational Profile :
 
The role of a customer service practitioner is to deliver high-quality products and services to the customers of their organisation. The core responsibility is to provide a high-quality service to customers which will be delivered from the workplace, digitally, or through going out into the customer’s own locality. These may be one-off or routine contacts and include dealing with orders, payments, offering advice, guidance and support, meet-and-greet, sales, fixing problems, aftercare, service recovery or gaining insight through measuring customer satisfaction. A customer service practitioner may be the first point of contact and work in any sector or organisation type.
 
The actions of a customer service practitioner will influence the customer experience and their satisfaction with an organisation. They demonstrate excellent customer service skills and behaviours as well as product and/or service knowledge when delivering to customers. Customer service practitioners provide service in line with the organisation’s customer service standards and strategy and within appropriate regulatory requirements. Customer interactions may cover a wide range of situations and can include face-to-face, telephone, post, email, text and social media.

Background and Experience (essential):
 
● Evidence of assessing staff or learner competence, at the level or above of the EPA
● Hold or be working towards an assessor qualification (e.g. A1, TAQA etc)
● Experience of leading meetings/structured interviews/discussions
● Current experience of working within a frontline role related to delivering service related
functions directly to customers (for a minimum of two years)
● Current experience of working within a customer service role in a range of settings/environments (for a minimum of two years)
● Evidence of commitment to maintaining CPD, in line with the EPA specialism
● Experience of complying with quality assurance/regulatory requirements
 
Background and Experience (desirable):
 
● Hold or be working towards an internal quality assurance qualification
● Experience of working in both a customer-facing and non-customer facing role when delivering customer service
● Experience of working in more than one industry/sector
● Hold an appropriate customer service qualification at level 2/3 (or higher)
● Experience of making grading judgements
● Recent DBS
● Knowledge of Prevent & safeguarding

Skills & Knowledge (Essential)
 
● Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal skills, including the ability to effectively respond to conflicts
● Ability to understand and respond to the individual needs and circumstances of
employers/apprentices
● Sufficient and relevant technical knowledge of:
● customer service legislation and regulatory frameworks
● systems, technology, tools and processes used to measure and evaluate customer service performance
● In-depth knowledge of the associated apprenticeship standard, assessment plan, specification, assessment instruments and recording tools
● Ability to assess, free from bias
● Ability to assess and report risks
● Ability to meet deadlines

Other requirements
 
Any applicant undertaking this role will be expected to:
● Have personal IT equipment capable of running Pearson required software
● Have a suitable broadband connection, microphone, headphones and a webcam
● Have a personal and secure email account
● Have a postal address in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey Isle of Man
● Have the right to work in the UK

Application Information

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