- Salary
- £95K–£113K
- Hiring from
- United Kingdom
- Work type
- Hybrid
- Posted
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At AQA, we’re committed to advancing education and we’re committed to our people. As the largest provider of academic qualifications in the UK, we mark over 10 million exam papers each year and it’s our people who make this happen.
Head of STEM Product and Innovation
Contract type: Permanent
Location: Manchester / Milton Keynes / London / Guildford
Salary: £95,000–£113,000 South / £92,000–£109,000 North
Working arrangements: Hybrid, with two days per week in an AQA office or offsite with customers and stakeholders
Shape the future of Science and Maths qualifications at a moment when the choices made now could influence millions of learners for years to come.
This is a rare opportunity to take strategic ownership of two nationally significant subject portfolios at a pivotal point of reform. You’ll have the scope to set the vision for Science and Maths, turn ambitious ideas into viable products and shape how world-class qualifications and brilliant teacher support come together to support outstanding Science and Maths education.
You’ll work at the intersection of education, product and commercial strategy, with the visibility to influence decision-making inside AQA and represent your thinking with government, regulators and the wider STEM community. With more than 700,000 learners taking AQA GCSEs in Maths and Science each year, the reach of your decisions is substantial.
In this role, you’ll be responsible for:
- Setting and owning the strategy for the Science and Maths portfolio through qualification reform, with accountability for market share, revenue and profitability.
- Shaping the strategic design of future GCSE and A-level Science and Maths qualifications and the support that helps teachers deliver them well.
- Combining ambitious vision with commercial decision-making, balancing educational quality, customer need, market opportunity and long-term sustainability.
- Impactful, inclusive leadership within your own portfolio and across the organisation.
- Leading product innovation across the portfolio, contributing to cross-organisation thinking in areas such as digital and non-exam assessment.
- Leading and developing a combined Science and Maths Product team eight colleagues through two sector leads.
- Using your credibility and judgement to influence senior stakeholders including the Department for Education, Ofqual, subject associations and the STEM education community.
You’ll thrive in this role if you have:
- The subject credibility with the strategic and commercial judgement to turn ideas into decisions, products and outcomes.
- Significant experience and credibility in secondary Science and Maths.
- Experience leading at a senior strategic level, with evidence of setting direction and making commercially grounded product or portfolio decisions.
- Experience of leading significant change, innovation or product development in assessment, qualifications, educational publishing, EdTech or a comparable education setting.
- The ability to create an ambitious vision, make progress through uncertainty and bring people with you through change.
- Credibility with senior stakeholders and the potential to represent a major education organisation externally. Direct assessment experience and digital assessment experience would be advantageous rather than the only route into the role.
What’s in it for you?
This is a career-defining opportunity to combine strategic and commercial thinking, bold ideas and inclusive leadership with national educational influence.
- The opportunity to shape GCSE and A-level Science and Maths at a pivotal point of reform, influencing qualifications that will be taken by millions of young people over the coming years.
- Real strategic ownership, spanning product direction, commercial performance, innovation, digital development and the future teacher support offer.
- High-profile influence with senior leaders and external stakeholders including the Department for Education, Ofqual and the wider STEM education community.
- The chance to build something new: this is a newly created senior role bringing Science and Maths leadership together and adding a broader innovation remit.
- A 35-hour working week with flexible, hybrid working, 25 days’ annual leave rising to 30 with service, plus additional Christmas closure days.
- A generous pension with combined contributions of up to 18.5% from your first day, alongside BUPA private medical insurance and a healthcare cash plan.
- Wellbeing support, up to five paid volunteering days each year and access to employee networks supporting LGBTQ+, neurodiversity, empowering women, wellbeing, ethnic diversity and interfaith communities.
Diversity and Inclusion Statement
At AQA, we're committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels they belong and can do their best work. We value the different perspectives, experiences and backgrounds our people bring, knowing they strengthen our culture, decision-making and impact. We foster an inclusive environment where everyone is treated with respect, has access to opportunities to grow and contribute, and feels able to be themselves. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and lived experiences.
What’s Next?
If this opportunity feels like the right next step, we’d like to hear from you. Please submit your CV and a cover letter ensuring a clear outline of your motivation and transferable skills against the job description and complete the application questions by 23:59 on 15 November 2026.
The selection process is expected to include two stages, with the final stage being an onsite interview with the intention of reaching an outcome before the end of December 2026.
Further details and confirmed interview dates will be shared with shortlisted candidates.
We welcome applications from teachers who may be subject to a teacher's notice period. If this applies to you, please include details of your notice period and availability in your cover letter.
Successful candidates will be unable to maintain an Associate role with AQA or any other exam board.
#AREF #STEC
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Full Job Description
Summary
Purpose:The Head of STEM and Innovation provides senior strategic leadership for AQA’s Science and Maths portfolio at a critical time of reform. They are fully accountable for the success and long-term sustainability of the Science and Maths product offer, setting its strategic direction and translating organisational and reform strategy into coherent product strategies and portfolio plans. They will bring strategic oversight and coherence to the wider STEM portfolio, working with colleagues across Product. The role also provides senior strategic leadership of innovation in AQA’s GQ Product portfolio, helping to lead cross-business work in areas such as digital, non-exam assessment (NEA) and practical skills.Landscape:
This is a senior leadership role reporting to the Director of Product Management. Science and Maths are among AQA’s most strategically important subjects, and this role brings them together with innovation under a single senior lead. The postholder will lead the Science and Maths Product teams. Direct reports will be Sector Leads for Science and Maths, who in turn manage Product Managers and Resource Managers, making a total team of around eight.
The role will work closely with senior leaders across the business, in particular the Head of Reform Strategy; Heads of Product; the Head of Assessment Research, Technology and Implementation; the Head of Assessment Design & Principles; and colleagues across Commercial, Assessment Design & Principles and Assessment Technology. The postholder will chair the Science and Maths reform working groups and sit on relevant boards or cross-business groups relating to innovation.
The role will be a visible, credible and experienced senior leader in Science and Maths, both internally and externally. They will represent AQA with external stakeholders including DfE, Ofqual, subject associations and the wider STEM education community.
Activities:
• Set and own the strategic direction for AQA’s Science and Maths portfolio through reform, translating organisational and GQ reform strategy into clear, evidence-based subject strategies and plans that defend and grow market share.
• Take full accountability for the success of the Science and Maths portfolios, including market performance, customer satisfaction, and revenue and profitability targets.
• Provide strategic oversight of the wider STEM portfolio, working with other Product colleagues to ensure coherence, share approaches and maximise opportunities across STEM subjects.
• Lead the strategic design of reformed Science and Maths qualifications and support, working with Assessment and other colleagues to ensure reformed qualifications are valid, innovative, inclusive and responsive to evolving educational needs.
• Shape a comprehensive and innovative Science and Maths support offer, working with colleagues across the business and using technology where it adds value.
• Chair the cross-functional Science and Maths reform working groups, bringing together key colleagues from across the business to develop and oversee AQA’s reform strategies in these subjects to achieve organisational objectives.
• Act as the Product strategic lead for innovation across GQ, helping to shape and lead the development of cross-business approaches in areas such as digital, NEA and practical skills.
• Ensure STEM subjects lead the way on innovation, identifying where these subjects can develop and prove new approaches, and building the evidence and business case for wider adoption.
• Draw on market and customer insight, research and policy developments to anticipate change and competitor activity, and ensure strategic decisions are well evidenced.
• Inform and influence strategic decision-making at the most senior levels of the organisation on Science, Maths and innovation, and contribute to cross-cutting reform decisions such as product prioritisation, pricing and target setting.
• Represent AQA as a credible authority on Science, Maths and innovation, building strong relationships with DfE, Ofqual, subject associations and other stakeholders, and influencing policy where appropriate.
• Oversee annual and medium-term product roadmaps across the portfolio, balancing quality, customer needs, commercial viability and stakeholder interests, and manage the portfolio across its full lifecycle.
• Lead Product Management requirements for the portfolio, including pricing, the Product Performance Review cycle, profitability, business cases and budgets, working with Finance on financial targets and pricing policy.
• Working with Commercial colleagues, lead the development of customer value propositions and engagement strategies to achieve customer acquisition and retention targets.
• Oversee the regulatory and compliance aspects of product management for the portfolio.
• Lead, develop and inspire the Science and Maths Product teams, setting clear objectives, building capability and fostering a high-performing, collaborative and innovative culture.
• Act as a senior leader across Product Management as a member of the Product Core Leadership Team, deputising for the Director of Product Management when required.
To be successful in this role, you will need to demonstrate:
Essential Criteria:
· Significant experience and credibility in GCSE and A-level Science and Maths
· Proven ability to provide effective strategic leadership at a senior level in challenging and time-sensitive contexts, including periods of reform or major change
· Experience of leading innovation in assessment, curriculum, pedagogy or educational products and services
· Substantial experience of product and commercial strategy, with a track record of accountability for portfolio performance, revenue and profitability
· Deep knowledge of the education market, customers, competitors and the policy and regulatory context
· Ability to inform strategic decision-making at the highest levels of the organisation and to translate that into plans for implementation
· Proven ability to think innovatively and challenge established thinking, while delivering ideas that are feasible and commercially viable
· Experience of leading change and influencing senior stakeholders, internally and externally, including outside direct line management structures
· Experience of leading and developing teams that include managers, and creating a positive, can-do, results-orientated culture
· Experience of overseeing complex programmes and budgets with demanding internal and external stakeholders
· Credibility and confidence in representing an organisation with government, regulators and sector bodies
· Ability to lead through uncertainty and cut through blockages to decision-making, working with senior colleagues to find effective solutions quickly
Desirable Criteria:
· Significant senior leadership experience in an awarding organisation
· Experience of digital assessment, including a strong understanding of approaches to onscreen assessment of NEA and practical skills
· Significant experience of strategic leadership of educational products or services in a relevant context
About Us
AQA is an independent charity that sets and marks over half of all GCSEs and A-levels in the UK every year. Our purpose is to advance education by helping students and teachers to realise their potential. As part of AQA, you’ll very quickly appreciate the determination and unwavering passion to deliver this goal in everything we do. To help drive these ambitions, AQA invests in the development of its people by offering a range of professional development and learning opportunities leading to over 50% of our permanent roles being filled internally.
Reasonable Adjustments
If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process or in the role, please contact the recruiter named in the vacancy advert or your interview correspondence. They will work with you to ensure the appropriate support is in place and that the process is as accessible and equitable as possible.
If you're unsure who your recruiter is, or can't reach them, contact Faye Harrison (she/her) at fharrison@aqa.org.uk or 07813 724161, and she'll direct you to the right person.
Please note that Faye cannot assist with temporary vacancy enquiries or non-recruitment matters. For temporary vacancies, contact temprecruit@aqa.org.uk.
Smart Working
We’re operating a smart working model. This allows for our colleagues to work from two days a week in one of our offices across England.
Diversity and inclusion
AQA is committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels they belong and can do their best work. We value the different perspectives, experiences and backgrounds our people bring, knowing they strengthen our culture, decision-making and impact. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and lived experiences.
Conflict of Interest
Please note that due to the confidential nature of our work, we are unable to employ people for our temporary roles who are currently a candidate for Key Stage 4 and 5 public examinations.
Safeguarding
AQA is committed to the safeguarding of children and adults at risk. We’re dedicated to reducing the risk of employing or contracting any person intent on abusing their position of trust, along with identifying and responding to any incident of alleged abuse from its employees or associates fairly and swiftly.
For more information on safeguarding at AQA please visit the AQA website here.
Contact
Temporary roles: temprecruit@aqa.org.uk
Permanent and Fixed Term roles: opportunities@aqa.org.uk
