Assurance Officer

As our Assurance Officer, you will be responsible for providing independent oversight to ensure the organisation is operating effectively, compliantly, and in line with internal policies and external regulatory requirements. This includes supporting adherence to frameworks set by bodies such as the Education and Skills Funding Agency and the Office for Students, ensuring that key processes-particularly around funding, data returns, and student eligibility-are accurate, well-documented, and auditable.

The post holder will be involved with planning and conducting assurance reviews across departments, testing controls, identifying risks, and reporting findings to senior leadership. You will work closely with MIS, finance, and curriculum teams to validate data quality (e.g. ILR and HE returns), monitor compliance with funding rules, and ensure readiness for internal and external audits.

Hull College provides high-quality education & training for school leavers & adults, offering a wide range of vocational study programmes, Apprenticeships & degrees.

As one of the largest vocational institutes of its kind in the region, we have one focus - to create careers, not courses. We pride ourselves on this approach & are committed to ensuring our learners acquire the relevant skills, knowledge, attitudes & experience to progress in life, whether that is to seek employment in the industry of their choice or step up to higher education & university.

While dedicated to delivering the very best experiences to our learners, we also extend the same commitment to our staff. We have worked hard to create an environment where all of our staff, no matter what their role, are empowered to inspire & support our vision to create better futures for the people of Hull.

Responsibilities of our Assurance Officer:

Work with the Head of Funding & Compliance to plan & deliver risk-based assurance reviews across all funding streams within all areas of the college
Continually test internal controls to ensure the college policies and processes are robust, compliant and the most appropriate way of working
Validate the accuracy & completeness of ILR data submissions using the relevant reports provided by the DfE
Lead on the college Provider Data Self- Assessment Toolkit (PDSAT) and FRM reports ensuring all reports are appropriately annotated and any risk addressed
Identify, assess, and document risks related to funding, data quality, and compliance
Produce specifical assurance reports (along with findings & suitable recommendations), for each internal assurance review carried out along with appropriate risk ratings in line with the college protocol
Support business areas by tracking outstanding actions to ensure timely resolution to highlighted risk
Support preparation for internal and external audits, including evidence gathering
Provide a monthly overview report to demonstrate actions taken, current known issues and an overview of what work is being done to address funding risk
Work with the Head of Funding & Compliance and the Compliance & Data Teams to maintain & improve college policies and procedures in line with funding related activity
Provide guidance and training to staff across the college on compliance and best practice
Escalate in a timely fashion any significant risks or control related issues to the Head of Funding & Compliance/ WLT
Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives to strengthen systems and controls

5 GCSE's including Maths & English (or equivalent key/functional skills)
Experience of working in an education environment
Experience of working in a Compliance/Assurance/Customer Service role
Knowledge of the funding environment for FE and HE, in particular for capital matters
Understanding of funding rules and mandatory compliance requirements
Ability to travel between all of the College's sites and ability to work flexibly, including evening and weekend work

Desirable:

Level 3 Qualification in a relevant subject
Strong strategic vision for improving and enhancing the student experience within an FE & HE environment

Hull College is committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. All colleagues are expected to contribute to the delivery of their safeguarding strategy and values. In addition, these posts require the colleague to undertake an enhanced disclosure check by the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Please note that this post is subject to regulated activity.

We at Hull College prioritise digital proficiency; all new staff should either be skilled or open to training, looking forward to hearing from you on the last point.