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.

Recruitment Administrator 

Permanent 

Guildford: £25,250 – £26,725 

Hybrid Working 

Looking to develop your career in recruitment and HR? 

Are you highly organised with a keen eye for detail? 

Do you enjoy coordinating tasks and ensuring processes run smoothly? 

In this fast-paced role, the Recruitment Administrator provides clerical and administrative support across all recruitment activity at AQA. Focused on delivering a best-in-class candidate experience every time, the Recruitment Administrator collaborates with Recruiters, Hiring Managers, Candidates, Suppliers and internal departments to ensure recruitment processes are effective, efficient and well-communicated. 

The team operates in a hybrid working environment, leveraging Workday as their Application Tracking System, Outlook for scheduling interviews, and Teams for effective collaboration and communication. These tools ensure recruitment processes are seamless and well-structured. 

As a member of the Core Recruitment Team, you will support the team in identifying, attracting, and selecting candidates for permanent, fixed-term contract (FTC), and contractor roles—including positions up to the Executive Board and the Board of Trustees. Strong attention to detail is essential, along with the ability to recognise patterns and trends in recruitment data. 

What’s in it for me? 

At AQA we recognise our employees’ contribution and in return we are proud to offer an extensive reward and benefit package. This includes: 

• Access from day one to an incredible pension scheme with employee and employer contributions jointly totalling, up to 18.5%
• 25 days annual leave, rising a day per year for your first five years with Bank Holidays and additional closure days at Christmas.
• AQA work in a smart hybrid way. This team are in the office for a minimum of two days per week or as business dictates, so you will need to live within a commutable distance of the Guildford office.
• You will also benefit from Private Medical Insurance and a Health Care Cash Reward Plan as well a paid volunteering days and newly refurbished office spaces with discounted eateries on the University Campus.

What will I be doing? 

• Managing the central recruitment inbox and responding to queries promptly.
• Coordinating interviews and selection events, including booking rooms and scheduling meetings.
• Maintaining recruitment trackers and producing management reports.
• Supporting the recruitment team during peak periods, which may include assisting with CV sourcing from databases, telephone screenings and supporting with internal only recruitment processes.
• Handling administrative tasks such as processing purchase orders, liaising with suppliers and supporting system improvements.

What do I need to be successful? 

Whilst prior recruitment experience is not required, you will need: 

• Experience in a customer-facing or administrative role.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Excellent attention to detail and ability to follow processes accurately.
• A proactive approach with a willingness to improve existing processes.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Outlook and Word.
• Experience with databases or application tracking systems is beneficial but not necessary.
• An interest in HR or recruitment with a desire to develop in this field.

What do I do next? 

Read the full job description, then upload your most recent CV along with a cover letter explaining why your skills and experience make you the perfect fit for this role. 

You could wait until applications close at 23:59 on Wednesday 26th March to apply, but we will be interviewing as applications come in and reserve the right to close the advert early should we find the right person, so apply today. 

Interviews will be held in our Guildford office week beginning 31st March and 7th April.

All applications will receive a written response. 

AQA is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace where everyone—regardless of religion, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, age, disability, sexual orientation, or background—is valued, respected, and supported to thrive. 

#CRE23 

Recruitment Agencies

We have a preferred supplier list (PSL) in place.

Unsolicited CVs will be treated as a gift. We will not be subject to or liable under your terms and conditions for agency fees.

Full Job Description

Summary

To provide clerical and administrative support to the relevant recruitment team ensuring every candidate has a positive experience of the AQA brand.Key responsibilities

Organise and support the work of the recruitment team associated with any of the following:

candidate applications

new starter documentation

interview and assessment of candidates

management information and reporting

recruitment fairs and promotional activity

first-line support for candidate and hiring manager telephone and email enquiries.

Provide primary administration support to the Resourcing Consultant and Advisors, including the tracking of candidate applications, dealing with queries, processing applications and supporting the end to end application process, including collating and scanning right to work documents. Assist with placing of advertisements on job boards, updating web and hub recruitment content, liaising with external suppliers, advising when credits are running low on job boards. Organise and set up of virtual and face to face interview rooms and assessments for interviewees, meet and greet candidates on arrival / oversee the smooth running of virtual interviews and log and record assessment and interview documentation. Produce statistics on campaign conversion rates, applicant volumes and conversion ratios and maintain a suite of reports to assist with the planning and evaluation of recruitment activity. Produce department planners, visio planners of resourcing activities and daily updates on the recruitment white board for recruitment activity. Assist with the production of procedure guidance files, templates, PowerPoint presentations to support the recruitment team and formatting of all documentation to ensure brand compliance. Assist with the administration of recruitment fairs, events and promotional activities supporting the talent attraction for internal recruitment. Set up, maintain and update records and management information electronically, where possible, using the appropriate systems (Workday, HUB). Provide support for the recruitment team, including arrangements for travel, meetings and other administrative activities. Support the wider People Group in line with flexible working arrangements, as required. Plan, prioritise and carry out all tasks methodically, keeping accurate and up-to-date electronic records and files. Work unsupervised and take initiative in taking tasks forward, wherever possible and appropriate. Work collaboratively with colleagues within the recruitment team and in other departments across all AQA offices. Deliver a high level of professional customer service in response to all requests or queries from internal and external customers and those arising from recruitment. Take responsibility for your own continuous professional development to meet existing and future business needs. To travel to other AQA sites, sometimes necessitating overnight stays, as required.

General responsibilities

To comply with all AQA’s policies and other legislative requirements, including but not limited to HSE, GDPR and Equal Opportunities and ISMS. Where business needs change, to undertake other responsibilities which are of a commensurate level outside the terms of this role profile.

Acountabilities

Key performance indicators

Contribution to and successful delivery of People and Resourcing Strategies and plans for the organisation.

Delivery against daily and weekly administration targets as defined in the business plan

Meeting and exceeding expectations of hiring manager.

All correspondence and associated documentation is correct, compliant and accurate and issued within the agreed timelines.

Effective working relationship with key internal stakeholders

The provision of timely and comprehensive management information which supports decision making

Decision making

Ability to change and evolve processes to meet the demands of the recruitment team

Maintaining confidentiality

Seeks opportunities to change business processes and improve resourcing activity

Complexity

Proactive with the ability to adapt to deliver the highest levels of candidate care.

Interprets situations and maintains high levels of empathy and professionalism

Provide reliable management information and reports to senior stakeholders across AQA

Works under pressure to deliver high volumes of recruitment

Number of employees managed: Direct reports: 0 Indirect reports: 0

Key relationships

Key internal relationships

All business units across AQA

Colleagues in the People Group

New employees/workers

People Services Team

Hiring Managers

Key external relationships

Candidates

Job boards suppliers

Schools and colleges

Teaching community

Recruitment agencies and head hunters

Knowledge

Assessment

A/I Knowledge of administrative practices and procedures, ideally related to recruitment

A/I Good working knowledge of IT systems and all Microsoft Office applications

Qualification

A Good standard of general qualifications including GCSE A* – C in Maths and English

Skills

A.I/P Strong skills in attention to detail

A/I/P Effective communication skills, both oral and written

A/I/P Positive and solution orientated attitude

A/I Ability to develop effective working relationships within the team and more widely

A/I/P Works to tight deadlines and prioritises a variety of work demands, often under pressure

A/I Proactive and works independently

I/P Builds positive customer relationships

I/P Able to maintain strict confidentiality

I/P Learns and improves, building on feedback and experience

I/P Sound and accurate data inputting skills

A/I/T/P Strong IT skills in Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and main computing systems

Leadership skills

I/P Ability to resolve problems and adapt to change

I/P Maintain constructive links with other teams and work collaboratively to deliver targets

I/P Receive feedback and learn from mistakes for continuous self-development

Experience

A/I Experience of office procedures and practices ideally in a HR/training context

A/I Experience of a recruitment or HR based system

AQA’s Behaviour Framework which is assessed through the selection/probation process

Assessment key (criteria to be assessed at the selection stage)

A – application (it is essential to provide evidence on application for shortlisting purposes)

I – interview

T – test (or work sample)

P – probation

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