Senior Marker - External Assessment

A Senior Marker is responsible for supporting the Principal Assessor in maintaining national standards for the qualifications within their remit. All tasks associated with the quality assurance of externally assessed components of Course assessments must be carried out within the conditions, timescales and arrangements set by SQA.

The primary role is to support the Principal Assessor to ensure that national standards are being consistently applied and maintained.

These activities will be under the direction of the Principal Assessor and staff from SQA's Qualification Development and Operations directorates as appropriate. There may be a requirement to undertake duties during weekends and holiday periods in your own time.

A Senior Marker appointment will only be made when there is no Team Leader appointment for that qualification.

Outline of duties

• Support the quality assurance processes in accordance with SQA policy and specification.
• Support activities assigned by the Principal Assessor and ensure they are concluded within agreed time frames and that resources are used effectively and efficiently to achieve best value.

Selection Criteria

Successful candidates must:

• currently be delivering the Course (or a closely related Course regarded appropriate by SQA) in the subject area and be able to demonstrate excellence in assessing to the national standard.
• have experience in another appointee role demonstrating competence in assessing to the national standard within their subject and level(s).
• be able to communicate professionally, confidently and effectively; work professionally and co-operatively with other appointees and SQA staff.
• have excellent organisational and administrative skills; time management skills, and provide attention to detail.
• have a home computer or laptop with broadband internet connection and a private e-mail address.

Please note

Computer hardware and software specifications minimum requirements for eMarking are as follows:

• Windows
• Window 7 Service Pack 1
• Windows Vista Service Pack 2
• Windows XP Service Pack 3
• 1 GHz processor
• 512 Mb RAM

• Mac OS
• Apple Mac OS X 10.5 or above
• Intel Core™ Duo 1.83Hhz or faster processor
• 512Mb RAM

• Internet Bandwidth (minimum)
• 1 Mbits/s download
• 128 Kbits/s upload

• Screen Resolution
• 1024 x 768

• Adobe Acrobat (for viewing Detailed Marking Instructions)
• Microsoft Silverlight (for scoris assessor)

Key Performance Measures for Senior Marker - External Assessment

Each year, on completion of the duties outlined in the Senior Marker contract specification, the Senior Marker will be measured against the following Key Performance Measures (KPMs) and informed of the outcome in relation to their performance.

• Quality Assure all materials for procedures in accordance with SQA policy and instructions by specified dates.
• Demonstrate behaviours outlined in the Terms and Conditions of Appointment which support SQA's values.