25 Oct 2023
As we continue to raise the profile and status of the exams officer role, the NAEO encourages all exams officers to ensure that there is a regular review and negotiation of their salary. As exams officers are not bound by the constraints of a national pay agreement, individuals have the opportunity to negotiate a pay award which reflects their skills and experience, and the role which they perform within their centre.
Within the annual exams officer survey, the NAEO acquires data relating to exams officer salaries across the UK and whilst it is important that exams officers consider the remuneration afforded to their peers, there are a range of additional factors which should be taken into account when negotiating and determining remuneration, including:
- Additional roles and responsibilities
- Comparing to other roles
- Workload
- Skills and stakeholder responsibility
In this article we consider the factors listed above and the information which an exams officer should prepare ahead of any discussion which reviews their salary.
Statistics detailed below are taken from the NAEO’s annual exams officer survey.
National pay levels
Below are the national pay levels as identified in exams officer surveys since 2020:
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2023
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2022
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2021
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2020
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£14,999 or less
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2.6%
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3.0%
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2.8%
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1.6%
|
|
£15,000 - £19,999
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3.8%
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6.3%
|
7.4%
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10.6%
|
|
£20,000 - £24,999
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22.2%
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32.8%
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37.6%
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37.5%
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£25,000 - £29,999
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35%
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33.9%
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32.8%
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30.1%
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£30,000 - £34,999
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24.2%
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17.1%
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14.1%
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14.7%
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£35,000+
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12.1%
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6.9%
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5.2%
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5.5%
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The figures reveal several interesting trends/statistics which exams officers should take into account when negotiating a pay review:
- Exams officer salaries have increased since 2020. This should be highlighted to senior leadership teams to support any case for an increase in pay
- 7 in 10 exams officers earn over £25,000
- 1 in 3 exams officers earn over £30,000
Exams officers should note that the most common salary range is between £25,000 and £29,999, and if an exams officer is receiving less than this amount, this should be the starting point during any discussion over remuneration. Exams officers who are employed in larger schools/colleges where a wide range of qualifications are delivered to a significant number of students, and those who undertake an additional role within their centre, should expect salary negotiations to begin at a level in excess of £30,000.
Additional roles
If you are one of the 54.4% of exams officers who undertakes another role in addition to serving as exams officer at your centre, this should be takien into account during a pay review.
The section on National pay levels above should be used as an indicator when considering salary levels with the higher levels more appropriate for those undertaking an additional role. Ahead of any review meeting, exams officers should research the salary associated with the additional role. The following websites provide average salary checker tools which reveal the payments received for the most common additional roles undertaken by exams officers:
- Reed - Average cover supervisor salary is £25,847
- Indeed - Average salary for a PA to the CEO/Headteacher is £28,742
- Glassdoor - Data Manager salary begins at £33,000
Comparing to other roles
It is important to acquire the professional opinion of your trade/representative association and/or trade unions before entering into any internal negotiations about pay.
The Exams Office website contains a job description and person specification which outlines the tasks undertaken by an exams officer, areas of responsibility and the significance of the role within a school/college. Unison has also identified roles within the education sector which have a similar profile to the exams officer. Exams officers should utilise this job profile matching exercise to identify comparable roles/salaries amongst roles within their centre and upon which salary negotiations could be based.
The UNISON National Joint Council for Local Government Services (NJC) job evaluation scheme has matched the exams officer role profile as ‘Examinations Officer level 2’ with a score of 439 which is comparable to the following roles:
- Finance Level 3 role where an individual provides a full range of finance administrative support to the school/college
- Administration Level 4 role which involves management of the administrative and/or finance function within a school/college
Where a centre uses the NJC role profiles to determine salaries/pay reviews, exams officers should highlight the status of the exams officer role and base negotiations on the NJC role profile and matched profiles.
Vacancies
To acquire comparable salaries, exams officers should view the salaries offered in exams officer vacancies and use this as evidence of salary expectations. Exams officer vacancies can be found on on websites such as:
Number of qualifications and candidates
In some centres, there is still a misunderstanding of the scale of the exams officer role. We are still receiving reports of exams officers being asked ‘what do you when exams are not taking place?’ and ‘You can put your feet up now that there are no exams taking place’.
This lack of understanding not only has a negative impact upon the raising of the profile and status of the role but could also adversely affect any discussions and negotiations over pay.
Therefore, exams officers should stress the significance and scale of the role. This includes highlighting the number of:
- qualifications taken within their centre
- candidates they are dealing with
- exams series during an academic year
- key tasks and deadlines which must be met for each exam series
The financial penalty, impact upon candidates, and malpractice implications of not meeting deadlines should also be emphasised.
Skills and stakeholder engagement (internal and external)
Two areas which must be emphasised during any remuneration discussions are the skills which are required to undertake the exams officer role and the range of stakeholders with whom you are required to deal with on a regular basis.
Skills
An exams officer is required to possess a wide array of skills on an everyday basis to perform their role successfully. These include:
- Time management
- People management
- Contingency planning/risk management
- Prioritising tasks/workload/multitasking
- Problem solving
- Communication skills
- Handling difficult conversations
- Presentation skills
- Managing deadlines
- Working collaboratively
It is imperative that these skills are highlighted with examples given of when they are utilised to perform specific tasks and/or meet key deadlines.
Stakeholders
Exams officers are required to engage with a range of external and internal stakeholders. Apart from the head of centre and members of the senior leadership team, it is unlikely that any other member of staff will engage with external stakeholders which include:
- Department for Education
- Ofqual
- Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ)
- Awarding bodies
- Management Information System provider
- National Association of Examinations Officers
- The Exams Office
…and internal stakeholders which include:
- Head of centre
- Senior leadership team
- Heads of year
- Heads of department
- Head of Special Education Needs/Co-ordinator
- Teaching staff
- Teaching assistants/Learning Support Assistants
- Invigilators
- Site staff
- Reception staff
…and, of course, you will also be dealing with candidates and their parents/carers.
Conclusion
Although salaries have been increasing in recent years, exams officers should still strive to acquire a fair salary which reflects the scale and significance of their role.
Exams officers should take the time to research the areas detailed in this article and gather evidence which should be used during any discussions within their centre. The risks which an exams officer is managing by completing tasks to deadline should be emphasised, as should the pivotal role which exams officers play in enabling candidates to sit their examinations in the best possible conditions in line with JCQ regulations. This supports candidates in achieving their academic potential.
In recent years, with the support of JCQ and the major awarding bodies, the NAEO has made good progress in achieving our aim of raising the profile and status of the exams officer role. However, in the absence of national pay levels, it is the responsibility of individual exams officers to negotiate their salary, and to use this as an opportunity to obtain a salary which reflects the significance of their role and their value to their centre.