ABCB is the leading Trade Association for Accredited Certification Bodies operating in the United Kingdom. A part-time post of ABCB Chief Executive will be falling vacant at the end of June 2024 and a replacement is being sought. This varied and diverse role presents an exciting opportunity for the right candidate to play a critical leadership role in the UK certification industry.

The Chief Executive is required to represent and promote the interests of the members of the Association within the UK, European and International accreditation and conformity assessment communities. In particular the Chief Executive has to interface with the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), Government, the International Accreditation Forum (IAF), European co-operation for Accreditation (EA) and International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) at a senior level, and attend and influence numerous national, European and international committees.

The new Chief Executive will be able to lead the Association including setting out a clear vision and strategic objectives for membership retention and growth, raising the profile of the association, addressing the opportunities and challenges of digitalisation, co-ordinating initiatives to raise quality and competency standards of members, engage with key stakeholders in the UK and internationally to increase awareness of the value of accredited certification to deliver trust and confidence in the UK Quality Infrastructure.     

Additionally, the Chief Executive provides business and administrative leadership and support to ensure the financial viability and smooth running of the Association.

Terms:

The position is home based and involves travel in the UK and overseas.

Part Time Role: 22.5 hours per week (flexible based on meetings in the UK and internationally). The salary is £50,000 per annum, based on experience.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

Essential:

• A UK citizen or UK resident with a current valid UK work visa
• commercial acumen to enable growth in ABCB membership  
• communication, administration and secretarial skills to facilitate Board and Membership Meetings as well as ongoing communications with ABCB members and stakeholders  
• knowledge and understanding of conformity assessment practices and procedures
• knowledge and understanding of certification standards (for example ISO 9001, ISO 14001)
• knowledge of and experience in the application of conformity assessment standards (for example ISO /IEC 17021, ISO/IEC 17024, ISO/IEC 17065)
• knowledge and understanding of the national, European and international accreditation infrastructure
• knowledge and understanding of national and international standards development procedures
• good communication skills, ability to influence as well as tact and diplomacy

Desirable:

• experience of working in a leadership position for an accredited certification body
• experience of accreditation assessments
• experience of participating in national and/or international standards technical committees

To Apply:

If you are interested in applying for the role please send your CV or contact Steve Bennett at Hinton Recruitment Partners for further details: sb@hintonrp.co.uk

Our celebration culminates with lunch at the House of Commons in June thanks to our celebration partners UKAS, A CubeTIC, Amitivo, Cares, NQA, Advcanced Certification and Hinton Recruitment Partners.

ABCB is proud to continue to actively promote nationally accredited certification and work with government departments, trading standards, purchasers and specifiers, UKAS, IAF and EA and other stakeholders to promote its benefits. 40 years, a proud moment for ABCB and its members.

Services include a free Business Support Helpline, offering ABCB members advice on Employment Law, Health Safety and Commercial Legal matters Commercial Legal covers over 60 topics including commercial contracts, insolvency, data protection, and property law.

Wayne Terry stated, “this new service to members adds yet another truly valuable service to members helping them to manage their business and risk on a day-to-day basis”.

The publication provides a high-level overview of how remote assessment/audit techniques have developed in recent years and applied in different conformity assessment contexts. It also highlights the associated benefits of such techniques along with the challenges and implications for the future. 

Quality Infrastructure is the combination of initiatives, institutions, organizations, activities, and people that help ensure products and services meet customers’ requirements. Conformity assessment is a central part of this important work as it links regulation, industry, and markets. Evidence shows that establishing a Quality Infrastructure can assist a nation in pursuing a development track in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Remote assessments/audits play a crucial role in the context of digital transformation of Quality Infrastructures around the world, with the global disruptions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic having accelerated this process and injected urgency into the adoption of new technologies. where the use of remote assessment techniques to ensure the continuity of conformity assessment and confidence in its outcomes became a strategic imperative.

The need to stay abreast of the latest developments to ensure that no country is left behind in the increasingly digitalized world of conformity assessment makes this publication relevant for developing countries and a wider audience. Pragmatic steps that can be taken to address this need are presented accordingly.

UNIDO remains committed to continuing its support to developing countries, assisting them in overcoming the challenges and making the most of the opportunities posed by the growing use of remote assessment techniques.

Wayne Terry, Chief Executive of ABCB said “we are absolutely delighted to have won this prestigious award, and we thank the Association of Executives and the judging panel for bestowing the award on ABCB. This is truly recognition of the commitment of all of our members in collaborative thinking for the betterment of all certification bodies and the UK quality infrastructure”.

Undoubtedly, during the pandemic the industry responded quickly and moved to remote auditing to ensure business and supply chains could continue. But what will happen once travel restrictions have been lifted, will we go back as we were before, or will we build on the lessons learnt in the past year or so?

With this mind ABCB approached UKAS who agreed to set up a joint task force under their Management Systems Certification Technical Advisory Committee to build upon and adapt the lessons learned into a more normal working environment, defining a framework for the provision of a blended approach to auditing that ensures the same level of confidence in accredited certification, whilst realising a more sustainable and flexible approach to its delivery.

This successful collaboration has produced UKAS TPS 74 – UKAS Guidance on the Use of a Blended Approach to Auditing for Management Systems by Certification Bodies, which has now been published.

Wayne Terry, ABCB Chief Executive said, “TPS 74 is a wonderful example of true collaboration and I want to thank UKAS for their foresight and cooperation and I also want to thank other stakeholders who contributed to this work, particularly IIOC and FCB who’s contributions were valuable to the overall outcome”.