Quality Assurance Officer

Position Summary

The Quality Assurance Officer is responsible for developing, implementing, and monitoring quality assurance frameworks and accreditation readiness activities for Private University. This role uniquely bridges Saudi and U.S. accreditation ecosystems — ensuring compliance with ETEC/NCAAA standards while maintaining alignment with U.S. regional and programmatic accreditation requirements (including AACSB and ABET). ETEC/NCAAA policy materials emphasize primacy of evidence and comprehensive self-study processes covering facilities, finances, services, and administrative processes — not just academics — meaning the QA Officer must build an institution-wide evidence culture from day one.

Key Responsibilities

•       Develop and implement the university's quality assurance framework, policies, and procedures in alignment with ETEC (Education and Training Evaluation Commission) and NCAAA standards.

•       Prepare and maintain institutional and programmatic accreditation documentation, self-study reports, and evidence portfolios for both Saudi and U.S. accreditation bodies.

•       Serve as the institutional expert on the intersection of Saudi accreditation (ETEC/NCAAA) and U.S. regional accreditation requirements.

•       Coordinate with American universities on maintaining compliance with U.S. regional accreditation standards (HLC) and programmatic accreditation requirements (AACSB for business, ABET for engineering and IT).

•       Build a KPI architecture with evidence library, internal audit schedule, and corrective action tracking across all institutional functions.

•       Coordinate cross-functional process documentation: admissions, registrar, student services, facilities, procurement, finance, IT.

•       Design and manage internal quality audits (health checks) for high-risk processes (admissions file integrity, student record accuracy, vendor SLAs, procurement approvals).

•       Support the development of course and program learning outcomes in alignment with the Saudi National Qualifications Framework (NQF).

•       Train faculty and staff on quality assurance expectations, accreditation requirements (Saudi and U.S.), and continuous improvement methodologies.

•       Serve as the institutional liaison with ETEC, NCAAA, MOE, and MOHE on accreditation matters and regulatory submissions; track compliance with licensed scope/title as a risk item.

Year-One Launch Priorities

◆     Establish a primacy of evidence approach in KPI reporting: define indicators, sources, owners, and audit rules for every institutional function.

◆     Create the Year 1 evidence library and document-control taxonomy (policies, SOPs, logs, dashboards).

◆     Run internal audits (health checks) for high-risk processes: admissions file integrity, student record accuracy, vendor SLAs, procurement approvals.

◆     Define an institution-wide corrective action process and verify closure.

◆     Map the university's dual-accreditation requirements: Saudi (ETEC/NCAAA) and U.S. (HLC, AACSB, ABET) with gap analysis and action plan.

Required Qualifications

•       Master's degree in Quality Management, Institutional Effectiveness, Higher Education Administration, or a closely related field.

•       Minimum 5 years of experience in quality assurance, accreditation, or institutional effectiveness in a higher education setting.

•       Demonstrated experience leading or significantly contributing to programmatic accreditation processes with Saudi accrediting bodies (ETEC, NCAAA, or MOE).

•       In-depth knowledge of ETEC and NCAAA standards, the Saudi National Qualifications Framework (NQF), and MOHE quality requirements.

•       Professional proficiency in Arabic and English.

•       Strong analytical, report-writing, and data management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

•       Doctoral degree (PhD or EdD) in a relevant field.

•       Direct experience with U.S. regional accreditation processes (e.g., HLC, SACSCOC, MSCHE, or equivalent).

•       Experience with international programmatic accreditation bodies, particularly AACSB (business) and/or ABET (engineering/IT).

•       Experience establishing QA infrastructure at a newly licensed or startup university in Saudi Arabia.

•       Prior work coordinating accreditation alignment between a Saudi institution and a U.S. partner university.

•       Knowledge of survey tools, institutional research methodologies, and data analysis software.

•       Familiarity with Cintana Education's quality assurance frameworks and international best practices.

Key Competencies & Skills

•       Systematic and detail-oriented approach to documentation and compliance across multiple accreditation frameworks.

•       Strong project management skills for managing concurrent Saudi and U.S. accreditation timelines.

•       Ability to navigate and translate between different accreditation systems, standards, and terminology.

•       Ability to collaborate and influence across academic and administrative units without direct authority.

•       Critical thinking and continuous improvement mindset.

•       Excellent presentation, training facilitation, and stakeholder communication skills.

Special Considerations & Compliance

▸     Bilingual Arabic/English proficiency is required for ETEC/NCAAA documentation, MOHE communications.

▸     ETEC/NCAAA primacy of evidence: The accreditation policy framework requires evidence-based conclusions and comprehensive self-study covering facilities, finances, services, administrative processes, teaching/learning effectiveness, and QA processes. This directly shapes the QA Officer's scope.

▸     Licensed scope/title compliance: ETEC/NCAAA policy materials describe expectations to operate within licensed scope/title — this must be tracked as a compliance risk and evidence item.

▸     Since all academic programs originate from a parent university, the QA Officer must understand how U.S. programmatic accreditation standards (AACSB, ABET) intersect with Saudi quality requirements.

▸     Year 1 is focused on building the QA infrastructure; the officer must be self-driven and capable of establishing systems independently.

▸     May need to attend ETEC, NCAAA, and MOHE workshops, training sessions, and regulatory meetings, as well as engage with U.S. accreditation body representatives.