Independent Member – Qualifications and Assessment Committee (QAC)

Uphold Entry Standards. Challenge Assumptions. Shape the Future of a Global Profession.

Professional qualifications only have value if the standards behind them are trusted.

The Qualifications and Assessment Committee (QAC) of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors exists to ensure that trust is earned and maintained. Across more than 140 countries and diverse educational, cultural and regulatory environments, RICS regulated membership defines what it means to be a competent and ethical professional. The QAC provides the independent oversight and governance that ensures RICS professional qualifications and assessments remain credible, rigorous and globally respected.

RICS is seeking two independent members who bring the expertise, judgement and open mindset to help shape what assessed competence looks like in a rapidly changing world.

Why this role matters

The QAC's remit is broad and far-reaching. It recommends policy and frameworks for professional competence, entry and admission to the profession, and transfer between grades of membership. It oversees assessment standards and methodologies, ensuring they are applied consistently and effectively across global markets. It safeguards education and qualification standards, scrutinising the accreditation of university programmes, post-qualification registers and credentials. And it ensures that everything it does holds up to the highest standards of public interest governance across every jurisdiction in which RICS operates.

That breadth is what makes the role uniquely influential. The Committee does not simply review proposals. It helps shape the future expectations of professional qualifications and improve the assessment process within RICS, not simply assuring their current operation. Artificial intelligence, digital assessment, evolving workforce expectations and new models of professional development are reshaping what competence looks like and how it should be assessed. The QAC will be at the centre of how RICS responds to those shifts.

As Keith Thomas FRICS, QAC Chair, puts it: "The QAC's role is to act as guardians of the entry standards." Not in a passive, procedural sense, but actively asking the difficult questions, pressure-testing the evidence and ensuring that decisions can withstand the most rigorous external scrutiny.

Why now?

Whilst the QAC's oversight spans the full breadth of RICS' qualifications and competence framework, developments in education and assessment, including the RICS-wide Qualifications and Professional Development programme make this a particularly compelling moment to join.

These appointments will not just be oversight roles in a steady-state environment. They will be active, substantive governance contributions during one of the most consequential periods of change in RICS' education and assessments.

How your expertise will be utilised

Independent members of the QAC bring specialist knowledge and independent judgement, helping shape the future direction of professional competence, qualifications and assessment within RICS, not simply assuring current operations.

Your contribution will span scrutiny of professional competence frameworks and entry requirements, oversight of assessment methodologies and the standards applied to assessors, decisions on the accreditation and recognition of education programmes, and the ongoing development of qualification policy that must remain coherent and credible across the globe with differing legal, educational and professional expectations.

You will also help ensure that RICS' qualification frameworks remain future-focused, globally relevant and credible as the profession evolves, without losing the standards that underpin public trust.

Throughout, the expectation is that independent members provide genuine challenge, bringing external perspectives that interrogate established assumptions, defend evidence-based positions under pressure and help the Committee make decisions that are proportionate, defensible and in the public interest.

Who we are looking for

We are making two appointments, each intended to bring distinct expertise to complement the existing Committee. Successful candidates are likely to have built their careers around the governance, quality assurance and credibility of professional standards, qualifications, assessment, accreditation or professional education, including vocational qualifications, apprenticeship standards and end-point assessment frameworks, operating within complex environments where public confidence matters.

Experience in one or more of the following areas will be particularly relevant:

Higher education quality assurance and accreditation: Experience of institutional review, programme accreditation and oversight of academic standards.

Governance and independent oversight: Board or committee-level experience providing independent challenge and assurance within regulated, educational or professional environments, with the confidence to defend evidence-based positions and contribute to collective decision-making.

Assessment methodology and standards: Familiarity with high-stakes professional assessment, with the judgement to provide independent oversight and assurance of its fairness, rigour and consistency.

Experience in professional standards development, education and regulatory law, equality and inclusion in professional pathways, or the governance of qualifications across multiple jurisdictions is also welcomed.

Across both appointments, we are looking for people who bring:

• An open mindset, genuinely willing to question established processes and engage seriously with how professional assessment and competence are evolving
• Resilience and the confidence to defend evidence-based positions under pressure from senior stakeholders
• A global outlook, shaped by experience across multiple jurisdictions, educational traditions or regulatory contexts
• The ability to move between strategic and detailed thinking, engaging seriously with complex material whilst contributing to clear, collective decisions
• A clear commitment to acting in the public interest and to the long-term credibility of professional standards
   

Independent members are appointed from outside the RICS membership. Candidates must not be, and must never have been, members of RICS. Full eligibility criteria are set out in the Candidate Pack.

About the Qualifications and Assessment Committee

The QAC is a permanent sub-committee of the RICS Standards and Regulation Board, operating under delegated authority and reporting to the SRB. It comprises four RICS members and four independent (non-RICS) members, plus a Chartered Member as Chair.

It provides oversight and assurance of professional competence, education and qualification standards, and entry and admission to the profession, ensuring that RICS' assessment framework remains robust, transparent and globally consistent.

Practical details

• Remuneration: £3,400 per annum
• Time commitment: Approximately 10 days per year, including four quarterly meetings and an annual strategy session
• Location: Meetings are primarily virtual, with one in-person meeting per year in London or Birmingham. For members based outside the UK, some international travel may be required.
• Term: Up to three years, with the possibility of reappointment for a second term (six years maximum)
• Closing date: applications close 12:00 (UK time) Friday 24 July 2026
• Interviews: Panel interviews via MS Teams, Wednesday 12 August 2026 and Thursday 13 August 2026.
   

How to apply

To ensure independence during this recruitment process, Michelle Paoloni of House Recruitment is supporting RICS on this appointment.

Submit a copy of your CV and supporting statement to RICS@houserecruitment.co.uk

A full Candidate Pack is available for review here.

Closing date: 12:00 (UK time) Friday 24 July 2026

Equality, diversity and inclusion

RICS is committed to building a Committee that reflects the global profession it serves. The QAC has historically benefited from a diverse membership, including gender balance, individuals from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds and members from a wide range of geographic locations, and we are committed to maintaining and strengthening that diversity.

We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and particularly encourage those currently underrepresented in senior governance roles to apply. Applications are welcomed from candidates based anywhere in the world.

All appointments are made on merit, underpinned by a commitment to fair and inclusive processes throughout.