Assessors - UK

We are looking for passionate and experienced optometrists to join our team of more than 150 assessors across the UK. CLiP assessors work closely with the College, supervisors and students to maintain quality standards, and to help students prepare for qualification. Induction training will take place on 17 February 2026 in person at The College of Optometrists offices: 42 Craven Street, London, WC2N 5NG

We are looking for assessors to join us across the UK excluding Manchester and Scotland.

The role of the CLiP assessor is to assess student ability and support the student and supervisor to ensure that the required levels of skills are reached within the set timescales.

The College has developed evidence requirements for all the GOC Learning Outcomes on the Clinical Learning in Practice placement for students. The CLiP assessor will carry out remote and face-to-face visits in order to assess the student’s abilities by observing the student examining patients and looking at other evidence of work-based performance such as the logbook, reviews signed by the supervisor, reflections and patient records.

After each assessment, the CLiP assessor will produce a report indicating which tasks can be signed off on the basis of sufficient and relevant evidence. They will provide feedback on both tasks that were achieved, and those that were not in order to improve the student’s performance.

You must be able to commit to assessing five students per CLiP assessment visit at set assessment windows during the first year (20 students in total). This will be made up of 10 remote visits and 10 face to face visits within specific time frames during the first 12 month period. Assessments take place in the workplace and remotely, so some travel will be required, and you must have reliable broadband access. You will receive a fee of £37.82 per hour, and will be reimbursed for travel expenses.

Experience required

• Assessors must either be an experienced supervisor who has supported at least three pre-registration trainees, with at least one trainee completing the Scheme for Registration within the last three years or have equivalent experience (such as Examining on the Scheme for Registration or Assessing elsewhere, for example).

Assessors must be able to:

• show evidence of continuous professional development, AND
• be a member of The College of Optometrists.

Training and continued support for the role will be provided, and experience in assessment is an advantage. Please note, as CLiP is a new scheme, the learning curve for new assessors is likely to be steep initially.

All assessors are required to attend an initial training day, and then a training day on an annual basis, and are encouraged to attend a local assessor peer meeting during the year. In exceptional circumstances, an assessor may be required to attend additional training sessions. Time for training will be reimbursed.

• Interviews will take place on either 22, 23, 26 or 28 January 2026
• Induction training will take place on 17 February 2026 in person at The College of Optometrists offices: 42 Craven Street, London, WC2N 5NG

The College of Optometrists is the professional body for optometry. It qualifies the profession and delivers the guidance and development to ensure optometrists provide the best possible care. We promote excellence through the College’s affixes, by building the evidence base for optometry, and raising awareness of the profession with the public, commissioners, and healthcare professionals.

The College is committed to providing equal opportunities in offering opportunities for service provision and to avoiding discrimination unlawful or otherwise throughout the service provision relationship. We value the differences that a diverse service provision brings to the services we provide and a culture of inclusion. In support of this we follow a fair engagement process in which providers are selected on the basis of the relevance of skills, competencies and experience to provide services engaged for. We welcome providers from all backgrounds and expect providers to follow our values and EDI polices once engaged.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. If you require a reasonable adjustment to be made to support your application due to a disability or other condition please let us know.

• We act with integrity and transparency
• We listen and we learn
• We demonstrate respect and professionalism
• We achieve high quality
• We champion diversity and inclusion