John Randall is an independent consultant on higher education and professional training and has carried out assignments for international agencies, government departments, universities and professional bodies in many different parts of the world. He is currently retained as a consultant by the Hong Kong Council on Academic Accreditation.

In addition to his consultancy work, he holds a number of public positions in the United Kingdom. In 2004 he was appointed by the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary to chair the Police Negotiating Board, and the Police Advisory Board for England and Wales. He is also Chair of Skills for Justice, the Sector Skills Council. He is a member of the Legal Services Consultative Panel, a lay member of the Information Tribunal, and a lay assessor for the National Clinical Assessment Authority. He is a member of the Council of the City & Guilds, where he serves on the Executive, International, and Learning & Assessment Policy committees.

From 1997 to 2001, John was Chief Executive of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education and was a member of the Board of the International Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education.

Prior to this, he was Director, Professional Standards and Development, at the Law Society. He served on the National Council for Vocational Qualifications from 1992 to 1997, and chaired the Council's NVQ Policy Committee.

John’s early career was as a trade union official with the (then) Civil Service Union, where he held the post of Deputy General Secretary. After graduation in 1971, he served as President of the National Union of Students. He is a graduate of the University of York, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and holds an honorary Doctorate in Law from the Nottingham Trent University.