Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
Assessment Design Transformation Lead
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The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA)
The IFoA is the UK's chartered professional body dedicated to educating, developing, and regulating actuaries based both in the UK and internationally.
The IFoA regulates and represents over 34,000 members worldwide, overseeing their actuarial education at all stages of qualification and development throughout their careers. We set examinations, continuing professional development, professional codes, and disciplinary standards for our members.
We are currently recruiting an Assessment Design Transformation Lead for a Fixed term contract (30 months)
This role is hybrid, both working from home and in our Oxford hub.
We encourage our colleagues to work flexibly between home and the hub to suit their needs and preferences, in line with our hybrid working policy. Colleagues are able to work their hours flexibly, in line with core business hours and requirements. We also offer formalised flexible working agreements.
The starting salary is £54,055
To apply, please send a CV and cover letter to HRsupport@actuaries.org.uk by the closing date of Friday 7 August
Please note that this vacancy may close early if we receive a high volume of applications, so we’d encourage you to get your application in as soon as possible.
Applicants for this role must have the right to work in the UK.
Purpose of Job
Collaborating with the Head of Education Quality & Standards, lead the design, development, and implementation of new assessments within a revised curriculum. Working closely with the Programme Manager, Business Analyst, internal operation teams, and our volunteer faculty, the post holder will provide subject matter expertise across all phases of the programme, ensuring that assessment design specifications are validated and deliverable.
The post holder will play a pivotal role in shaping future assessment designs, supporting development and testing of sample assessments, overseeing development of question banks and reporting requirements, and ensuring successful migration of current and future assessments to a new delivery system.
The post holder will act as the primary subject matter expert for assessment development and the administrative requirements of implementing the new designs, ensuring that they are valid, inclusive, and meet organisational standards. The role requires a strong blend of assessment expertise, stakeholder engagement, business change leadership, and implementation experience to support the successful delivery and adoption of the new curriculum assessments.
Principal Accountabilities
- As the subject matter expert, advise the faculty and volunteers through an assessment design and development process.
- Working with the Assessment Delivery Transformation Lead, leverage technology opportunities during the design phase to optimise future question development and reporting processes.
- Develop acceptance criteria and implement testing to ensure assessments are valid.
- Work with subject matter experts to develop assessment materials in readiness for transition.
- Participate in the development of documentation and preparatory materials to support candidates during the transition.
- Define the examiner and administrator user journeys, identifying opportunities to improve operational efficiency, assessment integrity, and user experience.
- Develop implementation of a rigorous standard setting approach.
- Support the drafting of readiness reports and decision grade papers.
- Ensure operational processes, procedures, and supporting documentation are developed and transitioned into business-as-usual operations.
- Participate in go-live planning and readiness activities to support successful implementation.
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Essential
Knowledge and Experience
- Significant experience in assessment design and development for professional qualifications or higher education.
- Strong understanding of end-to-end assessment lifecycle processes, including question development, standardisation, marking and grading approaches, and psychometric analysis.
- Experience of working with assessment technology.
- Ability to translate assessment design principles for subject matter experts without an education background.
- Excellent high-level communication skills (verbal and written).
- Strong stakeholder engagement and facilitation skills.
- Experience supporting design testing and validation and operational readiness activities.
- Ability to work flexibly and creatively, with the clarity of vision and drive required to achieve successful change.
Desirable
- Post-graduate assessment or education qualification.
- Experience within a professional membership body.
- Experience of working with volunteers.
Decision-Making and Complexity
The post holder makes recommendations relating to assessment processes, operational readiness, and business requirements, and evaluates complex and competing requirements, balancing candidate experience, assessment integrity, operational efficiency, regulatory requirements, and technical constraints. They identify, assess, and resolve or escalate operational risks, issues, and process challenges, and exercise sound judgement in situations where information may be incomplete, ambiguous, or evolving.
The role influences assessment design and implementation decisions and assesses the operational impact of proposed changes, recommending practical and sustainable solutions. This is a highly complex and strategically important role within a major organisational transformation programme. The post holder will operate in an environment with multiple stakeholders, interdependent workstreams, competing priorities, and significant operational and reputational considerations, requiring an individual who is comfortable working with ambiguity, influencing senior stakeholders, and making informed decisions in a fast-paced and evolving environment.
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As the programme will deliver systems and processes that are critical to the delivery of IFoA assessments, the role carries a high degree of responsibility and visibility. The post holder will play a key role in ensuring the continued integrity, reliability, and quality of the assessment experience for candidates, examiners, and other stakeholders.
Additional Dimensions
- No direct line management responsibility.
- Collaboration with internal teams, external faculty, and senior business leaders and owners, including a responsibility for maintaining organisation/strategic objectives with these stakeholders.
- This role is critical to the successful delivery and adoption of the IFoA's new curriculum and assessment. Acting as the assessment design subject matter expert, the post holder will ensure that organisational standards, operational processes, and candidate needs are centred throughout the change programme.
- Regular travel will be required to support programme activities, stakeholder engagement, and collaboration with colleagues and suppliers, including attendance at in-person meetings and workshops in Oxford, London, or Edinburgh. The post holder should expect to attend the Oxford office approximately once a week.
Alternative format and adjustments
Please Email The HR Team If You Require
- any information regarding our vacancies in an alternative format
- any adjustments to support you to fully participate in any part of the application and recruitment process
Any information shared will be used only to enable us to make reasonable adjustments to support candidates to participate in the recruitment process. It will not inform selection decisions.
You can reach us at HRsupport@actuaries.org.uk.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion
The IFoA encourages applicants from a variety of backgrounds and experience and welcomes diversity with regard not only to protected characteristics but also diversity of thought. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are more than just words for us. That’s why we are committed to creating a culture where everyone feels included and respected, and where no one is unfairly discriminated against. Consequently, we promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in all our policies, practices, and procedures, and actively encourage applications from a diverse range of potential candidates. All applications for our roles are considered on merit alone, and if you don’t meet all the criteria but believe you have something to offer, we want to hear from you. For more information on our commitments, please see our DEI strategy page.
Read more about working for the IFoA at https://actuaries.org.uk/jobs/
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