Assessment Content Operations Manager

Job Description

Assessment Content Operations Manager

Description

At Pearson, we’re committed to a world that’s always learning and to our talented team who makes it all possible. From bringing lectures vividly to life to turning textbooks into laptop lessons, we are always re-examining the way people learn best, whether it’s one child in our own backyard or an education community across the globe. We are bold thinkers and standout innovators who motivate each other to explore new frontiers in an environment that supports and inspires us to always be better. By pushing the boundaries of technology — and each other to surpass these boundaries — we create seeds of learning that become the catalyst for the world’s innovations, personal and global, large and small.

Part of UK Schools, the Assessment division combines excellence in assessment with outstanding customer experience. The Assessment division has end-to-end responsibility for delivering on-time, accurate results of high stakes UK and international qualifications to our learners and first-class customer service to all our customers.

The Assessment division comprises:

• Delivery team - accountable for the strategic delivery of our high stakes UK and international qualifications
• Content team - accountable for the accurate delivery of our secure high stakes UK and international assessment instruments as well as non-secure content
• Quality and improvement team - accountable for quality assurance, post results services, improvement initiatives (including assessment monitoring), regulatory research (including consultations)
• Strategy and customer team - accountable for delivery of assessment-related transformational, strategic and customer initiatives
• Online assessment transformation team - accountable for delivering online transformation initiatives and support of online marking system

Part of the Content team, the Assessment Content Operations Manager is accountable for the strategic delivery of the assessment content for a group of qualifications from the UK Schools General Qualifications (GQ) and international portfolio. Leading a team of 8 to 10, the Assessment Content Team Manager is part of the Assessment management team and is responsible for representing Assessment across UK Schools and the wider Pearson UK business.

The Assessment Content Operations Manager will be required to deputise for the Head of Assessment Content as appropriate and work directly with other teams and matrix managers within Assessment to deliver key accountabilities and lead on assessment content-related strategic initiatives.

Purpose

The Assessment Content Operations Manager provides technical assessment content expertise within the Assessment division, as well as across UK Schools and Pearson UK as appropriate, while ensuring the strategic, timely, cost effective and error-free delivery of high stakes UK and international assessment content.

The purpose of the Assessment Content Operations Manager role is to:

• Deliver the content for high stakes UK and international qualifications for which they are responsible to time, quality and budget
• Be recognised as a leader and deliver best in class line management experience
• Be recognised as the technical assessment content expert for both secure and non-secure content within Assessment and across UK Schools for area of responsibility
• Be accountable for the integrity by which assessment content processes are devised, followed, reviewed and amended
• Deliver on innovation for test making, taking and processing; for example, delivering high stakes onscreen assessments
• Be accountable for a content delivery budget, including providing focus on and visibility of budget planning, management and tracking - visibility that enables efficiency driving
• Build an Assessment Associate population for the future by developing strategic relationships with education experts
• Make strategic use of management information (MI) and reporting, providing visibility, driving improvement, and building confidence and trust in Assessment

Key Accountabilities

Deliver high stakes UK and international content

• Being accountable for the delivery of secure and non-secure high stakes assessment content to time, quality, budget and security
• Ensuring content team adhere to all regulatory and internal procedures at all times
• Actively manage risks and issues, including contingency plans ensuring problems are swiftly identified and solutions put in place
• Manage the deployment of resources within the team to mitigate risks or acheive delivery priorities
• Ensuring content team meet or exceed all deadlines within the business calendar, establishing a reputation for always delivering on time
• Partnering with the delivery team to ensure the quality and content of assessment instruments within area of responsibility, ensuring all assessment instruments are valid, accurate, accessible, inclusive and can withhold public scrutiny
• Collaborate with key stakeholders and strategic partners to develop robust content production plans

Leadership and people management

• Be recognised as a leader within Assessment, as well as across UK Schools, and deliver best in class line management experience
• Be accountable for ensuring direct reports have effective training and development opportunities to enable them to succeed, including creating opportunities for high performance as well as actively managing and supporting poor performance
• Being a positive advocate for Assessment within the division, as well as across UK Schools, modelling Pearson behaviours and leading by example
• Actively contribute to, and deliver, the UK Schools people strategy, driving people initiatives within Assessment as appropriate
• Accountable for identifying and developing talent within Assessment, including recruitment and retention
• Evaluate the performance of roles within the content production process ensuring poor performance is effectively managed
• Be responsible for managing processes and teams based in different locations as appropriate

Technical Assessment expertise

• Being the assessment content expert for area of responsibility and continually developing expertise in light of changes to the education landscape
• Represent the Assessment division as a technical assessment expert for area of responsibility, advising teams across UK Schools on assessment content issues
• Owning personal development in relation to building technical assessment expertise, including identifying training and development needs and opportunities, and being responsible for continuous professional development of self and team

Customer expertise

• Ensuring that assessment instruments, such as question papers, mark schemes, examiner reports and skills maps are published to customers on time, are high quality and on brand
• Implement changes that improve the accessibility of assessments for our customers in both content and layout
• Collaborate with key stakeholders on the production of assessment content as a result of qualification reform, ensuring these materials act as a suitable template for all future assessments

Quality assurance and improvements

• Be accountable for the integrity by which assessment processes are devised, followed, reviewed and amended, including driving improvements in the methodology for assuring quality of our processes and assessment instruments
• Be accountable for the accuracy of content for area of responsibility, including monitoring, managing and taking appropriate action to improve the quality of content and confidence in assessment content
• Be able to articulate the quality assurance and improvement programme, including owning and delivering lessons learned and audit actions, for area of responsibility

Innovation

• Understand, and be an advocate for, innovation in assessment instruments and processes, and develop expertise as a thought leader for future assessments
• Deliver on innovation for test creation to transform the way that assessment content is produced
• Influence innovation in other business areas, as appropriate, by utilising assessment content expertise and knowledge of stakeholders such as Assessment Associates and regulator

Cost management

• Take responsibility for ensuring the assessment content budget includes all areas of expenditure, is cost effective and is achievable
• Ensure that Assessment Associate fees reflect the work required of each role for each assessment instrument
• Drive cost efficiencies within area of responsibility and across the Assessment division as appropriate by scrutinising ways of working and providing appropriate challenge
• Manage the costs associated with external suppliers to ensure these are appropriately controlled

Strategic relationships

• Build an Assessment Associate population for the future by utilising the appropriate expertise in the content production process
• Evaluate the success of the Assessment Associate population for area of responsibility and be accountable for the structure, roles and make up of the teams, as well as identifying and nurturing talent, to ensure the delivery of our content to time, quality and budget
• Develop and utilise strategic relationships across the UK Schools and Pearson UK business
• Be accountable for the delivery of assessment content of high stakes UK and international qualifications within a matrix structure, including ensuring responsible teams across other business areas have the data, tools and information needed to deliver
• Manage external suppliers (such as proofreaders, typesetters, recording studios, translators, rights and permissions) directly or in collaboration with other teams in UK Schools
• Be directly accountable to matrix managers within Assessment in addition to the Head of Assessment Content

Data

• Make strategic use of management information (MI) and reporting, providing visibility, driving improvement, and building confidence and trust in Assessment
• Partner with the delivery team to use data about how our assessment instruments perform to identify improvements that can be implemented for future content
• Be accountable for reporting accurate and timely data and information to the Assessment management team and wider business, escalating issues (with proposed solutions) as appropriate

Pearson is an equal opportunities employer. We do not discriminate against employees or job applicants and select the best person for each job based on relevant skills and experience.

We are also committed to building an accurate picture of the make-up of the workforce and encouraging equality and diversity.

The information you provide will stay confidential, and be stored securely. It will not be seen by those involved in making decisions as part of the recruitment process.

Qualifications

Core competencies - managing others:

1. Provide a customer focused service
2. Communicating with influence
3. Working with others to achieve goals
4. Delivering goals in a changing environment
5. Taking creative and innovative approach to work
6. Maximising potential in self and others.

Education, qualification & training:

Degree or equivalent qualification

Previous experience:

Line management experience

Personal style & behaviour:

Highly motivated individual with personal drive and energy

Able to prioritise and manage own workload

Actively seeks information and is able to handle it appropriately

Prepared to be flexible in their approach to problem solving

Decent.

Pearson Leadership Profile

Leading Self / Leading Others / Leading the Business:

• Always Learning
• Courageous
• Ethical
• Determined
• Customer Focussed
• Transformational
• Strategic & visionary
• Innovative
• Developer
• Inspirational
• Relationship builder
• Makes it happen.

Pearson Values

Brave

Imaginative

Decent

Accountable

Additional Information

The role is located at our offices at 190 High Holborn, near to the Tube and Covent Garden.

Salary for the role is £45,000 - £50,000 depending on experience

Here at Pearson we also offer a great package and a fantastic range of benefits that you would expect to receive in a global organisation. Including 25 Days annual leave, this increases by 1 day each year up to 30 days with the option to buy and sell up to 5 days per year on top of this. A fantastic Pension plan, private medical insurance. Pearsons other benefits also include private dental care, season ticket loan, eye tests, cycle to work scheme, volunteering days, discounted products and services from leading companies and much more.

Primary Location: GB-GB-London

Work Locations: GB-London-190 High Holborn 190 High Holborn London WC1V 7BH

Job: Product Management

Organization: Core

Employee Status: Regular Employee

Job Type: Standard

Shift: Day Job

Job Posting: Oct 30, 2019

Job Unposting: Nov 13, 2019

Schedule: Full-time Regular

Req ID: 1913832

Pearson is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer and a member of E-Verify. All qualified applicants, including minorities, women, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.