Assessment Design Transformation Lead

Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

Length of contract
30 months

About the Organisation

Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (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. 

About the role

We are currently recruiting an Assessment Design Transformation lead. 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. 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 operations 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.

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. 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.

Responsibilities

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.

Skills, Competencies, Experience & Attributes

Knowledge & Experience Essential:

• 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:

• Experience within a professional membership body.
• Experience of working with volunteers.

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.

Required Qualifications

• Post-graduate assessment or education qualification.

Conditions of employment

• Applicants must have the right to work in the UK

Working locations

• Hybrid model, working in the Oxford office and remotely
• 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.

How to apply

• 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
• To apply, please send a CV and cover letter to [email protected] by the closing date of Friday 7th August 2026
• This vacancy may close early if we receive a high volume of applications, so please submit your application as soon as possible.
• 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 [email protected].

Policies

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.

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