Job Title: Head of Early Years and Primary Tests Development
Salary: £57,100 - £76,500
Location: Cambridge UK & Hybrid
Contract: Permanent, Full time (35 hours per week)
Are you passionate about the opportunities to support learners in their Early Years and Primary education and have a vision for what good teaching, learning and assessment looks like at these stages? Would you like an exciting opportunity to lead and influence the future of our tests for these learners? Our programme is taken internationally and valued worldwide, from our Early Years programme, through progression testing and in our formal Checkpoint tests and the textbook and curriculum support that we offer, where testing is represented.
We are looking for a Head of Early Years and Primary Tests Development with a background in early years and primary education, and experience in test development, to join our collaborative and supportive Qualifications Development and Tests team to lead, design and manage the strategy and review of our international Early Years and Primary testing suite, including work with relevant support materials. The work will also support colleagues working on the Cambridge Pathway, from Early Years through to IGCSE, O level and AS/A level qualifications – to ensure we have effective progression throughout our holistic offer.
About the role
As Head of Early Years and Primary Tests Development, you will lead, design and manage developments of high value products and services, working with colleagues across the organisation. Your role will focus on the creation of a holistic portfolio of test offerings for young learners, in line with internal and external stakeholder expectations. You will lead on new areas of test development and the review and redevelopment of existing tests. This will include test representation in our wider product offer, and the development of digital test product offers.
You will be:
* Leading on the development of Early Years and Primary testing: defining, designing, implementing and maintaining the product development, redevelopment and withdrawal processes from inception to business readiness, setting the scope of the developments with clear drivers and deliverables.
* Ensuring the maintenance of valid, reliable and manageable assessments: using knowledge and experience of test design, to provide high quality and coherent tests and specimen materials, being able to make judgements and advise others on the appropriateness of solutions and ideas.
* Seeking and embedding customer feedback: consulting with key customers during development projects, including schools, ministries, governing bodies and wider education experts, to ensure customer satisfaction.
* Project managing: ensuring high quality and effective independent management of project teams, schedules, budgets and consultants being able to proactively solve problems, provide clear reporting and escalate risks.
* Collaborating with others: working with external consultants and internal stakeholders, being able to balance views and influence others and being able to bring colleagues with you on a path of evidence-based decision making.
* Representing the team: leading on cross-divisional projects for product and process improvements and attending customer-facing events.
About you
As Head of Early Years and Primary Tests Development, you will have extensive experience in education, educational leadership, teaching and learning, publishing and assessment, and test design. You should have a background in work for Early Years and/or Primary learners, and be able to act as an authority in the area of test development.
For this role you should be educated to degree level or equivalent, have knowledge of UK and/or international education systems, and have experience of leading and influencing stakeholders across teams.
Key skills include being able to:
* Lead and manage complex projects
* Create high quality documents for publication
* Communicate clearly
* Solve problems with creativity and provide effective innovative solutions
* Think strategically
* Motivate others
* Influence others confidently to make a significant impact
If you would like to know more about this opportunity and what will make you successful, please see the full job description attached to the bottom of this vacancy on our careers site.
Rewards and benefits
We will support you to be at your best in work and to live well outside of it. In addition to competitive salaries, we offer a world-class, flexible rewards package, featuring family-friendly and planet-friendly benefits including:
* 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays
* Private medical and Permanent Health Insurance
* Discretionary annual bonus
* Group personal pension scheme
* Life assurance up to 4 x annual salary
* Green travel schemes
We are a hybrid working organisation, and we offer a range of flexible working options from day one. We expect most hybrid-working colleagues to spend 40-60% of their time at their dedicated office or location. We will also consider other work arrangements if you wish to work more flexibly or require adjustments due to a disability.
Ready to pursue your potential? Apply now.
We review applications on an ongoing basis, with a closing date for all applications being Thursday 26th September although we may close it earlier if suitable candidates are identified. Interviews are scheduled to take place during week commencing 14th October 2024.
Please note that successful applicants will be subject to satisfactory background checks including DBS due to working in a regulated industry.
Cambridge University Press & Assessment is an approved UK employer for the sponsorship of eligible roles and applicants under the Skilled Worker visa route. Please refer to the gov.uk website for guidance to understand your own eligibility based on the role you are applying for.
Why join us
Joining us is your opportunity to pursue potential. You'll belong to a collaborative team that's exploring new and better ways to serve students, teachers and researchers across the globe – for the benefit of individuals, society and the world. Sharing our mission will inspire your own growth, development and progress, in an environment which embraces difference, change and aspiration.
Cambridge University Press & Assessment is committed to being a place where anyone can enjoy a successful career, where it's safe to speak up, and where we learn continuously to improve together. We welcome applications from all candidates, regardless of demographic characteristics (age, disability, educational attainment, ethnicity, gender, marital status, neurodiversity, religion, sex, gender identity and sexual identity), cultural, or social class/background.
We believe better outcomes come through diversity of thought, background and approach. We welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and communities, actively seeking to employ people from a wide range of different communities.
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