Examination Product Manager

Job content

We are looking for an experienced educationalist to be our next assessment product manager to own the end-to-end delivery of assessments for a portfolio of qualifications: Common Entrance (CE), the Independent Project Qualification (iPQ) and the scoping and design of new curricula. Reporting to the Chief Executive and working as part of a wider team that includes product management and service delivery, you will play a key role in delivering and maintaining a suite of important and creative qualifications.

We think a great product manager will be someone who has previously worked in an exam board or, is a current teaching practitioner with examination and management experience; we need you to hit the ground running. We want to see examples of project management end-to-end, great problem solving and an enthusiastic desire to change educational assessment for the future. We are optimising our exam products and we want you to help us lead the way.

The Independent Schools Examinations Board provides rigorous, high-quality examinations and assessments for pupils seeking entry to independent senior schools at 11+ and 13+. The examinations, backed by the leading independent school associations - GSA, IAPS and HMC - include the Common Pre-Tests, Common Entrance and Common Academic Scholarship examinations and is currently developing new digital solutions and curricula for Prep and Senior schools. ISEB has a heritage dating back to 1903. Working with some of the world’s leading prep and senior independent schools the exam board is ambitious to deliver innovation, providing world-leading assessment, accreditation and admissions products and services for the independent schools’ sector and beyond.

THE ROLE

You will lead and manage our portfolio of curricula, project-qualifications and subject examinations: CE (Common Entrance),ensuring that question papers are engaging, inclusive and relevant and to transform its operating model; the iPQ, our creative and growing project qualification; and project managing the development of new curricula with a pool of prominent academics. Depending on where you are in the annual assessment cycle, every day will be different. You will also be working on long term projects to continually develop, expand and improve your portfolio its operating models – with new curricula and qualifications emerging at ISEB over the next few years. Most importantly, you will be ensuring you meet our customers’ (Senior and Prep Schools) needs.

Responsibilities:

· Be the project lead for ensuring ISEB’s specifications and exam papers are produced to the highest standards and to deadline for your portfolio of qualifications.

· Quickly become a key member of our product team, working with other product managers to ensure best practice across all ISEB’s qualifications.

· Ensuring the quality of your qualifications and assessment materials by fully engaging with the continuous cycle of improvement.

· Analysing and interpreting assessment data to ensure comparability and consistency in our question papers.

· Analysing customer data and engagement, to continually improve your products.

· Overseeing question paper/assessment material production and sign-off to a deadline for a qualification or set of qualifications.

· Focus on providing the best in-class customer experience, support, engagement, insight and retention of customers.

· Providing (as appropriate) customer-friendly support to help customers understand the assessment processes.

· Supporting on an array of assessment initiatives across the department such as digital assessments, CPD for teachers, exam resources, and the whole item authoring process.

· Quickly becoming an expert in our in-house paper creation software (training will be provided)

· Ensuring timely escalations to Subject Specialists on adherence to schedules or on regulatory matters.

· Adhering to regulatory and internal procedures and obligations at all stages and that all documentation is to the highest standard, meets the assessment criteria for given assessments and ensures our assessments meet the needs of learners.

· Identifying efficiencies and quality enhancements in processes.

· Working collaboratively within own subject team as well as across the wider Assessment team on a range of assessment initiatives.

· Manage your own training and seek advice and support from your peers in the product management team. We want you to be enthusiastic to learn new things and stay abreast of developments in product management, the education sector and assessment best practice.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

Approaching our 120thanniversary, ISEB has an esteemed heritage with a start-up culture. The organisation is rapidly transforming its structure and assessment for the future in line with our values: Accept, Transform, Inspire. We’re looking for someone willing to join an agile team, able to ensure that your product portfolio grows and develops in line with our digital portfolio too. So, the ability to manage across projects and join the dots is essential.

As a highly motivated individual, you’ll have the aptitude to prioritise and manage your own workload effectively ensuring crucial tasks are managed effectively within tight, immovable deadlines. Experience of project management and/or delivery would be an advantage as well as managing budgets, roadmaps and our exam tech software. Where conflicts arise, you will have the ability to problem solve successfully reacting positively to change and will be an effective communicator, with the skill to influence others whilst working collaboratively with key stakeholders.

Other challenges include:

· Maintaining attention to detail even with repetitive tasks.

· Adapting to the challenges of each qualification.

· Adapting to different IT systems and emerging digital technology.

· Simultaneously managing tasks for multiple examination series.

Contract: Full Time

Role location: Although hybrid working will be considered we are aiming to build a strong team and would therefore like any applicants to work from our Ringwood office.

Please note, we will only consider applications from candidates who submit a current CV and covering letter.

Your Reward & Benefits

At ISEB, we strive to make working for us a great experience.

· A starting holiday of 25 days plus UK public holidays.

· Generous pension scheme.

· Hybrid working, with core hours to suit those with families and other commitments.

· Maternity, paternity, and family care leave.

· Employee wellbeing assistance programme for you to help balance work, family, and personal life.