Senior Assessment Standards Manager - 6723

Cambridge University Press Ltd.; Cambridge; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 61,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent educational institution in Cambridge is seeking a Senior Assessment Standards Manager to oversee test alignment and standards setting for English language assessments. The role demands an advanced degree in language assessment or a related field, with expertise in research methodologies and statistical analysis. The successful candidate will contribute to communications on test standards and participate in maintaining test validity and reliability. This full-time hybrid position offers competitive salary and flexible benefits.

Benefits

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

Qualifications

• Expertise in delivering research projects using a range of methodologies.
• Demonstrated experience in evidencing test standards.
• Excellent planning, coordination, and decision-making skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage and deliver test alignment and standards setting activities.
• Design and execute empirical research on language proficiency tests.
• Shape communications on test standards for diverse audiences.

Skills

Deep understanding of language assessment

Excellent communication skills

Strong analytical skills

Experience in a complex, regulated context

Education

Advanced degree in relevant field

Job description

Job Title: Senior Assessment Standards Manager

Salary: £45,100-£60,400 per annum

Contract: Full-time, permanent, 35 hours per week

Location: Cambridge, Hybrid (2-3 days per week in Cambridge)

Ready to help shape the future of English language assessment?

We are seeking to recruit a Senior Assessment Standards Manager to manage and deliver a range of test alignment, standards setting, and concordance activities in support of the use of existing and new English proficiency tests.

We are Cambridge University Press & Assessment, a world-leading academic publisher and assessment organisation and a proud part of the University of Cambridge.

About the role

As Senior Assessment Standards Manager, you will design and execute empirical research relating to tests' alignment with language proficiency frameworks, standard setting for test score requirements, and comparisons between scores on different tests. You will be responsible for delivering results on schedule, within scope and budget and to the required quality standards.

By supplying and developing your knowledge of the relevant language frameworks (the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, the Canadian Language Benchmarks, the Chinese English Standards, etc.) and of best practice in demonstrating test alignment, you will support the usefulness of Cambridge English language assessments to test users.

Additional responsibilities and accountabilities include:

• Contribute to test validity claims through statistical and psychometric analysis, showing, for example, comparability of test scores and absence of bias.
• Demonstrate test reliability and investigate potential measurement errors through data analysis and statistical modelling.
• Shape and deliver communications (through oral presentations, technical reports and published research) on test standards in an accessible way to a range of audiences, whether senior colleagues, academic researchers, or government decision-makers
• Contribute to other research/investigatory activity in the area of results determination, test validity and test standards as appropriate.

The Senior Assessment Standards Manager role offers an outstanding opportunity to join a collaborative and forward-thinking team, where your expertise will be respected, your professional development encouraged, and your contributions will have a visible positive impact on language testing.

This position has been classified as a hybrid role, requiring the selected candidate to typically spend 40-60% of their time collaborating and connecting face-to-face at their dedicated location. Aside from our hybrid principles, other flexible working requests will be considered from the first day of employment, including other work arrangements, should you require adjustments due to a disability or long-term health condition.

About You

• a deep understanding of language assessment and learning, with demonstrated expertise in delivering research projects using a range of methodologies.
• an advanced degree in a relevant field, e.g. language assessment, applied linguistics, educational measurement, psychometrics.
• excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• excellent planning, coordination, prioritisation and decision-making skills
• experience of working in a complex, regulated, professional context
• experience of evidencing test standards through appropriate statistical approaches
• strong analytical skills and numeracy.

For a detailed job description, please refer to the link at the bottom of the advert on our careers site.

We are a Disability Confident (DC) employer that is committed to equality and inclusion, ensuring our recruitment process is accessible to all. The DC scheme's Offer of an Interview commitment applies to applicants who opt in, and disclose a disability or a long-term health condition, and best meet the minimum criteria for the role. In instances where interviewing all qualifying candidates is not practicable, we prioritise those who best meet the minimum criteria, as we would for applicants who do not have a disability or long-term health condition.

Rewards and benefits

We will support you in being your best at work and in living 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

Ready to pursue your potential? Apply now.

We aim to support candidates by making our interview process clear and transparent. The closing date for all applications will be 25 January 2026. We will review applications on an ongoing basis, and shortlisted candidates can expect interviews to take place in the week commencing 2 February 2026. We aim to support candidates by making our interview process clear and transparent.

If you are shortlisted and progress through the stages, you can expect:

• An MS Teams interview with 3 panel members
• You may be asked to prepare a brief presentation/discussion topic ahead of your interview

If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process due to a disability or a long-term health condition, there will be an opportunity for you to inform us via the online application form. We will do our best to accommodate your needs.

Please note that successful applicants will be subject to satisfactory background checks, including DBS, due to working in a regulated industry.

We are committed to an equitable recruitment process. As such, applications must be submitted via our official online application procedure. Please refrain from sending your CV directly to our recruiters. If you experience technical difficulties or require additional support with submitting your online application, contact the Recruiter.

Why join us

Joining us is your opportunity to pursue potential. You will belong to a collaborative team that is 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 is 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.