Assessment Design & Principles Lead in Manchester

At AQA, we’re committed to advancing education and we’re committed to our people. As the largest provider of academic qualifications in the UK, we mark over 10 million exam papers each year and it’s our people who make this happen. Assessment Design and Principles Lead Permanent Manchester: £52,800-£59,000 Guildford: £55,000 - £61,400 Hybrid working – min 2 days per week in office Craft the future of high quality assessment Imagine a role where your assessment expertise shapes qualification design that hundreds of thousands of learners rely on for their future. As an Assessment Design and Principles Lead at AQA, you’ll be at the heart of creating fair, valid, reliable, and forward-thinking assessments. You will influence the future of education and make a national impact in contexts such as assessment reform, vocational qualifications and/or digital exams. You’ll guide the development of assessment models, champion evidence based principles across the organisation, and act as an expert voice influencing assessment design, innovation, and best practice. This is your opportunity to be a trusted authority, one who ensures every assessment we produce truly supports learners, teachers, and the wider education system.

What’s in it for you You’ll join a team that values depth of expertise, curiosity, and collaborative relationships. In this role, your insight will shape national educational outcomes while giving you the space to innovate, lead, and influence meaningful change across AQA. You will experience the satisfaction of knowing that your thinking, your leadership, and your hard work directly impact diverse learners across the country. You’ll also grow your own career through exposure to cross-functional projects, and the chance to represent AQA as an assessment design expert both internally and externally. AQA are proud to offer a comprehensive benefits package including: a 35-hour working week with flexible, hybrid working; 25 days’ annual leave rising to 30, plus Christmas closure days; up to 11.5 percent combined pension contribution, BUPA healthcare support, wellbeing programmes and volunteering opportunities an inclusive, values-led culture with employee networks including LGBTQ+, neurodiversity, Disabillity, empowering women, wellbeing, ethnic diversity and Interfaith.

Key Responsibilities You’ll collaborate closely with internal and external partners to design high quality assessment models, while ensuring alignment with current research, policy, and regulatory expectations. You will lead the implementation of assessment design principles that strengthen validity, fairness, manageability, and reliability across AQA qualifications. Your work will also involve steering evidence informed improvements that elevate quality. Your responsibilities will include: Designing and advising on assessment models and overseeing the development of sample assessment materials, ensuring our qualifications reflect best practice and emerging innovations. Leading the refinement of assessment design principles that uphold the highest standards of validity, fairness, reliability, and manageability demonstrating thoughtful stakeholder management and close collaboration with internal and external experts who may have competing priorities Driving improvements based on a wide range of evidence. Leading complex, cross team projects that strengthen AQA’s assessment capability and ensure alignment with regulatory expectations. Enhancing organisational understanding of good assessment practice through training, knowledge sharing, and expert guidance. Above all, you’ll ensure that rigorous assessment principles are upheld through thoughtful governance, compliance, and expert leadership.

You’ll thrive in this role if You’re someone who brings deep understanding of assessment theory and practice and a passion for elevating quality across an organisation. You enjoy influencing others through clear reasoning, evidence, and strong communication, and you’re energised by the opportunity to challenge assumptions, including your own, and introduce new ways of thinking. You have a positive and solutions focused mindset, feel empowered when taking ownership of work, and naturally build collaborative relationships that foster shared success. You combine analytical strength with creativity, are confident navigating both regulatory frameworks and digital assessment environments, and you’re driven by the ambition to ensure every assessment works well for every learner.

Diversity and Inclusion Statement At AQA, we're committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels they belong and can do their best work. We value the different perspectives, experiences and backgrounds our people bring, knowing they strengthen our culture, decision-making and impact. We foster an inclusive environment where everyone is treated with respect, has access to opportunities to grow and contribute, and feels able to be themselves. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and lived experiences.

Full Job Description Summary Purpose: Assessment Design & Principles Leads drive excellence in AQA’s assessment design and development by championing the principles of validity, reliability, fairness, and manageability. They lead initiatives that enhance assessment quality across both new and existing products, ensuring they meet rigorous standards and minimise bias, and they act as a central authority on assessment best practice, fostering organisational knowledge and capability through collaboration with internal stakeholders. They continuously improve assessment creation processes by developing evidence-based assessment design principles, grounded in research and best practice in assessment. Assessment Design & Principles Leads play a pivotal role in shaping and reviewing AQA’s assessment design principles, contributing expertise to cross-functional teams and new product development. They represent AQA as a subject matter experts in assessment internally and externally. They also engage stakeholders effectively to embed assessment expertise into broader business initiatives, ensuring AQA remains a leader in high-quality assessment.

Landscape: Each year over 2000 question papers, assessment artefacts, mark schemes and modified large print papers are created, quality assured and sent to press for domestic and international qualifications by teams across Assessment. These materials are sat by 100,000s of students across three examination series and are pivotal part of their next step in education. The Assessment Design & Principles team sits within Assessment and is accountable for leading initiatives and establishing design principles to ensure validity, reliability, fairness, and manageability of AQA GQ assessments, both paper-based and digital. The team provide assessment expertise on GQ qualifications to AQA to support work on redevelopment and reform as well as any external regulatory work. They work closely with internal teams across Assessment and EDD as well as the wider business to champion assessment quality and best practice.

The Assessment Design & Principles Lead role reports into the Head of Assessment Design & Principles or Senior Assessment Design & Principles Lead and works closely with Coordinators and Graduates in the team.

Activities: Assessment design Work with internal and external stakeholders to design valid, fair and reliable assessment models and SAMs through both DfE-led and AQA-driven qualification reform. Lead the design of new digital products to ensure high-quality digital exams that align with AQA assessment design principles, including negotiating with digital assessment providers to ensure the best possible student assessment experience. Assessment expertise & alignment Stay current with assessment research and policy, ensuring AQA’s approach align with best practices across all products. Act as an authority on different assessment approaches and their strengths/weaknesses. Data analysis & evidence-based Improvement Analyse assessment performance data to identify trends, strengths, and areas for improvement. Oversee Assessment Coordinators and Graduate(s) to drive evidence-based decisions and share insights with stakeholders. Leadership & Project Management Lead assessment design & principles projects, managing cross-team collaboration, resources, budgets, and compliance with regulatory requirements. Mentor and coach graduates and team members to build capability. Training & knowledge sharing Deliver induction, training, and briefings on assessment principles. Support organisational understanding of good assessment practice and embed it into qualification design. Quality assurance & external engagement Review assessments for QA purposes and engage with external stakeholders (including Ofqual) to ensure valid, reliable, and comparable outcomes. Governance & compliance Ensure adherence to AQA policies, legislative requirements, and regulatory conditions. Adapt to changing business needs by taking on additional responsibilities as required.

To be successful in this role, you will need to: Behaviours Collaborative – Work effectively with others, sharing expertise and fostering development to achieve excellence Innovative – Challenge existing approaches and drives creative, improved ways of working Empowered – Take ownership, accountability, and understands their role in achieving success Positive – Maintain a flexible, solutions-focused, forward-looking mindset Ambitious – Strive for high standards and consistently deliver for customers Technical expertise Strong understanding of assessment practice in England and the regulatory environment In-depth knowledge of assessment design and delivery best practice, including AQA’s products and systems Ability to design assessments across subjects, balancing regulatory, customer, and stakeholder needs In-depth understanding of digital assessment design, including knowledge of inclusive design in digital exams, technical functionality of digital providers, and expertise in designing directly for digital contexts Skilled in analysing complex data, conducting root cause analysis, and applying continuous improvement principles Leadership & influence Proven experience in leading change initiatives and managing assessment design & principles projects Excellent communication, presentation, and networking skills to influence and engage stakeholders Open-minded yet confident in constructively challenging orthodoxy and championing good assessment principles.

Qualifications & experience Degree-level education or equivalent professional experience Experience in managing assessment creation (eg question paper setting) and delivering strategic improvements AQA is an independent charity that sets and marks over half of all GCSEs and A-levels in the UK every year. Our purpose is to advance education by helping students and teachers to realise their potential. As part of AQA, you’ll very quickly appreciate the determination and unwavering passion to deliver this goal in everything we do. To help drive these ambitions, AQA invests in the development of its people by offering a range of professional development and learning opportunities leading to over 50% of our permanent roles being filled internally.

Reasonable Adjustments If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process or in the role, please contact the recruiter named in the vacancy advert or your interview correspondence. They will work with you to ensure the appropriate support is in place and that the process is as accessible and equitable as possible. If you're unsure who your recruiter is, or can't reach them, contact Faye Harrison (she/her) at fharrison@aqa.org.uk or 07813 724161, and she'll direct you to the right person. Please note that Faye cannot assist with temporary vacancy enquiries or non-recruitment matters. For temporary vacancies, contact temprecruit@aqa.org.uk.

Smart Working We’re operating a smart working model. This allows for our colleagues to work from two days a week in one of our offices across England.

Diversity and inclusion AQA is committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels they belong and can do their best work. We value the different perspectives, experiences and backgrounds our people bring, knowing they strengthen our culture, decision-making and impact. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and lived experiences.

Conflict of Interest Please note that due to the confidential nature of our work, we are unable to employ people for our temporary roles who are currently a candidate for Key Stage 4 and 5 public examinations.

Safeguarding AQA is committed to the safeguarding of children and adults at risk. We’re dedicated to reducing the risk of employing or contracting any person intent on abusing their position of trust, along with identifying and responding to any incident of alleged abuse from its employees or associates fairly and swiftly. For more information on safeguarding at AQA please visit the AQA website here.

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