Advanced Specialist, Education Specialist in Sheffield

Pearson Education Services (PES) delivers technical assessment solutions and programme management to educational government departments globally. As an integral part of the PES team, the Advanced Specialist, Education Specialist role is designed to operationalise the ideation, development, and implementation of technical solutions across a range of curriculum and assessment projects. This role is a key enabler for growth, ensuring technical excellence and delivery quality while supporting the Team Manager's strategic impact.

The role will require translating complex client and programme requirements into actionable designs and contribute to enhancing PES' human and technology capabilities. The role will entail engagement in a variety of projects, being delivered simultaneously, across various geographies. As such, flexibility, resilience and a willingness to travel internationally frequently are essential.

This role is critical in sharing the tactical load - scoping, documentation, prototyping, and cross‑functional orchestration - while ensuring project governance and delivery quality. The role requires the ability to confidently advise clients in situ on assessment‑related matters, including the development and completion of assessment blueprints and test maps, review and refinement of draft assessment materials, and the design and application of rubrics or marking schemes.

The successful candidate might be asked to work with psychometricians and data analysts to interpret Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT) outputs and provide recommendations to local teams on how to improve their assessments. They might be required to co‑ordinate curriculum benchmarking exercises, or to produce clear, technically sound reports and papers that communicate findings and recommendations effectively to diverse audiences, from operational delivery teams to Secretaries of State / Ministers of Education, and thus, the ability to communicate clearly is key.

Within this role you will also work closely with the Bid Manager, Business Development colleagues and other SMEs to inform the development of compelling narratives that maximise PES' chance of future success and growth. This is an exciting moment to join Pearson Education Services as we continue to evolve our capabilities and services for the future whilst continuing to deliver a successful array of assessment contracts of varying scope and size across the world. It provides a fantastic opportunity for an individual with a track record of assessment innovation and solution creation who seeks a global role with the potential to achieve significant business growth.

• Curriculum and Assessment Design, Innovation and Evaluation
• Translate complex assessment and curriculum requirements into clear, actionable designs for internal and external stakeholders.
• Provide written technical solutions and documentation to support project teams.
• Operationalise assessment solution innovation, ensuring best practice.
• Embrace assessment innovation practices, including research and prototyping (e.g., the use of AI for content creation, quality assurance, and automated marking in a variety of languages).
• Contribute to upskilling colleagues on curriculum and assessment design, innovation and evaluation principles.
• Bid and Solution Development & Implementation
• Review bid documentation to understand customer needs and inform high‑quality written technical responses, working closely with the Senior Bid Manager.
• Work with Business Development Leads to create collateral tailored to engage prospective clients.
• Lead the technical scoping of assessment and curriculum projects.
• Collaborate with development teams to ensure solutions are fit for purpose and meet client needs (sourcing/recommending external partners as appropriate).
• Support the Assessment Director in developing and implementing solutions for new and existing clients.
• Client Engagement & Support
• Support the Assessment Director to grow and maintain strong client relationships, through responsive and expert support.
• Contribute to managing client expectations effectively.
• Provide technical and operational support to business teams during client relationship development (e.g. technical presentations and demonstrations).
• Project Delivery & Governance
• Identify and resolve technical issues during project delivery.
• Provide continuity and expert presence for international programmes.
• Be responsible for/manage external contractors involved in project delivery.
• Contribute to effective project governance including scope management.

• Essential Experience
• Minimum 5 years' experience in assessment development or design, curriculum development, or related technical education roles.
• Experience working on assessment or curriculum projects in an international context.
• Experience in digitally enabled assessment operations and strong knowledge of digital assessment environments.
• Openness to assessment innovation, including leveraging AI tools for content generation and process efficiencies.
• Strong conceptual, analytical, and communication skills.
• Organised and deadline‑driven; able to juggle multiple workstreams and adapt to shifting priorities.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Willingness and ability to travel internationally as required.
• Desired Experience
• Experience developing and managing client relationships.
• Understanding different international assessment and testing environments.
• Project management experience, ideally across multiple, complex projects.
• Experience training colleagues on curriculum or assessment principles.

Your rewards & benefits

We know you'll do great work, so we give a lot back with some of the best benefits in the business. We know one size doesn't fit all, so our workplace programs meet the different needs of our diverse teams, and their families too.

Pearson is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a member of E‑Verify. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit and business need. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other group protected by law. We actively seek qualified candidates who are protected veterans and individuals with disabilities as defined under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.