Job Title: Assessment Standards Manager
Salary: £43,800 - £52,000
Location: Cambridge or Coventry, UK/Hybrid with minimum of 2 days per week working in the office
Contract: 2 x Permanent, full time – 35 hours per week
1 x 12-month Fixed Term Contract, full time – 35 hours per week
We are looking for Assessment Standards Managers, ideally with a STEM subject speciality (though applicants with other subject specialisms are also welcome), to join our friendly and high-performing Assessment Standards team.
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 an Assessments Standards Manager, you will look after a designated portfolio of qualifications where you will be responsible for managing all aspects of the assessment cycle for your portfolio relating to quality, including the setting of assessments, standardising assessors and setting grade boundaries. You will ensure that qualification outcomes are fair, consistent, and maintain OCR's credibility.
This role requires the ability to engage and build strong collaborative relationships with Assessment Specialists and with internal stakeholders across OCR and Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
Key responsibilities include:
- Leadership & compliance: Provide strategic direction to ensure assessment processes align with OCR and regulatory standards, while responding to innovations and regulatory changes.
- Management & quality assurance: Recruit, manage, and support senior assessors; oversee the quality and accuracy of assessment materials and processes.
- Assessment development, monitoring & intervention: Contribute expertise to the creation and piloting of new qualifications and intervene in assessment activities to maintain quality.
- Representation & continuous improvement: Represent OCR externally, contribute to internal improvements, and support accessibility and efficiency in assessment delivery. Contribute to working groups and team activities.
This is a busy and stimulating role at all times, but the workload is particularly demanding during major examination and awarding periods as relevant to the qualifications in your portfolio. This includes mid-May to July and January/February and November. Some weekend and evening work may be required during busy times.
About You
To thrive in this role, you'll bring a blend of technical expertise, attention to detail, and collaborative spirit. We're looking for someone who can demonstrate:
- Proficiency in basic statistical analysis and strong IT skills
- A solid understanding of assessment principles and methodologies across general and vocational/occupational qualifications
- Excellent organisational skills and a keen eye for reviewing assessment materials for accuracy and accessibility
- Awareness of strategies used to maintain standards in qualifications and the regulatory environment in which awarding organisations operate
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively with a range of stakeholders
- An appreciation of the complexities involved in developing and delivering both general and vocational qualifications
Ideally, we would like applicants to be able to join us as soon as possible.
We value not just what you know, but how you work. You'll be:
- Open to new ideas and feedback, always looking to improve
- Supportive of colleagues, especially during busy periods
- Flexible and willing to pitch in to help the team succeed
- A collaborative team player who builds strong working relationships across OCR and Cambridge University Press & Assessment
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
27th July 2025 although we may close it earlier if suitable candidates are identified. Interviews are scheduled to take place from
week commencing 11th August 2025.
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. Please note that Cambridge University Press & Assessment are unable to sponsor roles of 12 months or less.
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.
