Associate Director of Assessment Development

The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing a competent, ethical, and diverse legal profession. We develop and deliver high-quality assessment products, services, and research that support state courts and licensing authorities in evaluating the readiness of aspiring lawyers.

NCBE is committed to fostering a collaborative, mission-driven environment with competitive salaries, comprehensive benefits, flexible scheduling, and professional development opportunities. NCBE’s headquarters is based in Madison, Wisconsin, a dynamic community with exceptional amenities.

The Associate Director of Assessment Development oversees the creation of content and the construction of assessment forms for one or more of NCBE’s assessment programs, with a main focus on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination. The associate director may manage staff editors who work with subject matter experts to draft items, select items for use on assessment forms, and create other related materials, including for grading, study aids and licensing, marketing, and training. This person works closely with the Director of Assessment Development and the psychometric team to ensure that the items and assessments achieve appropriate levels of quality in terms of fairness, reliability, and validity. The associate director also works closely with many departments including operations (printing, publishing, accessibility, and administration), IT (item banking, delivery), and psychometrics (design, scoring, analysis and reporting). This role serves as a key resource on content matters to NCBE stakeholders, both internally and externally, on the program. The associate director is specialized in a measurement component (e.g., selected response doctrinal measurement, performance assessments, integrated assessments) aligned with the program they oversee.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Works with psychometric staff to ensure that NCBE’s assessments are in compliance with professional standards for educational testing.
• Oversees development of assessment content including items, forms, grading material, study aids, technical documentation, and other materials.
• Advises on measurement specialization across programs and contributes expertise as required.
• Assists with recruitment of subject matter experts and ensures appropriate training, including for drafting and review committees.
• Collaborates with the operations team on the development of production schedules, implementation of security procedures for assessment materials, and appropriate staff/resource allocation to ensure efficient, high-quality services, problem resolution, and on-time delivery of materials.
• Ensures adherence to existing NCBE policies and procedures, updates as needed, and manages policies and procedures that meet the highest standards of quality, security, accuracy, and efficiency for content development and construction of assessments.
• Encourages process improvement by staff and promotes a mindset that fosters continuous quality improvement.
• Participates in research and contributes to the design and development of new NCBE programs, processes, products, or services.
• Assists with inquiries or complaints regarding assessment content.
• May manage staff in the day-to-day performance of their jobs.
• Develops and provides presentations for meetings, conferences, workshops, and seminars.
• Travel to committee meetings or conferences is expected.

Qualifications:

• Graduate of an ABA-approved law school and admitted to the bar in at least one jurisdiction.
• At least 10 years of significant professional legal experience with a demonstrated knowledge of professional responsibility law and a willingness to develop additional expertise in the relevant subject-matter.
• Ability to develop working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including subject matter experts.
• Proficiency in MS Word and Excel.
• High level of organizational and time management skills.
• Ability to travel to meetings across the U.S. and Canada.
• This position is typically promoted from within the organization; managerial experience in test development is preferred.

The Associate Director of Assessment Development may work remotely. NCBE will consider applicants from the following states: FL, IA, IN, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NE, NJ, NM, NV, OK, PA, WA, and WI.

This position may include up to 10% travel for meetings with committees and/or vendors, and/or for conferences, workshops, and/or outreach. 

Mission

NCBE promotes fairness, integrity, and best practices in admission to the legal profession for the benefit and protection of the public. We serve admission authorities, courts, the legal education community, and candidates by providing high-quality

• assessment products, services, and research;
• character investigations; and
• informational and educational resources and programs.

EEO Statement

NCBE is proud to be an equal employment opportunity organization. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all applicants and employees regardless of their race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, military service, protected veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.

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