Certification Intern

About the Opportunity

IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) is the world's leading association for management accountants and finance professionals, anchored by the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) credential. The certifying body for IMA, the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (ICMA), is in an active period of portfolio transformation — evolving their flagship certification to include modernized assessments, new eligibility pathways, and competency-based products designed to serve a global, modern workforce.

The VP of Certifications & Learning Innovation is leading this transformation with a mandate to build a portfolio that is both innovative and psychometrically defensible. The Certification Intern will support the evolution of the program by managing research, managing projects and roadmaps, and ensuring ICMA realizes benefits sought in this high-priority design work. This is a part time remote role that is 25 hours per week.

Scope of Work

Priority 1: Support Research Informing Credential Update

Collaborate with selected vendors in accordance with their prescribed scope to ensure benefits realization for ICMA investments. Provide input and review research deliverables in accordance with international standards to ensure that assessment model is valid yet innovative and legally defensible.

• Support the global practice analysis process ensuring that audience is redesigned, examination(s) schemes are addressed, and full credential program is managed end to end.

• Manage project plans and corresponding roadmap assuring sufficient stakeholder input and orchestration of ICMA internal resources for execution.
• Coordinate vendor deliverables assuring alignment to acceptance criteria managing feedback loops and consolidating feedback to ensure efficient QC process.
• Support team (including external/public members) in program design including application, exam items, and recertification schemes.
• Recommend design of assessments and evaluate of item drafts and prototypes.

Priority 2: Domestic Market Strategy Support

Support the redesign of ICMA credentialing strategy for the U.S. market, including federal workforce policy positioning, employer adoption strategy, and credential value articulation.

• Maintain the IMA competency frameworks that map to labor market demand signals and federal workforce classifications (O*NET, SOC codes)
• Support credential value evidence strategy, including linkage to employer hiring requirements and wage outcome data from Lightcast
• Synthesize research to inform ICMA positioning materials (Workforce Pell, 529 eligibility, GI Bill alignment) for US market

Priority 3: Assessment Engineering Support

Support the ICMA team and subject matter experts in transforming their assessment engineering practices to assure sufficient item inventory in support of all ICMA credentials.

• Support team in expansion of item inventory by providing feedback to writers to improve item quality, congruency, and performance
• Contribute to the evolution of item production planning to expand velocity of output
• Support training SMEs used in item writing
• Leverage psychometric data to support team in digital experiments to expand inventory when needed.

Qualifications

Required

• 2 years of measurement, research, and/or instructional design/assessment development experience
• Proficiency in competency-based credentialing, job task analysis, and assessment design
• Ability to translate credentialing standards for non-credentialing audiences including learning, product, and executive stakeholders
• Comfortable operating in a virtual dynamic team environment
• Bachelor’s degree in psychology, education, or instructional design

Preferred

• Familiarity with NCCA accreditation standards and/or ISO 17024 requirements
• Familiarity with federal workforce policy frameworks (DOL, O*NET, Workforce Pell, GI Bill)
• Experience with competency taxonomy development or competency semantic frameworks
• Experience working closely with psychometricians
• Candidate for Master’s or Doctorate in I/O Psychology, Measurement, or Learning Design

Working Model

This is a dynamic high-touch virtual team engagement. The Certification Intern works directly with the ICMA team including external vendors and subject matter, collaborates with internal teams — including Assessment, Learning, and Technology — as work streams require.

• Regular cadence: Weekly working sessions with the VP and Senior Psychometrician; ad hoc as priorities demand
• Deliverables-based engagement: Success is measured by outcomes in addition to hours logged
• Access to relevant internal data, research, and stakeholder networks provided