Head of Digital Assessment

JOB DESCRIPTION

Employment status and working hours

Permanent, full time.

Full time hours at the University are 35 per week with the standard working pattern Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00, with some flexibility in start/finish times.

Organisation structure

Education and Students, Digital Assessment.

Your line manager will be Ruth Grindey, Director of Digital Learning and Engagement.

Place of work flexibility

Your time will be split between the Horizons, Reading office and your home*. The exact split of days/hours is negotiable but must include a minimum of two to three working days each month in Horizons on (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). The office is closed on Fridays. *Working from home is only possible if your environment is suitable – please see the ‘Working from home’ section on our Careers Site for further information.

High level summary of job role

As the Head of Digital Assessment, you will support the Digital Campus strategic leadership by realising and embedding the potential of state-of-the-art assessment platforms and tools within our digital assessment portfolio. You will ensure the effective design, delivery, enhancement, and governance of our digital assessment and feedback practices.

You will act as a vital bridge between our academic specialists and subject matter experts, our talented team of learning designers and digital education specialists, and our senior leadership of student experience. Working collaboratively across academic schools, professional services, and external partners, you’ll drive innovation and deliver continuous improvement in assessment practice, overseeing assessment platforms, digital workflows, assessment and feedback analytics, and emerging technologies.

Specific job role accountabilities and responsibilities

Leadership

• Lead the development of new and enhanced assessment practices by leveraging the capabilities of the University’s investments into assessment, marking and feedback platforms.

• Own the University's digital and online assessment framework and ensure its alignment with academic practice and the expectations of external stakeholders, regulators and accrediting bodies.

• Be a trusted advisor on digital assessment policy, standards, best practice and innovation.

• Model collaborative and participation-based practice as a mechanism for enhancing digital capabilities and skills across the University’s assessment stakeholders.

Digital assessment and delivery

• Collaborate with academic schools, professional services and digital learning teams to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the operational management and administration of the University’s assessment activities.

• Improve the reliability, scalability, and security of the University’s assessment services.

• Enhance the University’s end-to-end assessment workflow, foregrounding business continuity, risk management and contingency planning.

• Champion and embed evidence-based assessment design that maximises learning outcomes and student engagement.

Student experience and accessibility

• Partner with our student representatives to ensure our assessment activities and experiences are shaped by those they are designed to develop.

• Align the University’s digital assessment practices with its Learning Teaching and Assessment Strategy (LTAS 2025/30), and its Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) roadmap.

• Diversify and tailor the University’s digital assessment practices so that they are effective for our diverse student body and embed accessible and inclusive assessment design and delivery as standard.

• Enhance our assessment satisfaction and engagement metrics through regular monitoring of student feedback and performance data and the development and implementation of continuous improvement activity.

Governance and compliance

• Work with the Academic Quality and Governance Directorate to ensure compliance with institutional governance for digital assessment systems and processes.

• Ensure compliance with relevant legislation and regulatory frameworks including:

  • Office for Students (OfS) conditions of registration

  • Data Protection legislation (UK GDPR)

  • Ofsted

  • Apprenticeship end-point assessment organisations (EPAOs) national standards

  • Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) expectations

  • Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRB) expectations

  • The University’s Academic regulations and related policies

People management

• Build, motivate and manage a high-performing specialist digital and online assessment team.

• Create a culture of curiosity, innovation, collaboration and continuous improvement.

• Manage workforce planning and staff capability development within the digital assessment team.

Evaluation and reporting

• Establish meaningful performance indicators and success measures for digital and online assessment initiatives.

• Produce regular updates and reports on the impacts of digital assessment on student experience and outcomes.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the University’s assessment offer using evidence-based approaches.

• Make recommendations for future investment and development priorities based on emerging needs and impact data.

Other important features of the job role

Line management responsibilities: Yes, you will manage a small team of digital assessment specialists.

Budget responsibility: None.

In this role you will liaise with the following: Digital Learning, Academic team, Academic Operations and Quality and Governance Directorate.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

E = Essential person requirement; D = Desirable person requirement

How the person requirement will be assessed:

A = Application; I = Interview; T = Test or other assessment

Please be aware that as part of safer recruitment and onboarding processes, we will seek original documentary evidence of the relevant academic and/or professional qualifications which you include within your job application. This is all part of our comprehensive pre-employment screening which also includes checking your identity, right to work, criminal record history (basic disclosure unless specified otherwise), and three years employment history. This is all part of our commitment to safeguarding our students. Keeping our students safe is a responsibility shared by everyone within the University.

Qualifications and training

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional qualification and/or experience (E, A).

A strong track record of continuing professional development relevant to digital education, assessment, learning technology, or higher education leadership (E, A).

Relevant postgraduate qualification in teaching and learning, digital education, assessment, learning technology, academic quality, or a related field (D, A).

Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) or other relevant professional accreditation (e.g. CMALT) (D, A).

Previous experience

Leading assessment, digital education, learning technology, academic administration, or related functions within or for a higher education environment (E, A, I).

Designing, implementing, and/or improving digital assessment workflows, systems, processes, and services at scale (E, A, I).

Evidence of using a diverse range of learning platforms and assessment technologies, including online assessment, marking, feedback, and academic integrity solutions, to enhance assessment experience and outcomes (E, A, I, T).

Developing and implementing policies, frameworks and standards for assessment enhancement (E, A, I).

Managing teams and developing their digital capabilities (E, A).

Using data and analytics to improve assessment outcomes, student engagement, and service performance (E, A, I).

Supporting apprenticeship assessment and EPA requirements (D, A).

Working with Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRBs) (D, A).

Procurement, supplier management, and contract oversight for assessment technologies (D, A).

Behaviours and attitudes

Alignment to the University’s core values and growth mindset approach, which reflect our culture. Refer to the specific behaviours within the Competency Framework (E, I) – summarised within the careers site.

Skills, knowledge, other requirements

Ability to develop, deliver and monitor engaging and impactful assessment activities for diverse learners at a range of levels (E, A, I, T).

Knowledge of widely recognised pedagogic models and practices in higher education and their application in learning and assessment design (E, I, T).

Extensive knowledge of current assessment and feedback issues and potential solutions within higher education contexts (E, I, T).

Ability to articulate and action the institutional vision and plan for digital assessment (E, I).

Strong knowledge of the regulatory and quality assurance environment affecting UK higher education, including QAA expectations, OfS requirements, academic governance, and assessment regulations (E, A, I).

Ability to work collaboratively with academic colleagues, professional services, students, senior leaders and third-party suppliers (E, I).

Excellent digital literacy skills (technical, information and critical thinking), and digital skills confidence: We work in a MS 365 environment which includes Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and several other systems/technology (E, I, T).

Knowledge of accessibility, inclusion and universal design principles and standards and how to embed them in assessment tasks (E, A, I).

Excellent communication, people management, and influencing skills, with the ability to build credibility with academic and professional stakeholders at all levels (E, A, I, T).

Ability to write papers and reports for senior leaders and governance bodies under tight deadlines (E, I).

Ability to analyse and interpret data and evidence to inform decision-making and formulate continuous improvement activity (E, A, I),

Ability to balance innovation with governance, quality assurance, and risk management requirements (E, I).

Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a complex environment (E, A, I).

Strong planning and service management skills, including performance monitoring and evaluation (E, I, T).

The ability to apply emerging technologies and trends in digital assessment, including AI-enabled assessment and feedback (D, A, I).

Commitment to delivering positive outcomes for our students regardless of your area of work within the University; we want our students to be successful (E, I).

You must be prepared to undertake mandatory online training should you be appointed. The University is regulated by the Office for Students and Ofsted, and we have specific requirements and expectations around safeguarding, Prevent, and anti-harassment and bullying. This is all part of our Competency Framework requirements (E, I).

PAY AND BENEFITS

Salary: Salary up to £50,000 per annum.

Holiday: 26 days paid holiday (rising to 28 with service) plus paid bank/public holidays plus up to five paid closure days (typically between Christmas and New Year); all per holiday year Full Time Equivalent. Our holiday year runs from 1 August to 31 July. We also have a holiday buy and sell scheme in place. Sometimes the University does not need to close for five days per year and any balance (for example one day), can be used as a paid Wellbeing Day to take time out for your own physical or mental health.

Pension and life assurance: Pensions auto-enrolment to the People’s Pension which is a default salary sacrifice scheme. You may opt out of salary sacrifice but remain in the scheme, or you may choose to opt out altogether. We provide life assurance (death in service) cover as standard to all employees.

Family-friendly policies: Policies in place for all types of family-friendly statutory leave with enhanced pay available from day one of employment for some leave types. Access to Tax-Free Childcare (Government scheme).

Wellbeing: Full access to the Employee Assistance Programme as well as the Thrive Mental Wellbeing app. Several employees are trained Mental Health First Aiders and can support staff. We have a wellbeing policy and we focus on five pillars of wellbeing.

Sustainable travel: Cycle to Work and Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice schemes.

Parking: We have locked sheds for bicycles. For cars, for Horizons based roles, we may in the future be able to offer parking on site however you must not assume this will be possible. Every now and then we may have a spare parking space become available and you can ask to join the waiting list. The University is keen wherever possible, to encourage staff to commute as sustainably as possible.

Other health related benefits: Employer-funded Health Cash Plan (Simplyhealth) and voluntary dental insurance (Unum).

Other valuable benefits:

• Charity giving options available including one voluntary paid day, per annum.

• You will have access to range of lifestyle discounts and everyday savings.

• We offer learning platforms including LinkedIn learning.

APPLICATIONS - THINGS TO CONSIDER

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Ruth Grindey on 0118 467 2203 or email r.grindey@ube.ac.uk. For any other enquiries please contact HR on 0118 467 2454 / 2433 or email recruitment@ube.ac.uk

Did one of our employees recommend you? If you apply on the recommendation of an existing employee, please make sure to mention their name within your application.

We're passionate about sustainability and we have a five-year strategic plan: We expect job seekers to be curious about who we are and what we do. We point you towards a couple of resources about who we are and sustainability.

Closing date and next steps

We will receive applications until the advert closes on Monday 02 November 2026 at 17:00. We will not consider late applications. Our ATS does not screen applications, we humans do. Applications may be reviewed prior to the closing date and occasionally, you may be invited to interview ahead of the closing date.

Interview details

Dates for interview will be advised to you later in the process. We'll ask you to tell us about any dates you cannot make, up to 4 weeks from the closing date; this helps us to plan interviews should you be shortlisted, prior to contacting you.

Interviews are normally carried out over Microsoft Teams or Zoom. Depending on the job role and place of work, your interview may be at our Reading or London office. Please be prepared for a two-stage interview process, held on different dates. As part of the interview process, you will likely meet a member of the Senior Leadership Team.

Note for internal candidates

If you are an existing employee, we request you inform your current line manager of your intention to apply for this role.