Senior Exams Manager (Applied Knowledge Test)

RCGP Enterprises Limited; City Of London; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 67,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Job summary

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) seeks an experienced leader to head the Applied Knowledge Test (AKT), a high-stakes examination for GP specialty training. Based in London with hybrid working, you will drive strategy, governance and delivery across the AKT lifecycle.

Reporting to the Head of Examinations, you will manage staff, collaborate with clinical leads, psychometrics and delivery partners to ensure safety, fairness and exam integrity.

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent in examinations, assessment, education or a related field.
• Significant experience of managing examinations, assessment programmes or other high-stakes operational services.
• Experience of assessment content development, itembank management or comparable content production environments.
• Experience of leading complex operational processes involving multiple stakeholders.
• Experience of managing and developing staff.
• Strong understanding of governance, risk management, quality assurance, confidentiality and examination security.
• Strong communication, analytical, organisational and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for the AKT, ensuring effective governance, delivery, quality assurance and continuous improvement.
• Oversee the full assessment content lifecycle, including examination item development, review, approval, itembanking, test construction, post-test review and retirement.
• Provide oversight of AKT itembank management, ensuring effective version control, auditability, quality assurance and examination security.
• Lead examination delivery arrangements, working closely with internal teams, clinical leads, psychometric specialists, assessment contributors, delivery partners and senior colleagues across the College to ensure the AKT is delivered safely, fairly, securely and to the required regulatory, professional and organisational standards.
• Ensure robust processes are in place for results verification, standard-setting, post-test analysis and assessment outcome governance.
• Maintain oversight of AKT operational, delivery and assessment risks, ensuring appropriate mitigations are implemented and clearly documented.
• Act as the AKT business lead for assessment production, systems, operational delivery and continuous improvement.
• Lead relationships with assessment delivery providers and systems suppliers, contributing to supplier governance, contract monitoring and service improvement.
• Support the handling of complex candidate cases, complaints, appeals, mitigating circumstances and examination-related enquiries by providing AKT-specific operational and assessment advice.
• Lead and develop AKT staff, building capability, resilience and succession planning within the function.
• Contribute to the wider strategic development of examinations and assessment services across the College.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Governance

Stakeholder management

Examinations

Project management

Communication

Education

Degree level or equivalent in examinations/education

Tools

ExamDeveloper

Job description

Full time, 35 hours per week

Permanent

Grade CL, Salary £61,083.07 per annum

Location: London (Hybrid working - minimum 2 days per week in the office)

Closing date: Sunday 23 August 2026

Interview date: Friday 28 August 2026

This is a critical role at the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), providing strategic and operational leadership for the Applied Knowledge Test (AKT), one of the College’s high-stakes professional examinations. The AKT is a component of the MRCGP and a requirement for doctors undertaking GP specialty training who wish to obtain a Certificate of Completion of Training in General Practice.

Core functions of this role include leading the end-to-end AKT assessment lifecycle, including itembank management, assessment content production, test construction, examination delivery, results governance, stakeholder engagement and continuous improvement activities.

OverallPurpose

To lead the strategic development, governance, delivery and continuous improvement of the AKT, ensuring it is delivered safely, fairly, securely and in accordance with regulatory, professional and organisational standards. A key part of the role is working closely with clinical leads, psychometric specialists, assessment contributors, delivery partners and senior colleagues across the College to maintain assessment quality, examination integrity and candidate confidence.

Reporting

The postholder reports to the Head of Examinations and is responsible for AKT operational and assessment staff, including line management of designated direct reports.

Time Commitment and Term

• Permanent


• Full time


• London with hybrid working

Remuneration

• £61,083.07

Principal Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for the AKT, ensuring effective governance, delivery, quality assurance and continuous improvement.


• Oversee the full assessment content lifecycle, including examination item development, review, approval, itembanking, test construction, post-test review and retirement.


• Provide oversight of AKT itembank management, ensuring effective version control, auditability, quality assurance and examination security.


• Lead examination delivery arrangements, working closely with internal teams, clinical leads, psychometric specialists, assessment contributors, delivery partners and senior colleagues across the College to ensure the AKT is delivered safely, fairly, securely and to the required regulatory, professional and organisational standards.


• Ensure robust processes are in place for results verification, standard-setting, post-test analysis and assessment outcome governance.


• Maintain oversight of AKT operational, delivery and assessment risks, ensuring appropriate mitigations are implemented and clearly documented.


• Act as the AKT business lead for assessment production, systems, operational delivery and continuous improvement.


• Lead relationships with assessment delivery providers and systems suppliers, contributing to supplier governance, contract monitoring and service improvement.


• Support the handling of complex candidate cases, complaints, appeals, mitigating circumstances and examination-related enquiries by providing AKT-specific operational and assessment advice.


• Lead and develop AKT staff, building capability, resilience and succession planning within the function.


• Contribute to the wider strategic development of examinations and assessment services across the College.

Essential Attributes

• Educated to degree level or equivalent, or able to demonstrate equivalent professional experience in examinations, assessment, education, qualifications, regulation or a related field.


• Significant experience of managing examinations, assessment programmes or other high-stakes operational services.


• Experience of assessment content development, itembank management or comparable content production environments.


• Experience of leading complex operational processes involving multiple stakeholders.


• Experience of managing and developing staff.


• Strong understanding of governance, risk management, quality assurance, confidentiality and examination security.


• Strong communication, analytical, organisational and stakeholder management skills.

Desirable Attributes

• Experience of computer-based testing environments.


• Experience of assessment production systems such as ExamDeveloper.


• Understanding of psychometric analysis, standard-setting methodologies or assessment performance data.


• Experience of AI-assisted content development and associated governance controls.


• Background of working within healthcare, professional or educational assessment environments.

Applications

This role is particularly suited to an experienced examinations, assessment or operational leader with strong governance, quality assurance and stakeholder management experience, and an interest in supporting the safe, fair and effective delivery of high-stakes professional assessment.