Director of Assessment Operations & Modernization

National Conference of Bar Examiners; Madison (WI); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) seeks a Director of Assessment Operations to lead the design and delivery of the assessment operating model, driving modernization of content pipelines, grading processes, and flexible exam delivery in partnership with Psychometrics, Test Development, Product, and Engineering.

Reporting to the Chief Product Officer, the role builds scalable processes, manages capacity and budgets, and oversees vendor relationships to ensure timely, high-quality

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree in business, operations, education, assessment, or related field preferred.
• 8–10 years of progressively responsible experience leading complex operations, production systems, program delivery, or large-scale service functions, including people and cross-functional leadership.
• Experience in educational assessment, licensure/certification, regulated operations, or another high-stakes, quality-sensitive environment strongly preferred.
• Ability to partner effectively with psychometric, content, engineering, product, and operational specialists without substituting for their technical expertise.
• Demonstrated experience managing strategic technology or service-provider relationships, including shared operational planning, vendor performance, service levels, escalation, and cross-organizational delivery accountability.
• Excellent judgment, communication, organizational, and analytical skills; ability to manage competing deadlines and lead through ambiguity.
• Familiarity with workflow automation, production analytics, and responsible applications of AI to operational processes desirable.

Responsibilities

• Leads the development and implementation of NCBE’s assessment operating model, ensuring reliable current operations and alignment with long-term modernization priorities.
• Designs and manages scalable assessment content production workflows, including capacity planning, schedules, resource allocation, production controls, and timely delivery.
• Partners with Test Development, Psychometrics, Product Engineering, and Product to modernize content pipelines through streamlined workflows, automation, and responsible AI-assisted processes.
• Leads operational planning and coordination for constructed-response grading, including grader capacity, recruitment logistics, training schedules, assignments, and workflow management.
• Works with Psychometrics and Test Development to implement standardized grading operations, calibration support, quality monitoring, and processes that scale while maintaining scoring consistency.
• Builds the operating capabilities required to support more frequent, flexible, and potentially window-based exam administrations, including evolving test-center and delivery models.
• Establishes and oversees operational readiness frameworks, implementation plans, contingency procedures, and reviews across jurisdictions, venues, and delivery environments.
• Partners closely with Internet Testing Systems (ITS), Pearson VUE, and other strategic providers on operational planning, implementation, readiness, service delivery, and continuous improvement.
• Defines shared responsibilities, service expectations, performance measures, escalation paths, and governance processes for vendor-dependent operations.
• Collaborates with leaders across Psychometrics, Test Development, Product, User Experience, Product Engineering, and other functions to coordinate priorities, dependencies, and execution.
• Identifies and implements the systems, tools, documentation, standard operating procedures, and supporting infrastructure needed for a sustainable, production-grade operation.
• Establishes operational metrics and reporting to monitor throughput, quality, turnaround times, capacity, costs, partner performance, and opportunities for improvement.
• Identifies operational risks and leads mitigation planning, issue escalation, contingency preparation, and business continuity efforts to protect exam integrity and service reliability.
• Develops and manages operational budgets, staffing models, resource plans, and capacity forecasts to support current commitments and future growth.
• Leads organizational change and operational improvement initiatives; builds and manages staff and external resources as the assessment operations function evolves.

Skills

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Project management

Analytical skills

Communication

Strategic thinking

AI in operations

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) seeks a Director of Assessment Operations to lead the design and delivery of the assessment operating model, driving modernization of content pipelines, grading processes, and flexible exam delivery in partnership with Psychometrics, Test Development, Product, and Engineering.

Reporting to the Chief Product Officer, the role builds scalable processes, manages capacity and budgets, and oversees vendor relationships to ensure timely, high-quality