# G7 Lead Psychometrician **Company**: Department for Education **Location**: Bristol, South West, England; Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, East of England, England; Coventry, West Midlands, England; City of Westminster, Greater London, England; Manchester, Greater Manchester, North West, England; Sheffield, South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and the Humber, England **Work arrangement**: hybrid **Experience**: senior **Job type**: Flexible **Salary**: GBP 60,222 - 64,518 per year **Category**: Education **Industry**: Education **Apply**: https://www.jobsgopublic.com/job/g7-lead-psychometrician-99185?utm_source=yubhub.co&utm_medium=jobs_feed&utm_campaign=apply **Canonical**: https://yubhub.co/jobs/job_d971dea5-cfa ## Description The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) is part of the Department for Education, responsible for developing and delivering statutory assessments for pupils up to the age of 14 and school-based assessment policy. This role represents an exciting opportunity for a highly skilled psychometrician to support the development and delivery of national assessments. The role requires excellent, demonstrable skills in item response theory among other educational measurement analytical techniques. **Job Description:** The post holder will report to the Head of Assessment Research and Psychometrics. You will be responsible for leading a team of psychometricians responsible for quantitative analysis for trialling and standards maintenance for statutory large scale national curriculum assessments. Your responsibilities will include: - Line management and task management of psychometricians. - Leading and developing technical experts to deliver high quality work and develop their skills. - Undertaking psychometric and statistical analysis on a range of testing programmes. - Contributing to the development of tests and other assessments through provision of psychometric expertise. - Working closely with trialling manager to ensure data from trialling meets analysis needs both from paper-based and digital assessments. - Ensuring the process for setting and maintaining standards on tests is undertaken in a rigorous way. - Applying appropriate project management techniques to ensure that all projects are delivered to time, cost and quality. - Leading on development and coding of tools for psychometric analysis using for example, R, RShiny, SQL and VBA, and the willingness to develop competency with other software as required. - Contributing to the development of evidence on validity, reliability and fairness of tests. - Contributing to data governance for the team. **Person Specification:** **Essential Criteria:** - Strong experience delivering high quality analysis in an operational testing/assessment context. This will include using advanced skills in Excel and experience in IRT software such as flexMIRT and experience in at least one of the following: R, SQL, VBA, Python. - Experience applying knowledge of assessment theories and psychometric techniques such as classical test theory, item response theory and validity theory. - Experience using advanced programming skills with a focus on quality of coding and developing integrated tools to support analysis and improve processes. - Experience leading and supporting technical colleagues in specialist domain knowledge and skills such as equating, standard setting and standards maintenance for evidence-based decision making. - Experience leading with purpose and direction, organising and supporting others in effective collaboration with other teams and/or stakeholders, to deliver high quality outcomes for a project at pace to tight timescales. **Benefits:** Alongside your salary of £60,222, Department for Education contributes £17,446 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. Applicants currently holding a permanent post in the Civil Service should note that, if successful, their salary on appointment would be determined by the Department’s transfer / promotion policies. As a member of the DfE, you will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme, which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK. You will have 25 days leave, increasing by 1 day every year to a maximum of 30 days after five years’ service. In addition, all staff receive the King’s Birthday privilege holiday and 8 days’ bank and public holidays. We offer flexible working arrangements, such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours. Most DfE employees will be working a hybrid pattern, spending at least 60% of their time in an office or work setting. Changes to these working arrangements are available in exceptional circumstances but must be agreed with the line manager and in line with the requirements of the role. Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DfE, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered. Part‑time hours available, from a minimum of 80% FTE. As an organisation, which exists to support education and lifelong learning, we offer our staff excellent professional development opportunities. ## Skills ### Required - Excel - IRT software such as flexMIRT - R - SQL - VBA - Python - item response theory - classical test theory - validity theory --- Source: [Apply at jobsgopublic.com](https://www.jobsgopublic.com/job/g7-lead-psychometrician-99185?utm_source=yubhub.co&utm_medium=jobs_feed&utm_campaign=apply)