Assessment and Learning Specialist

Assessment & Learning Specialist

Learning Design & Innovation

Are you an experienced assessment and learning professional who understands how to turn standards and requirements into practical, high-quality assessment that works in the real world?

Competenz is seeking an Assessment & Learning Specialist to join its Learning Design & Innovation team. This is a specialist role with the opportunity to influence how assessment and supporting learning resources are designed across Competenz and help shape modern, effective work-based learning for New Zealand industry.

Reporting to the GM – Learning Design & Innovation, you will establish and implement assessment and learning design standards, develop best-practice assessment tools and exemplars, and help ensure resources are learner-centred, culturally responsive, workplace relevant and fit for purpose.

The opportunity

This role goes beyond simply developing assessment material. You will have the opportunity to influence assessment practice across Competenz, working collaboratively with learning designers, quality and moderation teams, programme development, field teams, employers, industry representatives, subject matter experts, assessors and learners.

You will help ensure assessment is robust and compliant while remaining practical for learners, assessors and employers operating in real workplace environments.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Developing standards and criteria for high-quality assessment and learning design
• Designing assessment tool prototypes and exemplars for workplace-based qualifications and standards
• Creating guidance including assessor guides, model answers, judgement statements, marking schedules, rubrics and evidence collection tools
• Ensuring assessment aligns with unit standards, skill standards and programme outcomes
• Ensuring compliance with NZQA, Industry Skills Board and Consent and Moderation Requirements
• Applying Universal Design for Learning and accessibility principles
• Supporting pre- and post-assessment moderation and continuous improvement
• Building assessment and learning-design capability across internal and external design teams
• Working with industry and subject matter experts to ensure assessment reflects current workplace practice
• Developing guidance and training for assessors and verifiers.

Help shape the future of assessment

Competenz is looking for someone who will also challenge traditional approaches and explore better ways of assessing workplace capability.

You will identify, develop and test innovative approaches including digital assessment, portfolio assessment and evidence collection, workplace-integrated evidence models, integrated assessment and learning materials, recognition of prior learning and capstone opportunities.

This is an opportunity to bring together sound educational practice, innovation and a strong understanding of how people actually learn and demonstrate competence in the workplace.

What we are looking for

You will ideally bring around 3–5 years' experience developing high-quality assessment tools and supporting learning materials within the New Zealand vocational education environment, particularly work-based learning.

You'll need strong working knowledge of:

• The NZQA framework and requirements
• NZQA Aromatawai and principles of assessment
• Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMR)
• Assessment principles including validity, reliability, fairness and sufficiency
• Internal and/or external moderation
• Best-practice assessment and learning design
• Translating standards into practical workplace assessment
• Working effectively with industry stakeholders and subject matter experts.

A relevant tertiary qualification in adult education, assessment practice or instructional design is sought, along with Unit Standards 11551 and 11552. Unit Standard 4098 or equivalent, Adult and Tertiary Teaching, learning/eLearning design qualifications and relevant AI training would be highly desirable.

Experience with culturally responsive practice and Te Ao Māori perspectives, digital learning and assessment platforms, AI in assessment and learning, and user-focused approaches such as Design Thinking would also be advantageous.

The person

Just as important as your technical expertise will be how you work.

You'll be collaborative, curious and comfortable working with people who bring very different perspectives, from education and quality specialists through to industry experts, employers and workplace assessors.

You'll have excellent written and verbal communication skills, strong analytical capability and an eye for detail. You'll be someone who can protect quality and compliance without losing sight of the learner, employer or practical workplace environment.

Most importantly, you'll be interested in what's next – continually asking how assessment and learning can be made more effective, accessible and relevant.

Competenz's strategic intent is World-class skills for New Zealand industry, supported by its values of exploring ideas, teaming up and owning the outcome.

If you have strong vocational assessment expertise and would like the opportunity to influence assessment practice and work-based learning across a wide range of New Zealand industries, we would be very interested in hearing from you.

Apply now to find out more about this opportunity with Competenz.