Examination Program Manager

Description

Job Summary:

The Examination Program Manager oversees and participates in all aspects of examination development and delivery, from initial blueprint to technical report for ALS/BLS/performance examinations. Successfully executes project plans for examinations, including content development, examination administration, test publication and delivery, and all other components of building and publishing examinations. 

Mission:

The Examination Program Manager supports the mission of the National Registry by leading the development, management, and continuous improvement of examination content and processes that assess clinical competence across the EMS profession. Through collaboration with subject-matter experts, psychometricians, vendors, and stakeholders, the position helps ensure examinations are accurate, secure, evidence-based, and reflective of current EMS practices and national standards. This role also advances the mission through process improvement, research, data analysis, and ongoing engagement with the EMS community to support high-quality lifelong assessment and public protection.

Essential Functions:

• Identifies examination and item development needs, evaluates process inefficiencies, and recommends improvements to policies, procedures, and workflows. Tracks key performance indicators and inquiry response metrics to support operational effectiveness and continuous improvement. 
• Prioritizes, scopes, coordinates, and manages project work for assigned examinations, serving as project owner as designated.
• Participates in all phases of examination content development, including reviewing and developing item content, facilitating content review meetings, and ensuring all content accuracy, relevance, technical soundness, and alignment with current EMS practice. Recruits and trains subject matter experts in accordance with NCCA standards and facilitates item writing and review activities.
• Develops assignments, training materials, item models, cognitive maps, and related resources for item development meetings delivered through the IMS and other platforms. Collects and analyzes post-meeting data and prepares reports to evaluate outcomes and content quality.  
• Reviews and maintains item pools, pilot test data, and examination content to ensure technical accuracy, currency, relevance, and appropriate item performance. Participates in item analyses, cognitive interviews, focus groups, and pilot studies as needed. 
• Assists in the development and implementation of new item types, scoring instruments, rubric updates, and content review processes. Adds references and rationales to items within the item management system.
• Manages and maintains examination development resources, including image banks, reference materials, variant lists, job aids, and related tools supporting content creation and maintenance. 
• Collaborates with Examination Operations, Psychometricians, the Examinations Editor, vendors, and internal teams to resolve content-related issues, support item performance analysis, and ensure compliance with National Registry style and standards. Serves as an internal subject matter expert for examination development initiatives. 
• Investigates and responds to candidate inquiries, item challenges, examination issues, and suspected security concerns, escalating issues as appropriate. Participates in examination security investigations related to compromised content. 
• Collaborates with internal teams to ensure policies, procedures, work instructions, and administrative processes are executed effectively and remain compliant with NCCA standards. 
• Coordinates with IT and other stakeholders to resolve system or data issues affecting testing functions
• Revises examination procedures and work instructions to maintain compliance with NCCA standards. 
• Collaborates with the Stakeholder team to communicate updates, anticipated challenges, and operational changes. Responds to inquiries and escalates issues, as needed. 
• Monitors examination trends, volumes, pass rates, and other key metrics; prepares reports on examination processes and performance. 

Requirements

Qualifications:

• 4-year degree in clinical health profession or related field or an equivalent combination of experience and education required
• Current or recent state-licensed paramedic 
• 3 – 5 years of high-volume EMS experience required
• 3 – 5 years of experience as an EMS instructor preferred

Competencies: 

• Knowledge of testing lifecycle: development, publication, administration, analysis, reporting.
• Able to clearly document policies, procedures, work instructions and reports for internal and external audiences.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills while maintaining high ethics and integrity.

Other Requirements:

• Must be able to successfully work in an office environment. 
• Must be able to travel up to 10 nights per year. 

The National Registry is an equal-opportunity employer. All persons will be considered for employment without discrimination against race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran, or disability status.

For more information on the National Registry, visit nremt.org.