Director, CPA Professional Examinations

Job Description

The CPA Western School of Business (CPAWSB) is seeking an experienced and collaborative Director to lead a national examination portfolio within a high‑stakes CPA assessment environment. This role offers a rare opportunity to help shape and mature a new assessment model tied to the new CPA Professional Program, influencing the systems, processes, and teams responsible for creating, evaluating, and marking the CPA profession’s examinations in Canada.

Reporting to the VP, Professional Examinations, the Director provides strategic leadership and operational oversight across the full exam lifecycle, including planning, authoring and content development, psychometric analysis, standard‑setting, secure administration, marking, and the reporting of results to candidates, provincial, territorial, and Bermudian (PTB) regulatory bodies, and other key partners.

The Director ensures all examinations align with the CPA Professional Program and Competency Map 2.0, support valid and reliable measurement of candidate achievement, and meet all regulatory, accreditation, security, and privacy requirements. As part of the Exam Provider Unit’s leadership team, the Director collaborates closely with colleagues across CPAWSB, the Certification Collaboration Committee (CCC), the Board of Examiners (BOE), psychometricians, vendors, authors, and internal operational teams to deliver a robust, accessible, bilingual, secure, and defensible national examination program.

Working collaboratively with others within the Exam Provider Unit, this role partners with the CCC, supports the BOE in establishing exam content and Fair Pass Standards, and engages with PTBs, subject matter experts, and other partners to ensure consistent, high‑quality assessment across the profession.

The portfolio may include multiple choice assessments, case‑based examinations, or other evolving exam formats. The successful candidate will develop a broad understanding across the full examination continuum to ensure consistency, resilience, continuity, and excellence across exam operations.

What The Successful Candidates Will Bring

Education

• Master’s degree in education, assessment, psychometrics, measurement, or a related field required (PhD, an asset).


• CPA designation or certification in assessment/credentialing, an asset.

Experience

• 5 to 7+ years of progressive experience in exam development, professional certification, psychometrics, or related fields.


• Proven leadership experience managing high‑stakes examination programs, including authoring, delivery, and marking operations.


• Experience with statistical analysis, exam content development, and standard‑setting methodologies (e.g., Angoff, Bookmark, Hofstee), including equating and reliability/validity evidence.


• Demonstrated ability to manage complex projects with multiple partners (PTBs, boards/committees, vendors) in bilingual contexts.


• Knowledge of both MCQ development principles (e.g., blueprinting, distractor quality, item analysis) and case‑based assessment design (e.g., holistic and analytic marking, case authoring frameworks).

Skills And Attributes

• Strategic, system‑level thinker with strong governance orientation and impeccable judgment.


• Deep understanding of assessment principles, exam development methodologies, and psychometric defensibility for diagnostic/progression decisions.


• Versatility across assessment formats, including MCQ development and case‑based assessment design, with the ability to translate psychometric concepts for diverse stakeholders.


• Exceptional communication with the ability to translate technical information for diverse audiences, including BOE and PTBs.


• Strong relationship‑building skills with the ability to collaborate effectively across internal and external teams.


• Strong understanding of exam quality, fairness, accessibility, bilingual requirements, security and privacy.


• Excellent project management, organizational, and problem‑solving abilities; ability to lead, inspire, guide and support high‑performing teams.


• A level of comfort in working with Artificial Intelligence tools such as Microsoft Co‑Pilot.

This role is eligible for hybrid work. The CPAWSB is based primarily in Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver. If based outside of these centers, the successful candidate may be required to travel to a CPAWSB office from time to time, or as required.

The salary range for this role is $110,600 to $165,900. We recognize the value of directly comparable experience. Candidates bringing recent experience performing equivalent work may be eligible for salary and benefit placement that reflects that experience, in accordance with organizational compensation policies. Along with a comprehensive benefits package, CPAWSB offers an exciting and challenging work environment, as well as a company culture that values: Excellence, Integrity, Collaboration, Innovation, Responsiveness, and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

If you believe you could thrive in this exciting role, please submit a detailed cover letter and resume to humanresources@cpawsb.ca on or before April 1, 2026.

CPAWSB is committed to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and encourages applications from Indigenous peoples, women, persons with disabilities, members of racialized and other diverse groups. CPAWSB thanks applicants for their interest in this opportunity. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.