Digital competencies of higher-education teachers are a prerequisite for high-quality, future-ready learning. Yet institutional measurement practices still rely predominantly on self-assessment instruments whose subjectivity limits their value for data-informed professional development and policy. This work-in-progress paper presents the design of a skills-based, performance-oriented assessment aligned with DigCompEdu and contextualized for higher education (HE). We outline the competence matrix, task design principles, scoring and proficiency modelling, and the planned pilot at a Belgian University of Applied Sciences. We argue that observing demonstrated competencies through authentic tasks produces more trustworthy, actionable evidence than self-perception data, while acknowledging the implications for validity, fairness, acceptance, and ethical data governance. The paper concludes with a validation roadmap and institutional embedding strategy that connects measurement to targeted professional learning.