Careers Senior Programme Manager

Cambridge University Press & Assessment; Hartford; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading academic publisher in the UK is seeking a Senior Programme Manager to deliver large-scale projects within their IELTS portfolio. The ideal candidate will have proven experience in programme management and change delivery, particularly on an international scale. Responsibilities include ensuring projects are delivered on time and within budget, managing complex initiatives, and mentoring team members. The role offers benefits like 28 days annual leave, private medical insurance, and a discretionary annual bonus.

Benefits

28 days annual leave plus bank holidays

Private medical and Permanent Health Insurance

Discretionary annual bonus

Group personal pension scheme

Life assurance up to 4 x annual salary

Green travel schemes

Qualifications

• Proven experience managing complex projects and delivering large-scale programs.
• Experience with analysis, process design, and IT-enabled change.
• Strong leadership capabilities and experience mentoring team members.

Responsibilities

• Lead and implement programmes and projects to deliver strategy.
• Ensure programmes are managed according to best practice principles.
• Build relationships and support stakeholder engagement.

Skills

Programme management

Change delivery

Stakeholder engagement

Agile methodologies

Risk management

Job description

Role Overview

These are exciting times for English as we look to implement a number of significant business transformation programmes within our IELTS portfolio that will assist our organisation in meeting its strategic initiatives. We are seeking to appoint an experienced Senior Programme Manager, who will thrive in delivering in this changing environment and is motivated by providing excellence for our customers.

• Lead and implement the programmes and projects to deliver English's Strategy within the IELTS portfolio and lead corresponding business transformation in a way which builds customer loyalty, market growth, and a continued desire to do business with English.
• Ensure programmes and projects are managed according to best practice principles - e.g. appropriate governance is in place, required documentation is produced, the business case supports the Business Plan, and budgets are effectively developed and monitored etc.
• Build relationships across all levels throughout the business to support stakeholder engagement and management, ensuring effective collaboration with internal and external providers.
• Contribute to the development of a wide Programme and Project Management community within English in order to align working practices, realise synergies and identify new development opportunities.
• Be a source of expertise and have significant practical experience of analysis, process design, management consultancy and IT-enabled change. Provide support, guidance and mentoring to other team members.
• Lead the delivery of large-scale English assessment, business change, and digital programmes using Agile, Waterfall, and hybrid methodologies.
• Ensure programmes are delivered on time, within budget and scope, and aligned with strategic business objectives.
• Collaborate with senior stakeholders including Programme Executives, Sponsors, IELTS Partners, and Project Leads to manage complex, high-impact initiatives.
• Oversee programme-level planning, benefits tracking, dependency mapping, and risk management across multiple workstreams.
• Support the Project Delivery team through mentoring, training, recruitment input, and development of Project Managers.

The Senior Programme Manager will lead the design, planning, and delivery of large-scale projects and programmes in collaboration with senior leaders, from initiation through to implementation. They will oversee Project Managers and ensure high-quality execution across the portfolio. This role requires deep expertise in programme management and change delivery-ideally on an international scale-as well as proven experience managing complex projects and strong leadership capabilities.

About the Company

We are Cambridge University Press & Assessment, a world-leading academic publisher and assessment organisation and a proud part of the University of Cambridge.

Our mission is to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence, which is why every year, we give vital support to millions of people in more than 170 countries around the world. From teachers and learners to researchers and academics, we help to build confidence, unlock potential, and enable success. We give people the opportunity to show what they've learnt, we spread knowledge, spark enquiry, and aid understanding. We achieve this by embracing change, and continuously focusing on our customers' needs. By collaborating, and carefully listening to our customers and to each other, we keep moving forward, keep innovating, and keep finding newer and better ways of doing things.

Joining us is your opportunity to pursue potential. You'll belong to a collaborative team that's exploring new and better ways to serve students, teachers and researchers across the globe - for the benefit of individuals, society and the world. Sharing our mission will inspire your own growth, development and progress, in an environment which embraces difference, change and aspiration. Cambridge University Press & Assessment is committed to being a place where anyone can enjoy a successful career, where it's safe to speak up, and where we learn continuously to improve together.

We welcome applications from all candidates, regardless of demographic characteristics (age, disability, educational attainment, ethnicity, gender, marital status, neurodiversity, religion, sex, gender identity and sexual identity), cultural, or social class/background. We believe better outcomes come through diversity of thought, background and approach. We welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and communities, actively seeking to employ people from a wide range of different communities.

Benefits

• 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Private medical and Permanent Health Insurance
• Discretionary annual bonus
• Group personal pension scheme
• Life assurance up to 4 x annual salary
• Green travel schemes