Senior Operations Manager - Results & Recognition

Cambridge University Press & Assessment; Cambridge; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave 28 days

Private medical insurance

Discretionary bonus

Pension scheme

Life assurance

Green travel

Job summary

Cambridge University Press & Assessment in Cambridge is seeking a Senior Operations Manager – Results & Recognition to lead the global IELTS results release function, ensuring accuracy, security and regulatory compliance across a high‑volume operation.

You will manage a dedicated team, drive continuous improvement, and collaborate with IELTS partners and the Centralised Security team to uphold governance and integrity of IELTS results and recognition processes.

Qualifications

• Experience leading high-volume operations with regulatory compliance focus.
• Strong analytical, organizational and stakeholder-management skills.
• Proven track record in quality assurance and process improvement.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Results & Recognition team, fostering a high-performance culture.
• Oversee the accurate and timely release of results, ensuring regulatory compliance.
• Ensure policies, documentation, and SOPs are up to date and aligned with best practice.
• Drive process improvement to keep operations lean, efficient and quality-focused.
• Collaborate with IELTS partners and Centralised Security on security-related cases.
• Manage global data and records for organisations that recognise IELTS results.
• Partner with Stakeholder Teams to enhance recognition management policies and processes.
• Serve as the SME for results management and recognition governance.
• Provide insights and operational guidance to protect IELTS integrity and reputation.

Job description

Are you a highly experienced Operations Leader looking for your next opportunity at a thriving global organisation?

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

We are seeking an exceptional Senior Operations Manager – Results & Recognition to lead one of the most critical operational functions within the global IELTS network. This is a dynamic and rewarding opportunity for a strong leader who is passionate about operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and delivering high‑quality outcomes for millions of test takers worldwide.

About the role

As the SeniorOperations Manager for Results & Recognition, you will have strategic and operational responsibility for the timely, accurate, and secure release of IELTS results. You will manage a dedicated Results & Recognition team, ensuring that all processes are fully compliant, efficient, and underpinned by a strong culture of quality and continuous improvement.

A key part of this role involves ensuring that all documentation, policies, and standard operating procedures are current, standardised, and consistently applied across the operation. You will work closely with IELTS partners and the Centralised Security team to ensure that security concerns are escalated appropriately and that results impacted by security investigations are handled with precision and care.

In addition, you will oversee the global data management of organisations that recognise IELTS results. Partnering with Stakeholder Teams, you will help design, refine, and implement policies and processes that support the ongoing growth of IELTS recognition worldwide. You will act as the organisation's subject matter expert for all activities related to results management and recognising‑organisation governance.

Additionalresponsibilities and accountabilities include:

• Lead and manage the Results & Recognition team, fostering a high‑performance culture.
• Oversee the accurate and timely release of results, ensuring all processes meet regulatory requirements.
• Ensure policies, documentation, and standard operating procedures are up to date, consistent, and aligned with best practice.
• Drive process improvement to ensure operations remain lean, efficient, and quality‑focused.
• Work with IELTS partners and Centralised Security to correctly raise, investigate, and resolve security‑related cases.
• Manage global data and records for organisations that recognise IELTS results.
• Collaborate with partner Stakeholder Teams to enhance recognition management policies and processes.
• Serve as the subject matter expert for results management and recognition governance.
• Provide insights, guidance, and operational expertise to support the integrity and reputation of the IELTS test.

This position has been classified as a hybrid role, requiring the selected candidate to typically spend 40-60% of their time collaborating and connecting face-to-face at their dedicated location. Aside from our hybrid principles, other flexible working requests will be considered from the first day of employment, including other work arrangements should yourequireadjustments due to a disability or long‑term health condition.

About You

Youwill be an experienced operations leader with strong analytical skills, excellent organisational abilities, and a proven track record of managing complex, high‑volume processes. You bring a thoughtful and structured approach to compliance, quality assurance, and stakeholder management. You communicate with clarity and confidence, and you are skilled at guiding teams through change while maintaining exceptional standards.

If you meet theaboveminimumrequirements, we encourage you to apply. Your application will be even stronger if you can alsodemonstratethefollowing desirable criteria:

• Knowledge of global English Language testing
• Knowledge of IELTS
• Experience working with Regulatory bodies and government agencies
• Experience of Stakeholder and Change Management
• Turning business strategy into team goals

For a detailed job description, please refer to the link at the bottom of the advert on our careers site.

We are a Disability Confident (DC) employer that is committed to equality and inclusion ensuring our recruitment process is accessible to all. The DC scheme's Offer of an Interview commitment applies to applicants who opt in, and disclose a disability or a long-term health condition, and best meet theminimumcriteria for the role. In instances where interviewing all qualifying candidates is not practicable, we prioritise those who best meet theminimumcriteria, as we would for applicants who do not have a disability or long-term health condition.

Cambridge University Press & Assessment is an approved UK employer for the sponsorship of eligible roles and applicants under the Skilled Worker visa route. Please refer to the website for guidance to understand your own eligibility based on the role you are applying for.

Rewards and benefits

We will support you to be at your best in work and to live well outside of it. In addition to competitive salaries, we offer a world‑class, flexible rewards package, featuring family‑friendly and planet‑friendly benefits including:

• 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

We aim to support candidates by making our interview process clear and transparent. The closing date for all applications will be 30 September 2026.

We will review applications on an ongoing basis, and shortlisted candidates can expect interviews to take place from the week commencing 7 October 2026.

If you are shortlisted and progressed through the stages, you can expect:

• In-person interviews at our offices in Cambridge.

If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process due to a disability or a long‑term health condition, there will be an opportunity for you to inform us via the online application form. We will do our best to accommodate your needs.

Please note that successful applicants will be subject to satisfactory background checks including DBS due to working in a regulated industry.

Why join us

Joining us is your opportunity to pursue potential. You will belong to a collaborative team that is 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 is 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.