* Salary:
£43,800 - £58,500
- Location:
Cambridge
- Country:
UK
- Business Unit:
Cambridge Partnership for Education
- Vacancy Type:
Permanent
- Closing Date:
12 October 2025
Meet the recruiter
Stephanie Whitaker
Salary: £43,800 - £58,500
Location: Cambridge/Hybrid – The Triangle Building, UK with office attendance at least 2 days a week
Contract: Permanent
Partnership for Education is Cambridge University Press & Assessment's International Education department working with ministries of education, NGOs, and other partners to design and deliver education systems. We do this through a number of bespoke solutions including teaching and learning materials, curriculum reviews and development, assessment design and materials, teacher development, monitoring and evaluation, data management and analysis, and governance.
We are currently delivering projects in more than 20 countries across the world, including in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa.
We work closely with experts across Cambridge University Press & Assessment, as well as departments at the University of Cambridge to deliver to exceptional standards
We are Cambridge University Press & Assessment, a world-leading academic publisher and assessment organisation and a proud part of the University of Cambridge.
About the role
The Programme Manager is responsible for managing the successful delivery of complex and multi-strand or multi-disciplinary education reform programmes, managing resources and ensuring that deliverables are completed to quality, cost and timeframes as specified in the contract, aiming to ensure customer satisfaction throughout the project or programme lifecycle.
As one of a small team of Programme Managers you will lead the strategic development of a programme of work, including direction of project teams comprised of internal stakeholders, external suppliers, project managers and assistant project managers. The role also involves direct line management of a small team of Project Managers and Assistant Project Managers.
Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
* Planning and designing the programme and proactively monitoring its overall progress, resolving issues, and initiating corrective action as appropriate.
* Day-to-day management of the programme including project initiation, contract documentation and closure.
* Ensuring that the delivery of outputs or services from the programme meets requirements and is to the appropriate quality, on time and within budget.
* Developing and implementing the programme's governance framework.
* Managing the programme's budget, monitoring the expenditures and costs against benefits as the programme progresses, working with colleagues to ensure commercial advantages in supplier engagement.
* Ensuring the efficient allocation of resources and skills within the programme.
* Overseeing internal and external suppliers to the programme in collaboration with the Supplier Manager
* Managing communications with internal and external stakeholders
* Leading and motivating the programme teams
* Reporting progress of the programme at regular intervals to the Delivery Management Team
* Reporting progress of the programme at defined intervals to the Programme Sponsor and Steering Group
* Reporting progress of the programme at regular intervals to clients
* Organising and chairing regular programme team meetings and any other task deemed appropriate to support the overall portfolio within the Delivery team.
About you
Are you passionate about international education? Are you a Programme Manager with experience in education publishing, delivering professional development programmes, education reform, or assessment delivery? We have an opening for a Programme Manager to join an exciting, innovative team delivering international education reform projects to our clients around the world.
We're interested in what you would bring to the role beyond the essential skills of being a proactive, well organised, good communicator. What would you bring that will add value to our superb team? You'd be joining an established team of fellow Programme Managers, who are responsible for the successful delivery of complex programmes to clients across the world, leading project teams and working closely with our clients to ensure that our programmes deliver excellent outcomes on time and on budget.
We are looking for someone with the experience and attitude to be able to make an immediate impact on our work. Knowledge and experience of working in an international education environment is a significant advantage.
If you would like to know more about this opportunity and what will make you successful, please see the full job description attached to the bottom of this vacancy on our careers site.
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 are a hybrid working organisation, and we offer a range of flexible working options from day one. We expect most hybrid-working colleagues to spend 40-60% of their time at their dedicated office or location. We will also consider other work arrangements if you wish to work more flexibly or require adjustments due to a disability.
Ready to pursue your potential? Apply now.
We review applications on an ongoing basis, with a closing date for all applications being 12th October 2025 although we may close it earlier if suitable candidates are identified. The first round of interviews are scheduled to take place in person in Cambridge on 22nd and 23rd October 2025.
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'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.
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