Job Title: Distribution Assistant

Salary: £24,900 - £26,000

Location: Whittlesford, near Duxford, UK

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full Time - 35 hours per week

Are you looking for a hands‑on role where every detail counts and your work has a global impact? Join us as a Distribution Assistant, where you will play a vital role in ensuring our examination material reaches our learners around the world. We have opportunities in various departments within our busy warehouse.

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 

Have you ever wondered how an exam paper is created and processed? At Group Print and Operations, we securely print over half a billion A4 pages each year and deliver them to millions of learners across more than 170 countries. Once completed, centres return the papers to our distribution centre, where our scanning team digitises scripts so examiners can mark them electronically.

Find out more about our distribution centre and what we do by watching our short video here.  

As a Distribution Assistant, you will play a vital role in ensuring exam materials are handled, processed and distributed securely and accurately. From preparing shipments to supporting smooth departmental operations, you will help ensure learners around the world receive their assessments on time—and their certificates once they have achieved success.

Key responsibilities include:

• Securely handling physical and electronic exam materials, always ensuring absolute confidentiality
• Completing tasks efficiently and accurately in line with departmental processes
• Maintaining service benchmarks and supporting planning activities
• Identifying and escalating issues promptly
• Supporting continuous improvement by sharing ideas and collaborating with colleagues
• Following Health, Safety and Wellbeing procedures to maintain a safe working environment
• Building positive working relationships across teams

This is a varied role, where you will complete tasks that could be desk-based or involve walking/standing for a long period of time.  

We encourage development, and there will be many opportunities for progression and growth in your career here at our distribution centre.  

We have opportunities in different departments:  

Pre-exams: As part of the Pre-Exams team, you will play a vital role in the secure processing and distribution of examination materials, ensuring accuracy, quality, and timely delivery. Working within strict security, quality, and health & safety standards, the team supports the preparation, checking, packing, and dispatch of materials critical to exam operations.

SITMA: As part of the SITMA team within Pre-exams, you will operate and support a range of bespoke machinery used in the processing and packaging of examination materials. Previous experience working with, operating, or maintaining machinery within a production or distribution environment would be highly desirable and will help you succeed in this role. You should be comfortable working in a fast-paced operational environment, following established processes, and maintaining high standards of quality and accuracy.

Scanning: As part of the Scanning team, you will play a vital role in ensuring completed exam scripts from around the world are securely processed, digitised and made available for electronic marking. You will handle high volumes of confidential assessment materials while maintaining exceptional standards of accuracy, quality and security.

This role may require shift work for part of the year, depending on organisational need. The standard working hours are 8.30am – 4.15pm Monday – Friday (3pm finish on Friday's). Shift times are a rotation of early shift (6am – 1.30pm) and late shift (1.30pm – 9.00pm) Monday – Friday (early finishes on both shifts on Friday's) and you will receive a shift premium of 20%.  During our busier months, you may be required to work a night shift 9pm – 6.15am Monday – Thursday with a shift premium of 30%.

About You

You will bring strong attention to detail, time‑management skills and the ability to work confidently under tight deadlines. You are someone who communicates clearly, builds positive working relationships and is comfortable adapting to change. You take pride in high‑quality work, follow procedures carefully and enjoy working both independently and as part of a team.

Essential skills & experience:

• Proficient in Microsoft Office
• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills
• Good communication and relationship‑building skills
• Ability to follow and maintain clear procedures

• An understanding of health and safety policies and procedures

• Comfortable working to deadlines and meeting benchmarks
• Flexible and adaptable approach

If you meet the above minimum requirements, we encourage you to apply. Your application will be even stronger if you can also demonstrate the following desirable criteria:

• Knowledge of a production or distribution environment
• Experience working with database systems
• Understanding of SLA's/benchmarks or planning data

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 the minimum criteria for the role. In instances where interviewing all qualifying candidates is not practicable, we prioritise those who best meet the minimum criteria, as we would for applicants who do not have a disability or long-term health condition. 

Please note, Cambridge University Press & Assessment is unable to sponsor this role under the Skilled Worker Visa route as it does not meet the minimum skill requirements.

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

Ready to pursue your potential? Apply now. 

We aim to support candidates by making our interview process clear and transparent. The closing date for all applications will be 26^th August 2026. We will review applications on an ongoing basis, and shortlisted candidates can expect interviews to take place either whilst the campaign is live or week commencing 31^st August 2026.

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

• Final stage interview: In-person at our offices in Whittlesford

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.

We are committed to an equitable recruitment process. As such, applications must be submitted via our official online application procedure. Please refrain from sending your CV directly to our recruiters. If you experience technical difficulties or require additional support with submitting your online application, contact the Recruiter.

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.