Job Title: Operations Manager

Salary: £35,200 - £45,700

Location: Cambridge, hybrid

Contract: Permanent 

Hours: Full time, 35 hours per week 

We are seeking an experienced Operations Manager to join our IELTS Delivery team, with a specific focus on compliance, assurance, and regulatory readiness across Operations and Assessment.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in protecting the integrity and confidence of IELTS delivery within a highly regulated, global environment.
 

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  

As our next Operations Manager, you will provide dedicated compliance and assurance capability embedded within IELTS Operations. The role supports effective risk management, audit readiness, and adherence to regulatory and governance requirements across IELTS Delivery.

Working closely with colleagues across Operations, Assessment, Regulation, and UKVI liaison teams, you will act as a compliance specialist—ensuring that internal policies, regulatory expectations, and agreed controls are consistently applied, monitored, and evidenced.

This role does not have line management responsibility and is suited to an experienced operational professional with strong compliance and assurance expertise.

Key responsibilities include:

• Supporting and monitoring compliance activities across IELTS Delivery.
• Ensuring operational processes align with regulatory, policy, and governance requirements.
• Coordinating audit readiness activities, including evidence gathering and response preparation.
• Supporting identification, logging, and tracking of incidents, non-conformances, and risks.
• Acting as a coordination point between IELTS Operations and internal Regulation and UKVI teams.
• Representing Operations in compliance forums, working groups, and governance meetings.
• Reviewing and assuring compliance-related documentation, including SOPs and control frameworks.
• Providing compliance insight to support continuous improvement initiatives where required.

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 you require adjustments due to a disability or long-term health condition. 

About You  
 
The role requires experience working in an operational or delivery‑focused environment, ideally within a regulated setting, with a proven ability to support compliance, audit, governance, or assurance activities. You will bring a strong understanding of risk management and how regulatory requirements are applied in practice, alongside excellent attention to detail and the ability to accurately review documentation, controls, and supporting evidence. Strong organisational and communication skills are essential, enabling you to manage multiple priorities effectively and engage confidently with a range of stakeholders. 

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: 

• Experience working in assessment or other regulated industries.
• Familiarity with incident or non-conformance management processes.
• Experience supporting regulatory reviews or internal audits.
• Knowledge of IELTS delivery models or related systems.

  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. 

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 gov.uk 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  

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 Sunday 8^th March. We will review applications on an ongoing basis, and shortlisted candidates can expect interviews to take place from week commencing 16^th March.  

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

• First stage virtual interview via MS Teams. 
• Final stage interview: in-person at our offices in Cambridge. You will be provided with a brief to complete a role related task ahead of your interview.

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.