Manager, Assessment Materials - 7114

Job Title: Manager, Assessment Materials

Contract: Full time, permanent, 35 hours per week

Salary: £35,200-£45,700 per annum

Location: Cambridge, Hybrid

Lead the engine room of our high‑stakes international assessment material production, keeping security airtight, quality uncompromising, and delivery on schedule.

If you're energised by developing people, improving operational processes, and delivering complex workflows to immovable deadlines, this is an opportunity to make a tangible difference for learners worldwide.

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

As our next Manager, you'll take ownership of the management and administration required to produce live assessment materials for high‑stakes examinations, ensuring everything is completed to schedule and that confidentiality is safeguarded at every step.

About The Role

This role is about leadership, security and quality. If you're driven by high standards and motivated by developing others, you'll find real meaning in leading work that protects exam integrity and delivers for learners worldwide.

Your teams' primary function is to ensure the accurate, secure and on‑time production of international assessment materials, in line with agreed schedules and quality standards. You'll set clear priorities, provide strong production oversight and supportive people management, while owning key processes and continuously improving how we work to make delivery more efficient and effective.

Responsibilities and accountabilities include:

• Lead, develop and support colleagues (directly and indirectly), safeguarding productivity, compliance and wellbeing across your area.
• Plan and oversee delivery, ensuring materials are available on published exam timetable dates.
• Maintain exceptional standards of security and confidentiality for highly sensitive live materials, including oversight of hard‑copy handling (receipt, distribution, secure storage and confidential destruction).
• Oversee workflow data set‑up that enables electronic production, and quality control of question paper reference data (QPRD) supporting on‑screen marking.
• Own and maintain procedure documentation, ensuring processes are clear, current and fit for purpose, and that actions are completed to a high standard and on time.
• Act as a process lead and subject‑matter expert in BAU and project activity, representing Test Production at working and steering groups, and supporting change delivery.
• Lead our digital authoring team and our continued ramp up in this area.
• Provide and interpret departmental reporting, including progress towards deadlines, using data to surface risks early and keep plans on track.
• Be part of the Test Production management team, contributing ideas, sharing best practice, and helping steer the department through each cycle.
• Champion and embed continuous improvement across people, process and reporting — spotting opportunities, testing improvements and scaling what works across the end‑to‑end production cycle.
• Leverage AI and digital tools responsibly to improve operational efficiency and personal productivity, while maintaining strong governance, accuracy and security.
• Oversee copyright applications and clearance that enable post‑exam publication.

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

You are personable, conscientious and organised. A role model and an inspiration to your peers and colleagues. You collaborate, take ownership and deliver with tenacity and pride. You balance determination with kindness, recognising that how we achieve is as important as what we achieve.

You bring a clear desire, and a demonstrated track record, of role‑modelling innovation and process improvement, including the safe, smart, responsible use of AI and data to improve operational and personal efficiency while keeping quality and security front and centre.

Essential criteria:

• Accomplished in people management, with experience supporting others to deliver high standards.
• Demonstrable success in process management, including planning, scheduling and delivery against agreed standards.
• Ability to understand and integrate business objectives and policies with operational processes, applying sound judgement and knowing when to escalate.
• Exceptional accuracy and attention to detail, with strong organisational skills that enable effective prioritisation.
• Professional, pragmatic and personable, with effective communication skills and a commitment to excellent customer service and stakeholder management.
• Proficiency using Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and Outlook) and experience using bespoke software.

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:

• A track record of role‑modelling innovation and process improvement, including practical experience using AI tools to simplify work, improve throughput, strengthen reporting, or raise quality.
• Experience working in an operational environment where security, compliance and risk management are critical.
• Confidence using management information and data to surface risk early and support delivery.

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

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 4th May 2026. We will review applications on an ongoing basis, and shortlisted candidates can expect interviews to take place w/c 18th May 2026.

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

• Face-to-Face interview in Cambridge
• A task to prepare and submit prior to 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.