Business Support Manager

This is an exciting opportunity to play a central role in ensuring the smooth and effective running of Cambridge IELTS. As our Business Support Manager (Strategic Planning), you will provide centralised business support across the IELTS function, helping senior leaders deliver effectively and maintain a strong operational rhythm., The Business Support Manager plays a pivotal role in coordinating planning, governance, reporting and continuous improvement activity across Cambridge IELTS. You will support senior leaders by managing documentation, processes, timelines and cross functional information flow, enabling clear decision making and effective delivery of strategic objectives.

As the function grows, this role will also take online management responsibility, ensuring the provision of consistent, high quality executive support across the IELTS Strategic Leadership Team.

Additional responsibilities and accountabilities include:

• Coordinating governance, planning and reporting activities across the IELTS annual business cycle

• Managing the operational rhythm for senior leadership through meeting preparation, papers, follow ups and documentation

• Synthesising complex information into clear briefings, reports and decision summaries

• Supporting risk management, performance monitoring and continuous improvement initiatives

• Acting as a central point of coordination across cross functional and partner teams

• Embedding consistent administrative and operational standards across business support activities

• Line managing support roles over time, ensuring high standards of delivery and development

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.

Are you an experienced business support professional who thrives on bringing structure, clarity and momentum to complex environments?, You are a highly organised and proactive business support professional with the ability to coordinate complex activities across multiple teams and support senior leaders effectively. You bring strong organisational skills, excellent communication, and the ability to synthesise information clearly to enable sound decision making.

You will be accountable for delivering high quality administrative and operational support, maintaining clear governance processes, managing documentation and timelines, and upholding consistent standards of administrative excellence.

Minimum criteria (essential):

• Ability to coordinate complex activities across multiple teams

• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities

• Ability to synthesise information clearly for decision making

• Executive Assistant or senior administrative support background

• Proven ability to uphold high standards of administrative excellence

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 supporting strategic planning, PMO or change initiatives

• Familiarity with governance, reporting or planning frameworks

• Confidence working in cross functional or matrixed environments

• Strong proficiency with digital and collaborative tools (e.g. Microsoft 365)

• Experience providing executive level administrative support

• Knowledge of Cambridge University Press & Assessment or the education and assessment sector

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 29th March 2026. We encourage early applications, as we may close this advert before the stated closing date if sufficient applications are received. We will review applications on an ongoing basis, and shortlisted candidates can expect interviews to take place week commencing 6th April 2026.

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

• One stage interview: in-person 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.

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.

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