Job Title: Senior Portfolio & Governance Manager
Salary: £60,400 – £80,800 per annum
Location: Cambridge, Hybrid (2-3 days per week in Cambridge)
Contract: Full time, permanent, 35 hours per week
At the centre of IELTS, you’ll help three global partner organisations turn shared strategy into decisions, delivery and momentum
This is a senior, high-impact role at the heart of IELTS, one of the world’s most recognised English language tests. You’ll work directly with senior leaders across the partnership to shape direction, challenge thinking, and make sure decisions lead to real progress.
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 Senior Portfolio & Governance Manager, you’ll lead how strategy turns into delivery across the IELTS partnership – bringing clarity and direction and working with intent to align and integrate multiple elements across the system.
You’ll operate at Executive Committee and Board level, acting as a trusted and credible voice in conversations that shape the future of IELTS. You’ll be expected to step into complex situations, challenge constructively, and help senior stakeholders land decisions that move things forward.
A big part of the role is making sure that strategy doesn’t stay theoretical. You’ll maintain a clear view of what’s happening across the portfolio, where risks are emerging, and where decisions are needed – and you’ll help ensure those decisions translate into delivery.
You’ll often be working with senior stakeholders who bring different priorities and perspectives. Your role is to help the partnership reach clear, workable outcomes and maintain momentum, even when alignment isn’t straightforward.
In practice, you will:
- Lead the cross-partner planning cycle, helping define priorities that are both ambitious and achievable
- Provide clear, practical insight on portfolio performance, risks and trade-offs
- Support and challenge governance forums to improve how decisions are made and followed through
- Ensure decisions lead to tangible progress, not just discussion
- Anticipate risks and interdependencies, stepping in early to keep delivery on track
- Maintain oversight of cross-partner investment, business cases and benefits
- Oversee portfolio-level financial and resource planning so plans remain realistic
- Build trusted relationships across all partner organisations, influencing without formal authority
- Continuously improve how the partnership plans, governs and delivers
About You
You’ll bring demonstrable experience operating at a senior portfolio, programme or business management level within a complex organisation or partnership.
You’re comfortable working where things aren’t fully defined. You can hold a strategic view while staying close enough to delivery to spot risks early and keep things moving. You’re confident working with senior stakeholders, able to challenge constructively and help people reach decisions – even when those decisions are difficult.
You will be able to evidence:
- Experience working across a complex portfolio or enterprise-level programme
- Experience operating across organisational boundaries, partnerships, or highly matrixed environments
- A track record of influencing senior stakeholders, including Executive or Board-level audiences
- Experience turning strategy into clear priorities, plans and measurable outcomes
- Experience improving governance, planning or portfolio management approaches
- Experience using data and insight to support decisions and prioritisation
- Experience of financial and resource planning at programme or portfolio level
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
Equal Opportunities & Legal Statements
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 who best meet the minimum criteria for the role. In instances where interviewing all qualifying candidates is not practicable and/or appropriate, we prioritise those who best meet theminimumcriteria, 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.
We are committed to an equitable recruitment process. As such, applications must be submitted via the official online application procedure. Please refrain from sending your CV directly to recruiters. If you experience technical difficulties or require additional support with submitting your application, contact the Recruiter.
Cambridge University Press & Assessment is committed to 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.
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