Director of Professional Development

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

We are looking for an ambitious, highly commercial and strategic leader who will significantly grow our professional development business. The Director of Professional Development is pivotal to the success of the International Education Business with responsibility for leading and driving forward the creation of the strategy and its implementation through the development, production and delivery of high-quality, commercially viable training programmes and Professional Development Qualifications (PDQs) for teachers and school leaders.

In this role, you will lead a newly integrated team and will help shape the future of teaching and learning.

About the role 

In this exciting new role, you will be responsible for the strategy for our suite of Professional Development Qualifications and Professional Development programmes to deliver a coordinated approach for teacher support.

You will lead a team, to develop solutions that reinforce the best professional development approaches and pedagogical practices, backed by research and evidence in an international context and working with our community of schools and teachers.

You will manage and motivate the team to achieve our One Cambridge vision, using your commercial and strategic expertise to drive growth, maximise impact and work collaboratively with the Products and Services directorate to support the Cambridge Pathway.  

You will use your passion for teaching to see how we can best support teachers and school leaders, to improve learning outcomes and to support the effectiveness of the Cambridge Curriculum and upskill teachers all around the world.

You will also:

• Develop a strategy for coordinated support packages, maximising resources and user requirements, working with stakeholders to define what product and services support is available and the cost models.
• Lead on the development of programmes and frameworks to ensure schools and teachers are equipped to deliver the curricula and qualifications and continuously improve their teaching.
• Lead and manage the Professional Development Qualifications portfolio to increase skill development opportunities for teachers worldwide to deliver high quality teaching

About you

You will have knowledge of the international education landscape and an understanding of the curriculum, syllabus, and assessment delivery.

Along with your proven expertise in leading successful teams, you will have knowledge of the best Professional Development approaches and pedagogical practices, backed by research and evidence in an international context.

You will also have strong proven experience in leading strategy and delivering financial growth through developing, launching and managing competitive and commercial propositions.

We are firm believers that collaboration is important to our success, therefore you will have collaboration skills, along with an innovative thinking mindset.

 If you would like to know more about this opportunity and what will make you successful, please see the full job description attached to the bottom of this vacancy on our careers site.

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

We also offer flexible and hybrid working options from day one. We will consider any work arrangements if you wish to work flexibly or require adjustments due to a disability.

Ready to pursue your potential? Apply now. 

We review applications on an ongoing basis, with a closing date for all applications being 2^nd June 2024.

Interview Process:

 1^st Interview: w/c 10^th June & w/c 24^th June 

• Face-to-Face or MS Teams
• Competency based questions
• CV discussion
• Interview panel of 2-3 people

2^nd Interview: w/c 2^nd July 

• Face-to-Face in Cambridge
• Task related
• Potential psychometric questionnaire
• Interview panel of 2-3 people

Please note that not every interviewee will be invited back for the 2nd round interview. 

Successful applicants will be subject to satisfactory background checks including DBS due to working in a regulated industry.

Why join us

Joining us is your opportunity to pursue potential. You'll belong to a collaborative team that's 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 everyone has a voice, and where we learn continuously to improve together. Ensuring that everyone feels they belong is essential to who we are, and to the contribution we make to society and our planet.

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.