Freelance job Project Manager

Contract: Secondment of 11 months to July 2025

Salary: £33,300 - £43,400

Make a difference to people's futures. Make a difference to yours.

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 a modern organisation with a proud legacy and a global reputation for excellence.  As one of the oldest established media organisations in the world we have been on a digital transformation journey and now are looking for people who can help us move beyond good to world-leading in the digital era.

About the role

The Portfolio Office [PO] provides step-by-step support to all divisions of our organisation to get their ideas implemented.

• Initial planning, prioritisation and budgeting.
• Getting ideas off the ground and from concept to fleshed out Project proposals.
• Gaining support for proposals and the necessary approvals to go-ahead and unlock budget.
• Managing projects or supporting those managing the Projects.

A Project for us is a self-contained piece of work that sits outside of Business-as-Usual operations that provides an environment for discovery and exploration, testing, and implementing new systems, platforms, and elements into the business. Once a Project is added to the Portfolio it is the role and responsibility of the Project Manager assigned to drive the Project through its life-cycle, from Initiation to Close-out.

The types of Projects that the Project Manager role will engage with is wide. Some common themes, however, include.

• acquisition and integration of new businesses to grow our product offer
• implementing new and or enhancements to technologies into the business to improve our ways of working, drive efficiency and enhance customer experience
• driving policy and process change to support new initiatives such as environmental sustainability

About you

You are a confident, results-driven individual with strong organisational skills and experience leading project implementation initiatives. You are comfortable taking ownership and meeting challenges and blockers head-on as well as engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, including external service providers.

You can design, develop and maintain reports and dashboards to share visibility of project performance against OKR's and/ or KPI's

You embrace good governance and communication to achieve successful outcomes.

Each Project will carry its own set of themes. Whilst it is not the responsibility of the Project Manager to take on the role of Subject Matter expert or Product Owner, having the skill and experience to remain open to new learning and knowledge acquisition and to bridge gaps in knowledge between different areas of the business is important and a key asset in communication.

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 , 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 are a hybrid working organisation, and we offer a range of flexible working options from day one. We expect most hybrid-working colleagues to spend 40-60% of their time at their dedicated office or location. We will also consider other work arrangements if you wish to work more flexibly or require adjustments due to a disability.

To find out more, please see the job description attached.

If you choose to apply, please include a short cover letter with your application, making sure you specify you are applying for a Project Manager position.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Ready to pursue your potential? Apply now.

We review applications on an ongoing basis, with a closing date for all applications being 2nd October and interviews will take place shortly after the advert closes.

Please note that Cambridge University Press & Assessment will not ordinarily be able to provide sponsorship for vacancies of less than 12-months in duration. Applicants must therefore have an existing right to work in the UK to be eligible for this position.

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 it's 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.