Contracts Lead

Contracts Lead - UK Visa & Immigration

Salary: £60,400 - £80,800 per annum

Location: Cambridge, Hybrid

Contract: Permanent, Full time, 35hrs p/w

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 seeking a Contracts Lead to oversee key contracts related to IELTS, primarily focusing on UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) while also managing relationships with Immigration Authorities in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. This role is crucial for ensuring coherence and alignment across all our key partnerships

About the role

As the Contracts Lead (UKVI) you will oversee and manage the contractual relationship between the IELTS partnership and the UK Visa and Immigration authority (UKVI). This role is responsible for leading the UKVI Management Team in maintaining strong stakeholder relationships across the UK immigration authority and across the IELTS partnership, making informed decisions and strategic recommendations to ensure ongoing contract compliance and to enhance contract outcomes. You will also contribute insight and delivery for wider Stakeholder Relations strategy.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage and oversee all contracts related to IELTS, with a focus on UKVI, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and organisational policies.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with UKVI and other Immigration Authorities to facilitate effective communication and collaboration.
• Ensure a coherent approach to contract management across all key territories, aligning strategies and processes to optimize performance.
• Conduct regular reviews and audits of existing contracts, identifying areas for improvement and risk mitigation.
• Provide expert advice and guidance on contractual matters, ensuring best practices are followed across all international engagements.
• Collaborate with internal teams to support the development of proposals and initiatives that align with our strategic goals in the language assessment market.

Skills and Experience:

• Proven experience in contract management, preferably within the assessment, publishing or wider education sectors.
• Comprehensive understanding of immigration policies and regulatory requirements, particularly those relevant to UKVI and international language assessment.
• Exemplary verbal and written communication skills, particularly with senior stakeholders.
• Excellent interpersonal, negotiating and influencing skills.
• Proven ability to manage stakeholders at a senior level and work cross-functionally within a global organisation.
• Strong analytical skills with meticulous attention to detail.
• Excellent interpersonal, negotiating and influencing skills. Excellent problem-solving and conflict resolution skills.

Key Qualities

• Strong interpersonal skills to build effective relationships with stakeholders at all levels.
• Ability to thrive in a dynamic environment and adapt to changing priorities.

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 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.

Ready to pursue your potential? Apply now.

We review applications on an ongoing basis, with a closing date for all applications being 4 November 2024, although we may close it earlier if suitable candidates are identified. Interviews are scheduled to take place on 13 November 2024.

Please note that successful applicants will be subject to satisfactory background checks including DBS due to working in a regulated industry.

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.

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.