Operations Excellence Lead

• Salary:

£48,100 - £58,000
- Location:

Papworth, Whittlesford
- Country:

UK
- Business Unit:

Operations
- Vacancy Type:

Permanent
- Closing Date:

19 November 2025

Emma Barrett

Salary: £48,100 - £58,000 per annum

Location: Whittlesford or Papworth, UK/Hybrid

Contract: Permanent – Full time, 35 hours per week

Are you skilled in business processes and enjoy connecting different business areas? We are seeking an experienced Operational Excellence Lead to join our team at Cambridge University Press & Assessment. You will support Continuous Improvement initiatives and Lean Six Sigma projects, making a real difference in the educational sector.

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 an Operational Excellence Lead, you will report to the Operations Excellence Manager and play a pivotal role in driving innovation through technology, AI, and automation.

Leveraging Continuous Improvement (CI) Methodology, Lean tools, and program management, you will deliver impactful projects and foster a culture of operational excellence across our organisation. A key focus of this role is to identify opportunities for process optimisation—using data, automation, and AI to solve challenges, streamline workflows, and enhance efficiency for our operations, learners, and the wider business.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the Operations Excellence Program, managing and evolving processes to maximise engagement and effectiveness, with a strong emphasis on digital transformation and automation.
• Utilise data-driven performance monitoring to proactively identify issues and implement technology-enabled solutions
• Collaborate with business partners and Lean Six Sigma practitioners, championing the adoption of AI and automation to drive sustainable change.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement by supporting stakeholders in leveraging new technologies and embedding a mindset of innovation and efficiency.

This role requires close collaboration with all levels of the organisation, including Senior Management and cross-functional teams, to align processes and capabilities with strategic goals. You will be instrumental in implementing new technologies, re-engineering processes, and transforming the way we work through automation and digital solutions.

About you

You will have Lean Six Sigma and other Operations Excellence knowledge and have an intuitive understanding / extensive experience of how to use these practically to deliver successful outcomes for all stakeholders. You will also use this knowledge to bring others on the journey with you, sharing it through mentoring, coaching, collaboration, workshops, and training.

You will be a confident workshop facilitator, able to engage stakeholders effectively and foster collaboration across teams.

You will most likely be from an operations or supply chain background and be a highly motivated self-starter with a desire to achieve success and make a difference.

You will have a track record of identifying, delivering, and sustaining improvements, efficiencies and projects in a busy and demanding environment, underpinned by strong process mapping and optimisation skills, and a process improvement / analytical mindset.

You will have proven project/change management experience, along with advanced problem-solving, strong communication, influencing and time management skills. Experience of using or managing project applications is desirable, and excellent networking and stakeholder engagement capabilities will be key to your success in this role.

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 19th November 2025. First round interviews are scheduled to take place week commencing 24th November 2025, and second round interviews are scheduled for week commencing 8th December 2025. All interviews are planned to take place face to face at our office in Whittlesford.

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 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.