General Manager

Job Title: Interim General Manager

Location: UK based. London-based with regular travel to Cambridge.

Salary: £70,000 per annum

Job Type: Permanent, Part time (3 days a week on a flexible basis)

About us:

We have an exciting opportunity for a General Manager to join our client who are the world’s most popular high-stakes English language proficiency test for study, work and migration with almost four million tests taken in the past year. It has been trusted by organisations all over the world for more than 30 years.

Our client is jointly owned by the British Council, IDP: IELTS Australia and Cambridge University Press and Assessment. As internationally focused organisations, they are committed to academic excellence and cultural understanding – ideal providers of international English testing.

About the role:

As the General Manager, you will have the unique opportunity to be at the forefront of change as our client embarks on its journey towards developing the next generation of International English Language Testing System.

You will oversee the efficient and effective delivery of a portfolio of core shared services, shaping the capabilities required to enable IELTS’ growth ambitions. In this dynamic role, you will line manage a team of domain experts to lead the service lines and oversee the provision of key enabling capabilities, such as HR, legal, finance, IT support and procurement.

You will be a key player in ensuring that the governance of the wider IELTS organisation is operating effectively, communications is improving and be an active, non-decision making, member of the IELTS Board and IELTS Executive Committee.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Key responsibilities of the General Manager include:

• Report to and act as the main liaison between UK entity and the Executive Committee
• Manage a portfolio of core service lines, including Product Development, Brand Management and Programme and Portfolio Management, ensuring that service delivery meets high-quality standards and contributes effectively to the consortium's strategic aims and business plan
• Build strong relationships with the our client’s partner organisations including their respective operations and marketing teams to build trust and confidence and to enable our client to operate and deliver successfully in a partnership and consensus-based decision-making context
• Provide leadership to foster the right culture and ways of working to facilitate the delivery of the Business Plan goals and to establish and maintain effective businesses processes

• As a member of the Executive Committee and an attendee at the Board, facilitate the partnership’s strategic and business planning process, leveraging the domain expertise within each of the capabilities
• Ensure that the governance structure is working effectively and provide support and guidance to the Chairs of the Governance groups
• Ensure that our client is focused on delivery of the Business Plan and facilitates delivery across the partnership

• Maintain the financial health of the service company, ensuring that services are charged appropriately to the consortium, financial budgets are adhered to and that margin expectations are maintained
• Approve out client’s expenditure in line with agreed delegated limits
• Ensure legal compliance, mitigating legal risks to support the organisation's objectives whilst upholding ethical standards

About you:

What you’ll need to succeed:

• Extensive proven business management experience at a senior level and in a complex (essential) and preferably international organisation
• A degree in a relevant field (desirable)
• Knowledge of the English language proficiency testing market (desirable)
• Proven comparative experience and a successful track record in business management including overseeing human resources, finance, and communications
• Successful implementation of organisational change programmes
• Leading dispersed teams and leading through influence
• Building and maintaining stakeholder relationships
• Budget management
• Contract management
• Possesses advanced management, communication, and interpersonal skills in interactions with colleagues, partners, clients, and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrates a track record of establishing valuable relationships both internally and externally.
• Has the ability to motivate and lead employees, and hold them accountable
• Exhibits excellent negotiation and influencing abilities.
• Possesses strong numerical skills.

Please click the APPLY button to submit your CV for this role

Candidates with experience or relevant job titles of; Acting General Manager, Temporary General Manager, Interim Operations Manager, Transitional General Manager, and Provisional General Manager. may also be considered