Programme Manager, Academic New Ventures

We are the world’s largest university press. That means we serve the academic community as no other publisher can. We work in partnership with institutions and learned societies to bring a world of knowledge to the fingertips of students and researchers worldwide.

The goal is impact. Together with our academic communities, we curate and seamlessly connect together the ideas that push their fields forward, so they can learn from them, add to them, and continue a virtuous cycle of scholarship.

And because we are a part of the academic community and guided in everything we do by our mission, we re-invest in our people, our publishing, and the world-leading research institution of which we are part.

About the Role

As our new Programme Manager, Academic New Ventures, you will be responsible for strategic and tactical planning for the successful delivery of all aspects of the Academic New Ventures programme, a strategic initiative focused on driving innovation and growth in Academic Division.

In close collaboration with the New Ventures Director, you will drive forward plans with precision and energy to deliver a programme of innovation activity encompassing both specific product development pilots and cultivation of broader AI-related innovation capabilities, delivering against multiple strategic objectives and key results and navigating potentially challenging situations that involve high business risks and/or significant opportunities.

You will work closely with all stakeholders both internally and externally to the Academic Division and Oxford Languages, including senior leaders, cross-functional teams, customer-facing stakeholders, vendors/suppliers, and project managers to develop and manage scope, schedules, budgets, governance structures, resourcing, communications, product development, and risks to ensure the programme’s overall objectives are achieved and measured. You will also take decisions and actions as necessary to drive programmes to completion, leveraging the expertise of senior stakeholders as required.

We operate a hybrid working policy that requires a minimum of 2 days per week in the Oxford office.

About You

Essential:

• Proven experience in designing, establishing, overseeing and executing the implementation of complex strategic programmes of work from scratch that include multiple workstreams, stakeholder levels, and significant business risk
• Demonstrated experience of managing experimental innovation activity to deliver insights and set direction for future product and business strategy
• Track record of excellent stakeholder management experience and keen skills in developing relationships internally and externally
• Experience in developing and communicating business cases
• Exceptional project management skills with a track record of driving projects to completion
• Experience in managing significant business risk while maintaining smooth and precise programme execution
• Strong analytical and creative problem-solving abilities
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Results-driven mindset with a focus on achieving and measuring outcomes
• Strategic thinker with the ability to adapt and pivot as circumstances change
• Experience in establishing and measuring KPIs to inform progress and activities

Desirable:

• Project and/or Programme Management professional qualification
• Experience in managing project/programme budgets
• Knowledge of AI tools and workflows

Please note that this is a 1 year fixed term contract.

Benefits

We care about work/life balance here at OUP. With this in mind we offer 25 days’ holiday that rises with service, plus bank holidays and Christmas closure (3-days) and a 35-hour working week. We are open to discussing flexibility in respect to working patterns, dependent on role. We also have a great variety of active employee networks and societies.

We help make your money go further by contributing to your pension up to 12%, offering loans and savings schemes through our partnership with Salary Finance, in addition to travel to work schemes and access to a wide range of local discounts.

This role comes with the added benefit of private medical insurance and a management bonus.

Please see our Rewards and Recognition page for more information.