Head - Academic Advisory

Job Title:

Head of Academic Advisory – South Asia

Department / Business Unit:

International Education

Location:

New Delhi

Reports to (job title):

Sr Vice President

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 focused on meeting the needs of our learners, authors, and customers by bringing research, teaching, learning and assessment together.

Job Purpose

The Head of Academic Advisory – South Asia is a senior leadership role responsible for leading, shaping, and delivering the academic advisory strategy across the South Asia region.

The role exists to ensure high-quality implementation of Cambridge programmes and qualifications, strengthen long-term partnerships with schools, empower teachers and leaders, improve student outcomes, and drive sustainable growth through retention, expansion, and enhanced adoption of Cambridge offerings across South Asia.

This role will act as the regional academic authority, partnering closely with Sales, Professional Development, Marketing, and Product teams, while leading and developing a high-performing team of Academic Advisors.

Principal Accountabilities

• Regional Academic Leadership & Strategy
• Provide strategic leadership and oversight for Academic Advisory across South Asia.
• Define and execute a regional academic advisory strategy aligned to business and educational goals.
• Act as the senior academic voice for Cambridge programmes in the region.
• Monitor school performance trends and recommend region-wide interventions to improve outcomes, entries, and syllabus adoption.
• School Performance & Relationship Management
• Oversee the performance of Cambridge schools across South Asia, identifying risks and growth opportunities.
• Collaborate with schools to improve academic performance, programme implementation, and subject uptake.
• Lead post-exam performance reviews with key school leaders and recommend strategic improvements.
• Strengthen long-term partnerships to increase brand loyalty, retention, and advocacy.
• New School Growth & Market Expansion
• Partner with Business Development Managers (BDMs) and Sales leaders to support new school adoptions.
• Provide academic input into School Approval Visits (SAVs) and early-stage school engagement.
• Ensure new schools receive strong onboarding, academic orientation, and clarity on Cambridge support offerings.
• Academic Advisory Team Leadership & Capability Building
• Lead, mentor, and develop the Academic Advisor team across South Asia.
• Set clear performance expectations, coaching plans, and capability development pathways.
• Support identification and evaluation of teachers for full-time Cambridge trainer roles.
• Foster a collaborative, high-performing, and customer-focused team culture.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Thought Leadership
• Work closely with Professional Development, Marketing, and Product teams to identify regional needs and opportunities.
• Recommend academic-led marketing strategies to increase syllabus and qualification uptake.
• Identify and nurture mentor–mentee school networks across the region.
• Contribute to regional planning, innovation, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Governance, Reporting & Continuous Improvement
• Track and report on academic KPIs, school performance metrics, and advisory impact.
• Ensure consistency, quality, and best practices across all academic advisory engagements.
  
  

Decisions and Recommendations

Decisions Made Independently

• Regional academic strategies to grow entries and adoption of new syllabi.
• Prioritisation of school visits, advisory interventions, and academic focus areas.
• Deployment and utilisation of Academic Advisors across territories.
  
  

Recommendations Made to Senior Leadership and Stakeholders

• Identification of high-potential new school targets.
• Academic inputs into regional marketing and growth strategies.
• Recommendations for mentor/mentee school networks.
• Identification of gaps in professional development offerings and proposed solutions.
  
  

Job Dimensions

Financial Dimensions

• Direct Budget Responsibility: N/A
• Indirect Financial Impact: Strong influence on revenue growth through retention, increased entries, and syllabus expansion.
  
  

Non-Financial Impact

This role plays a critical role in strengthening academic quality, customer satisfaction, and brand credibility across South Asia. By building deep relationships with schools and ensuring strong programme implementation, the role directly impacts student outcomes, teacher confidence, and long-term market leadership.

Key Job Challenges

• Deep understanding of diverse school contexts and effective Cambridge implementation models across South Asia.
• Managing extensive regional travel and multi-country stakeholder engagement.
• Leading through change in a growing and evolving South Asia market.
• Collaborating effectively in a hybrid (physical and remote) working environment across business streams.
  
  

Qualifications

Knowledge, Experience and Skills

• Master's Degree
• Teaching qualification (mandatory)
  
  

Skills

• Expert knowledge of Cambridge programmes and qualifications (Primary, Lower Secondary, IGCSE, AS & A Level)
• Strong understanding of Cambridge assessments and exam cycles
• Exceptional presentation and facilitation skills for senior academic stakeholders
• Strategic thinking, leadership, and influencing skills
  
  

Experience

• Mandatory: Cambridge teaching experience
• Preferred: Cambridge School Leader / Cambridge Coordinator / Exams Officer experience
• Minimum 10–12 years experience in Cambridge International schools or equivalent academic leadership roles
• Prior experience leading teams or regional academic functions is highly desirable
  
  

Behaviours

• Confident and credible academic leader
• Strategic, reflective, and customer-focused
• Self-starter with strong ownership mindset
• Collaborative and inclusive team leader
• Excellent written and verbal communicator
  
  

Working Pattern

• Periods of higher workload during spring, early summer, autumn, and early winter
• Relatively slower periods during school holidays and exam cycles
• Moderate to heavy travel expected across South Asia
• Flexible working, with home-based work when not travelling
  
  

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, and sexual identity), cultural, or social class/background.

We believe that diversity of thought, background, and approach create better outcomes. More importantly, fostering an inclusive culture is the right thing to do, and it's part of how we achieve our purpose: to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. Ensuring that anyone, no matter who they are, feels they belong here is an essential part of who we are and the contribution we make to society, and to our planet.

To enable an environment which our people can thrive in, our customers benefit from, and where work complements life, we empower everyone to manage their time and capacity, and to prioritise their wellbeing. That's why from day one everyone at Cambridge University Press & Assessment can discuss flexible working options to find the best solution for them and their role.