Regional IELTS Manager EU, Pakistan & CIS at IDP Education Ltd

Role purpose

• The IELTS regional team consists of Regional IELTS Director, Associate Directors and Regional IELTS Managers working closely across the Test Centre network in the region.
• The role will need to ensure that Test Centres receive the administrative support necessary to ensure efficient and effective operations and that they are adhering to IELTS delivery standards, working in collaboration with internal stakeholders across the business. S/he will also act as mentor for new centre administrators to setup Associate Centres as per IELTS standards.
• Ideal candidates will be strategic in nature, challenging, has extensive experience in an operation, sales / marketing role in their background, motivated individuals, experienced in the discovery process and adept at mining and building external relationships are highly essential.

Key accountabilities
Customer Service

• Develop proactive and cooperative relationships with IELTS Test Administrators at Associate Centres.
• Ensure all test takers receive exemplary customer experience at every contact point before, during and after sitting the IELTS test
• Lead and manage the transformation of the region’s Test Centres into customer service centres of excellence by ensuring each staff member involved in testing have received the appropriate training in customer service.
• Manage the escalation of any customer complaints and ensure the B2C Touchpoints are optimised.
• Organize and execute dedicated regional webinars and targeted engagement initiatives specifically tailored for Test Takers to improve regional test-taker satisfaction and support in alignment with associated Test Centres

Commercial

• Provide monthly feedback to Test Centres about their performance and address any issues that may arise
• Develop launch plans for new IELTS products and initiate projects to improve our offer to test takers and recognising organisations
• Proactively monitor IELTS competitor local offer and keep regional team and test centre management abreast of these market changes to ensure IDP offer meet current demand.
• Coordinate with Regional Marketing team and IELTS Central Operations to ensure all test centres related information stated on/offline mediums and systems are updated on proactive basis.
• Ensure IA fee invoices are followed up and timely settled by Associate centres.
• Direct regional budget reviews and submissions to guarantee strategic alignment with business expansion targets.
• Conduct exhaustive Competitors' Analysis and Competitors' Pricing reviews to safeguard and improve local market share.
• Expand Test Centre Business Development footprints with a specific focus on computer-delivered test options.

Key Accountabilities
Centre Operations Management

• Support Test Centre staff by sharing guidance and best practices to ensure IELTS operations are conducted in line with established standards.
• Coach test centre managers seeking to improve operationally.
• Provide regular management reports and statistical analysis of candidate trends and market developments in the region.
• Work with Head IELTS Business Assurance to maintain the IELTS quality and compliance framework across the Test Centre network
• Review self-audit reports and follow-up activities to ensure that compliance is maintained across the Test Centre network
• Own the end-to-end framework for New Test Centre Onboarding Activities, administrative operations support, and systemic Test Centre Operations reviews.
• Oversee and support structured Test Centre audits, iLearn audits, and maintain rigorous alignment with Business Assurance team.
• Oversee the regular auditing of regional test session availabilities across all product profiles (including IOC+P, IOC, UKVI, and Life Skills).
• Plan, sign off on, and deliver end-to-end operational execution for Sign-off and Test Centre Closure Plans.
• Supervise case reviews and technical assistance operations through the IOC Support and Service Desk pipelines.

Stakeholder Management

• Contribute to the visibility of IELTS across B2B and B2C channels by leading relationship-building efforts and sharing relevant market insights.

Product and Training Support

• Oversee structural rollout mechanics for new regional projects, new product enhancements across the IELTS Network, and the commercial roll-out of new products/services.
• Provide technical and strategic training team support for localized IELTS training courses and ongoing professional development initiatives.

Required Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
• Strong sector knowledge and experience of international education and / or testing services
• Track record of meeting sales targets with well-developed and effective negotiating skills
• Ability to establish strong relationships, understand corporate wide business issues and influence key internal stakeholders
• Ability to work effectively as part of a globally dispersed team with strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to manage critical deadlines and competing priorities
• Self-starter with plenty of drive and used to working outside a formal office environment
• Competent user of Microsoft Office suite