Educational Development Manager
Mar 14, 2025
WSET's purpose is to empower people through inspiring learning experiences all over the world. We offer a comprehensive suite of globally recognised qualifications covering wines, spirits and sake.
We are the world s leading provider of qualifications in wines, spirits and sake, delivering over 140,000 exams each year to candidates in over 70 countries via our network of Approved Programme Providers (APPs).
The successful applicant will contribute to a culture of integrity, empowerment, dynamism, and inclusivity within WSET.
Any offer of employment or your ongoing employment is conditional upon the successful completion of a thorough background check by an independent third party.
As the Educational Development Manager, you will play a critical role in leading the development of the core educational content produced by WSET; primarily, the textbooks for all subject streams (Wine, Spirits, Sake and Beer). Reporting to the Head of Learning Design, you will use your pedagogical expertise to manage the creation, curation, and commissioning of textbooks and related content from subject matter experts (SMEs). You will also be responsible for testing and refining educational pedagogy to ensure the highest quality materials are available for our learners; this will include but is not limited to trialling the materials in multiple delivery modes, using feedback to refine development. The role is responsible for ensuring that the company meets its objective of producing high-quality educational materials for its global customer base.
Management
- Manage the Educational Development team, supporting all team members to work efficiently and achieve their responsibilities.
- Support the development of all individual team members in line with personal and corporate objectives.
- Meet regularly with all line reports to manage progress and assure quality of their work.
- Report project progress to the Head of Learning Design, ensuring clear communication of needs and requirements.
- Prepare plans and budgets where appropriate to inform development and yearly budget cycle.
Materials Development
- Manage, design, scope, and develop all WSET core teaching materials, including but not limited to: textbooks for all WSET subject disciplines, teaching support resources (e.g., session plans) for multiple modes of delivery (blended, classroom, online, virtual).
- Collaborate with the Research & Development team to identify content needs and requirements based on curriculum design and learner objectives.
- Conduct thorough needs assessments to determine gaps in content coverage and areas where new materials are required.
- Work closely with SMEs to design content that aligns with curriculum objectives and educational best practices.
- Develop clear and comprehensive content outlines and specifications for textbooks, ensuring they meet pedagogical standards.
- Collaborate with Blended Learning Design and Research & Development teams to integrate content seamlessly into all WSET courses, regardless of delivery mode.
- Commission, supervise, and coordinate the work of SMEs, writers, graphic designers and editors to produce high-quality educational materials. Manage, write and disseminate clear and concise content briefs to identify requirements.
- Ensure that all materials are accurate, engaging, and aligned with the organisation's educational goals.
- Guarantee all content developed meets agreed accessibility standards. Employ an inclusive approach when developing content, and where required, ensure content can be delivered in alternate formats.
- Review and approve content drafts, providing constructive feedback to writers and contributors.
- Work alongside Product Planning and Content Operations teams to outline realistic and achievable development cycles to ensure key deadlines for development are met.
Evaluation
- Collaborate with internal teams, educators, SMEs and other stakeholders to gather feedback on the usability and impact of the materials.
- Utilise feedback from Research & Development team, educators, learners, and other stakeholders to assess the effectiveness of existing materials and identify areas for improvement.
- Test and evaluate the effectiveness of newly developed materials in real-world educational settings, including but not limited to; blended, classroom, online and virtual courses. Run and manage pilots where required to assess the effectiveness of content development.
- Work closely with the Learning Design team to incorporate feedback and make necessary revisions to the content to facilitate the production of supporting teaching materials.
- Conduct ongoing assessments of the materials' effectiveness in achieving learning objectives. As required, teach or observe the teaching of WSET courses to examine how lessons are received after qualification launch.
- Analyse feedback from APPs, educators and learners to identify areas for improvement and refinement.
- Foster a culture of continuous improvement by encouraging feedback and iterative development, with a focus on inclusive practices. Collaborate with department heads to develop strategies for continuous improvement in content development processes.
- Stay appraised of innovations and updates in the field of educational theory and practice, making suggestions on how to incorporate learning. Where appropriate, attend live or virtual events to remain up to date.
Other Activities:
Contribute to the successful overall operation of the Trust by undertaking such other tasks as may from time to time be requested.
Essential Criteria:
- Bachelor's degree (or equivalent experience) in education, instructional design, or a related field.
- Good understanding of educational content development, including writing, curation, and commissioning.
- Strong understanding of accessible design principles and pedagogy.
- Exceptional project management and organisational skills.
- Experience delivering/teaching content in live and/or online settings.
- Awareness of the challenges of designing content for translation into multiple languages and delivery in multiple markets.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and high-level of written English.
- Ability to collaborate effectively with SMEs, educators, external parties and cross-functional teams.
- Detail-oriented with a commitment to producing high-quality educational materials.
Desirable Criteria:
- Master's degree (or equivalent) in education or related field.
- Experience with digital content development and eLearning platforms.
- Familiarity with the use of multimedia and technology in educational materials.
- Proven experience in educational content development, including writing, curation, and commissioning.
- Ability to analyse data and feedback to make data-driven decisions about content effectiveness.
- Knowledge of emerging trends and best practices in education and content development.
- WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wine
- WSET trained educator (ETP).
- Level 3 Award in Spirits
- WSET Level 3 Award in Sake.
UK Benefits
Annual Leave - 27 days pa + public holidays, increases with service; ability to buy/sell 5 days
Pension (options available after three months):
5% Employee (EE) 3% Employer (ER) contributions.
Option 1: 3% EE 5% ER
Option 2: 5% EE 8% ER
Option 3: 7.5% EE 12.5% ER
Option 4: 9% EE 15 ER
Health insurance (after three months):
Vitality scheme - post probation - Access to virtual GP appointments, Rewards include Caffe Nero drinks, Cinema Tickets, Apple Watch, Cash Back on Waitrose shopping, Amazon Prime membership, 75% off at Champneys, 6 month subscription with HeadSpace, Discounted Weight Watchers membership and gyms such as Virgin Active, and Nuffield Health, Smoking Cessation day worth 300 and half price health screens
Eye voucher scheme
Food and drink in the office
Nespresso coffee makers and a range of other drinks, fruit, cereals, soups
Season ticket & gym membership loan scheme
Group income protection scheme
EAP
24/7 confidential help and support from trained counsellors and advisors
Death in service
4x annual salary paid to nominees with associated bereavement support for family
Enhanced family friendly leave and pay
Celebration vouchers
Cycle2Work scheme
Discretionary bonus
Development - WSET's in-house training and qualifications in Wines, Sake, Spirits and Beer as well as other professional development opportunities
USA benefits
US benefit options will be discussed during further stages of communication.
US Applicants Only:
Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
ESSENTIAL
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to climb or balance; stoop; kneel, crouch, and taste or smell. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, depth perception, peripheral vision, and ability to adjust and focus.
DISCLAIMER: This is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, skills, efforts, requirements or working conditions associated with the job. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, management reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed as assigned, at any time.
