How Oxford University Press is striving to reach their mission of bringing knowledge and education to all

Supporting our mission with technology

James is a Business Unit IT Manager at our Kenya office.

I was given the opportunity to work at OUP after finishing high school. We used OUP books at my school, but I didn’t ever think for one moment that I would work for the company who created them, let alone for 27 years! My first job was as a picker in the warehouse, preparing books for dispatch. Within just one month, my manager saw my skills and abilities and offered me the role of General Clerk in our Trade and Distribution Department. It was around this time that big organizations in Kenya were starting to embrace technology.

I was always fascinated by technology and I just somehow knew that would be the path that my career followed.

With encouragement from managers, I studied computing courses and completed my Business Information Systems studies. After achieving my degree, I continued to progress to where I am today—a Business Unit IT Manager, responsible for Kenya and Tanzania. Technology is a key driver for any business and OUP is no exception. An element of my role which I very much enjoy is providing training, which involves de-mystifying people’s technology fears and ensuring we have the right systems in place to support people in their work.

Helping people is what brings me satisfaction, so interacting with our employees and answering their questions is really rewarding for me. 

When our people are well supported and there are no barriers to them achieving their goals, we can really achieve our mission of bringing knowledge and education to all. Education changes lives, so I know that the work I am doing contributes to the best quality products being created. That really is rewarding for me—the knowledge that whatever we do will impact a child’s life through quality material.