Product Manager/Senior Product Manager (Publisher), Direct to Learner

Publisher / Senior Publisher (maternity cover to end March 2018)

About the team

The Direct to Learner team is a dedicated, fun, supportive and knowledgeable group of people who work creatively to produce 'self-directed' learning resources for learners of all ages. We work in a stable team with people from many job functions, as well as experienced freelancers and suppliers, who work together to create resources learners, parents, tutors and educators. This role can be based in Oxford or London and although many of the team are in Oxford, we have regular contact with London and remotely-based team members. You will report into the Head of Direct to Learner.

About the role

We are looking for an energetic and proactive person with well-developed publishing skills and a passion for education to join the Direct to Learner team. As a member of our product management team you will be required to manage a team to deliver projects from start to finish, creatively thinking about market needs, finding gaps in the market and crafting print and/or digital propositions.

You will research and develop proposals which win in the competitive revision market and manage an internal team and freelancers to deliver these proposals to market to time, quality and budget. You will be the commercial lead for projects managing the project P&L: working with sales and marketing on forecasting and with our media, design, supplier management, publishing, production and editorial teams on defining and managing costs. You will also be expected to contribute to and lead on elements of strategy and be the voice of the 'REVISE' series within Pearson. You will be responsible for delivering revenue and market share growth ensuring that revenue and profit targets for designated projects are met and that 1-3 year plans and propositions are executed and developed.

A day in the life of???

During a normal day you might engage in some of the below activities:

• Market understanding
• Devising and managing market research (working with our market research team) to test propositions with our customer segments and hone these propositions to meet market need. This will include desk and field market research. It may also mean drawing on or commissioning additional research.
• Researching and building your understanding of the D2L and revision market to ensure that everything we do improves learning and is well-researched.
• Strategy and financial planning
• Contributing to the strategy process for Direct to Learner, devising/leading strategy sessions where needed and taking part in strategy days.
• Reviewing the strategic roadmap for products and services which drive new revenue and increase market share.
• Contributing to our annual financial planning processes.
• Managing P&Ls working with internal teams to draw together forecasts and costings.
• Running departmental initiatives as required
• Proposition Development and Execution
• Identifying publishing opportunities for market segments and presenting publishing proposals to the business in regular Product Council/Brand meetings
• Developing commercially successful propositions (including print and digital offerings) which deliver real value for learners/parents/teachers and which really work for learners
• Working closely with marketing and (when required) Trade Sales to develop and/or refine Customer Value Propositions for key products, showing why we will win in the market.
• Contributing to winning sales and marketing strategies, messages and collateral working with the Marketing and Trade Sales teams and discussing and agreeing customer needs, competitive advantage and market positioning.
• Developing the vision for a product/service and communicating this so that it resonates for different internal and external stakeholders
• Working with freelance publishers to find key author talent, commissioning content and managing relationships with publishers and the REVISE/Bitesize Series Consultant.
• Managing a team of publishers and editors to deliver publishing proposals on time, to desired quality and to budget and leading cross-functional teams from across the business involved in product creation
• Working with our internal supplier management team to find the best suppliers for projects
• Supporting team members to problem solve and build a positive working culture
• Briefing customer-facing on products, services and the changing market environment
• Presenting to external stakeholders e.g. potential partners
• Quality assurance of content at key points during its development
• Liaising with Pearson teams outside Learning Services, such as our Technology team as needed to advance the development of a product or service.
• Monitoring competitor activity and keeping up to date with changes in the self-directed learning landscape to ensure you are developing the best products and services for our customers
• Managing propositions through their lifecycle
• Being the advocate and face of the REVISE brand, responding to queries from around the business and championing your brand(s) in appropriate forums
• Gathering customer feedback on live products and devising a strategy which improves customer satisfaction and retention
• Planning the roadmap for these services and prioritising new publishing
• Leading teams to deliver new content on the roadmap
• Where needed, answering escalated customer queries and writing customer-facing communications about the REVISE series
• Liaising with the Production team to monitor stock and planning for reprints accordingly
• Line management
• This role will have line management responsibilities within our Content and Learning Specialist/editorial team. As such you will be responsible for developing talent and supporting the development of team members who report into you.

Location: Role can be based either from our Holborn or Oxford office

Qualifications

Who are we looking for? Someone with the following skills and qualities:

• Print and digital publishing skills, creative thinking and customer empathy: the ability to create and articulate new propositions based soundly on customer needs
• Strategic thinking skills: the ability to think strategically, identify attractive market segments and key sources of competitive advantage.
• Communication, relationship building and influencing skills both within the company and with external stakeholders
• Commercial and financial planning skills: the ability to create a P&L and manage costs and to contribute to financial planning processes
• Organisational and project management skills: the ability to plan and manage projects and the workload of any line managed and mentored staff
• Digital skills: the ability to work with technology teams to develop the digital part of propositions.

Desirable

• Education/Primary teaching experience
• Maths/other subject education experience
• Service management experience: management of a live subscription service and planning the roadmap for a live service.
• Line management experience: This role will have line management responsibility for Content and Learning specialist/editorial team members.
• You don't need to have any prior experience in the Direct to Learner sector, although we do like to work with people who have a genuine interest in this sector. So if you have a passion for producing resources which really help learners and proven publishing skills, we would love to meet you to discuss the role further.

Interviews to be held in August