Product Manager (Publisher), Primary Literacy - 6 month FTC

About the team

The primary literacy team is a dedicated, fun, supportive and knowledgeable group of people who work creatively to produce literacy resources for Primary-age children and their teachers. It's a matrix team with people from many job functions working together to create resources which really work in classrooms. In your team you'll work with fellow publishers, editors, content delivery specialists, digital development and platform specialists, marketers and designers. You'll report into the Head of Primary Literacy and PD. The role is based in Oxford or London and although the team is based in Oxford we are able to integrate a London-based team member through regular stand-ups, calls and hangouts.

About the role

We are looking for an energetic and proactive person with well-developed publishing skills and a passion for education to join our Primary Literacy team to cover one of our team's maternity leave. In this role you will be required to deliver projects from start to finish, creatively thinking about market need, finding gaps in the market and crafting print and/or digital proposals. You will research and develop proposals which win in a crowded market and manage teams to deliver these or existing proposals to market to time, quality and budget. You will manage budgets and project P&Ls: working with sales and marketing on forecasting and with our media, design, supplier management, publishing, production, platform and editorial teams on defining and managing costs. You will also be expected to contribute to Primary strategy. You will be responsible for delivering revenue and profit targets for designated projects and planning roadmaps for live services.

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 core 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 academic research.
• Researching and building your understanding of the Primary school market to ensure that everything we do improves learning and is well-researched and evidence-based.

Strategy and financial planning

• Contributing to the strategy process for Primary Literacy and, where needed, taking part in strategy days
• Contributing to the strategic roadmap for the list where required and devising proposals and roadmaps for products/services which drive new revenue and increase market share.
• Contributing to our annual financial planning processes as required
• Putting together and managing P&Ls working with internal teams to draw together forecasts and costings.

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, digital and professional development offerings) which deliver real value for teachers and which really work for children
• Working closely with sales and marketing teams 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 Sales and Marketing 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
• Finding key author talent, commissioning content and managing relationships with authors and Series Editors.
• Managing teams of 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 teams (in particular Post-sales Service teams, Sales, Marketing) on products, services and the changing market environment
• Presenting to external stakeholders e.g. teachers, headteachers
• 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 Primary school landscape (for example curriculum and policy) 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 brand(s) you manage, responding to queries from around the business and championing your brand(s) in appropriate forums
• Gathering customer feedback on live services and devising a strategy for live services which improves customer satisfaction and retention
• Planning the roadmap for these services and prioritising releases of functionality and content working with our platform team
• Leading teams to deliver new content and functionality on the roadmap
• Where needed answering escalated customer queries and writing customer-facing communications about our key brands and the Primary market

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
• Communication, relationship building and influencing skills both within the company and with external stakeholders
• Commercial and financial planning skills: the ability to 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 other staff
• Digital skills: the ability to work with technology teams to develop the digital part of propositions.

Desirable

• Education/Primary teaching experience

You don't need to have any prior experience in the Primary Schools sector, although we do like to hire people who have a genuine interest in this sector.

So if you have a passion for producing resources which really help Primary-aged children and proven publishing skills, we would love to meet you to discuss the role further.

Closing date: 27th Oct

About Pearson

At Pearson, we're committed to a world that's always learning and to our talented team who makes it all possible. From bringing lectures vividly to life to turning textbooks into laptop lessons, we are always re-examining the way people learn best, whether it's one child in our own backyard or an education community across the globe. We are bold thinkers and standout innovators who motivate each other to explore new frontiers in an environment that supports and inspires us to always be better. By pushing the boundaries of technology - and each other to surpass these boundaries - we create seeds of learning that become the catalyst for the world's innovations, personal and global, large and small.