Senior Product Manager, OxfordAQA

As our new Senior Product Manager, you will lead the strategic development of the OxfordAQA portfolio of subjects. You will act as a focal point within OxfordAQA for the agreement, prioritisation, and oversight of activity for the portfolio to ensure the portfolio is addressing business needs. This role will implement and oversee the development and delivery of product plans for the portfolio to support OxfordAQA's strategic objectives and will ensure an appropriate balance of quality, customer, commercial and stakeholder considerations, taking account of curriculum, process and operational drivers. You will ensure that the product portfolio is best placed to enable OxfordAQA to grow while ensuring costs are managed and controlled.

You will be responsible for:

• Creating and maintaining the strategy for products to optimize our portfolio.


• Managing the portfolio to ensure it provides competitive advantage and business success by understanding and meeting customer and market needs. Monitor the market and competitors and act as the voice of the customer by articulating insights derived from active engagement with current and potential customers, as well as from market research executed cross-functionally;


• Managing the performance of each product and its role in the portfolio to inform needs for future development and lifecycle management. In collaboration with key stakeholders, ensure that our portfolio is clearly positioned so that customers as well as internal stakeholders can easily understand the value and differentiation of each product


• Monitoring financial performance, pricing and suggest measures to improve.


• Managing new product requirements and withdrawals and making improvements to existing products. The post holder will identify which new products may be needed to enable OxfordAQA to succeed in key markets. These will need to be prioritised based on a business case to evaluate revenue potential and costs. Proposals will need to consider how new products will be funded including, where necessary, evaluating where savings can be made in the existing portfolio.


• Defining OxfordAQA's strategy for delivering digital assessments; ensuring the strategy aligns market needs with operational priorities so that it successfully delivers for the business and for customers


• Promoting recognition and understanding of OxfordAQA and its qualifications through external engagement eg. external and internal stakeholders, through one on one engagement and at conferences and events


• Act as the key interface with the OUP Publishing team in respect of the development of learning resources to support OxfordAQA qualifications.


• Engage with the head of teaching and learning to ensure that product training for teachers meet their needs


We operate a hybrid working policy that requires a minimum of 2 days per week in the office. While our preference is to have someone based in Oxford, we are open to considering candidates who will be based in either our Guildford or Manchester offices.


• Experience of managing a product portfolio ideally in educational assessment


• Excellent analytical and verbal and written communication skills, with high attention to detail


• Demonstrated understanding of product development methods and practices.


• Demonstrated commercially astuteness, with proven strategic planning and operational delivery expertise


• Demonstrated strong interpersonal and communication skills, able to influence & build rapport with diverse stakeholders internally and externally and to navigate the complexities of a joint venture with multiple stakeholders


• Track record of prioritising activity based on research and analysis of customer needs


DESIRABLE

• Experience of working in the international education sector


• Demonstrated ability to think creatively to find solutions to complex and intangible problems


• Demonstrated ability to negotiate effectively and balance competing priorities
  
  OxfordAQA provides International GCSE and A-level qualifications which have been specially developed for students studying in an international context. A partnership between Oxford University Press, a department of the University of Oxford and the largest university press in the world, and AQA, the UK's largest academic awarding body, OxfordAQA enables schools to benefit from some of the best educational expertise.


Vision: To bring out the best in students so they can achieve their potential and fulfil their dreams

Mission: We provide high quality, fair assessments that let all students show what they can do.

Values:

• passion: we want the best for our students and schools, and it shows


• agility: we respond quickly and find smart solutions


• integrity: we build trust by being honest and consistent


• collaboration: we work in partnership and look for the win/win
  
  We care about work/life balance here at Oxford AQA. With this in mind, we offer 25 days' holiday that rises with service, plus bank holidays and Christmas closure (3-days).


We help make your money go further by contributing to your pension up to 12% and are also able to provide access to a life assurance policy.