**Head of Digital Product Model Management, Global Schools**
**Description**
Head of Digital Product Model Management, Global English & Schools
Location: Boston or London
At Pearson, we’re committed to a world that’s always learning and to our talented team who makes it all possible\. 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\.
Pearson is looking for a talented, driven, and entrepreneurial leader to develop and execute strategy for digital product offerings in the Global English & Schools markets\. The successful candidate will be responsible for synthesizing customer and market insights to define and promote value propositions for existing and new products and identify corresponding areas for growth and innovation\. As part of these efforts, the Head of Digital Product Model Management, Global English & Schools will lead a cross\-functional team to identify customer problems and ideate, explore, and validate solution concepts that solve them\. This individual will champion successful product designs through the full product lifecycle to ensure they deliver their promise for learners and instructors\.
Reporting to: Managing Director, Global Product Management and Design
The Role:This is a high\-visibility leadership role with responsibility for the direction and performance of existing and new English and School digital product initiatives in the global markets\. To be successful in this position you will need to collaborate with the Global English & School portfolio team, synthesize diverse inputs to establish strategic vision for existing and emerging products and motivate a cross\-functional team to explore, validate and transition successful solutions that deliver on this vision\. You will assemble and execute a pipeline of product and market investigation activities, prioritizing based on anticipated ROI and risk\. Key performance metrics include product model contribution and registration growth\. In short, you will be expected to identify, incubate, and execute innovative product ideas through their product lifecycle and drive long\-term product success and contribute to Pearson’s growth and profitability goals\.
The Candidate:We seek an individual who will cultivate and manage a world\-class team of Director\- and Manager\-level Product Management leads who cover specific subcategories \(e\.g\. English Products, School Products\)\. This individual will direct the team’s collaboration with experts across the Global English & Schools lines\-of\-business, including Geography leadership, discipline\-specific portfolio managers, marketing, content development, text/media production, learning and user experience design, program management, and platform/capability product managers\.
Responsibilities
_Lead teams directly engaged in product category lifecycle planning and management_
+ Create a strategic plan for digital products based on portfolio investment decisions
+ Hold teams accountable for product categories governance, commercialization and contribution across the entire product lifecycle
+ Monitor product teams activities and performance to ensure profitability and customer satisfaction goals are met across lines of business and geographies
+ Collaborate with Efficacy & Research to establish guidelines and governance for efficacy of each product in the portfolio
_Design and validate product concepts, with the “Learner at the Center” approach_
+ Cultivate a learner\-centric, outcomes\-oriented, iterative, market\-and product\-validation approach to new product and market exploration activities
+ Collaborate with User Experience, Learning Design, Engineering, Platform/Capability Product Managers and/or external partners to translate business and product strategy into detailed requirements and prototypes
+ Lead design iterations based on quantitative and qualitative product feedback from early\-stage prototypes
+ Lead activities to validate fit, learner outcomes, and market demand from users and customers
_Champion product value propositions_
+ Manage product models, communicating and evangelizing their value propositions internally while ensuring all new titles are aligned with the product’s strategy
+ Articulate and evolve product model differentiation based on ongoing analysis of market research, competitive intelligence, and user feedback
+ Drive pre\- and post\-release validation activities to ensure releases \(expected or actual\) deliver on their value propositions
_Identify growth opportunities in Global English & School education markets_
+ In collaboration with the Global English & School Portfolio teams, analyze market data to strategize new product opportunities and/or inform potential adoption of products in new markets
+ Commission and synthesize market research activities, informed by on\-going dialog with customers, editorial teams, and our learning design group
_Transition successful prototypes_
+ Collaborate with capability product managers and engineering to identify potential platforms, technologies, and partners for accelerating development
+ Present validation findings to senior executives to secure resources for ongoing development
+ Transition successful prototypes to scaled product model management teams for further development, laying the groundwork necessary for their ongoing evolution and profitability
_Drive category growth_
+ Define and implement an outcomes\-oriented, learner\-centric, market\-and product\-validation approach to managing the existing product portfolio
+ Support products’ financial goals, including developing and implementing a plan to achieve year\-over\-year growth
+ Identify and deliver against long\-term category success metrics \(e\.g\. profitability, NPS scores, digital registration growth\)
+ Work alongside customers and sales to identify and promote opportunities for growth
**Qualifications**
Education and Experience
+ Bachelors required
+ MBA or other advanced degree preferred
+ 15 years relevant experience\. Ideal candidates will also have 5 years in a Technical Product Management role managing iterative, test\-based software development / product design efforts
+ Demonstrated experience developing compelling product visions combined with a track record of successful execution
+ Recognized as an outstanding leader capable of building high performance teams and collaborating with senior leadership on high\-growth initiatives
Skills and personal qualities
+ Ability to hit the ground running – a confident, entrepreneurial self\-starter who can work with little management guidance or direction
+ Passion for education, technology, and building immersive learning experiences
+ Ability to deal with ambiguity, find creative resolutions and drive for results
+ Experience in working with a highly experimental portfolio \(e\.g\. launch, fail and then apply lessons learned to relentlessly try again\)
+ Methodological expertise in user\-centered design, with a track record of developing early\-stage prototypes into successful market releases
+ Track record of taking on big challenges and delivering despite obstacles and limited resources
+ Strong decision\-making, negotiation, and relationship management skills – ability to balance and reconcile conflicting interests
+ Ability to lead within cross\-functional virtual teams spanning multiple regions and cultures
+ Ability to build strong support base for their ideas internally
+ Ability to listen to different perspectives and respond objectively and constructively to new ideas
+ Outstanding writing and presentation skills
**Primary Location:** US\-MA\-Boston
**Other Locations** GB\-GB\-Oxford, GB\-GB\-London, US\-NJ\-Hoboken
**Work Locations:** US\-MA\-Boston\-501 Boylston 501 Boylston St Boston 02116
**Job:** Product Management
**Organization:** Global Product
**Employee Status:** Regular Employee
**Job Type:** Standard
**Shift:** Day Job
**Job Posting:** Oct 24, 2016