Head of Product

Reports to: Product Strategy Director

Location: Currently operating hybrid working in our West London Office

Contract: FTC (maternity cover 1 year)

Pattern: Full Time (standard hours 9am – 5.30pm)

Closing date: 08/08/2024 at 10am

Interviews: Interviews will be arranged as suitable candidates are identified, so early application is strongly advised

Salary: £65,000 to £75,000 (depending on experience)

About the role:

Reporting to the Product Strategy Director and working closely with the Education Director, Programmes Director and Heads of Subject, the Head of Product is responsible for the product strategy and commercial success of a portfolio of subject excellence programmes. The Head of Product will have line management responsibilities for product strategy team members including Principal Design Leads and Design Leads (curriculum design content creators).

The Head of Product is accountable for the commercial success of a portfolio of subject excellence programmes. The Head of Product will work closely with the Product Strategy Director and other Heads of Product to develop a distinctive roadmap of product and/or programme developments which drive increased impact and financial returns. This is guided by close collaboration with the Education Director and relevant Heads of Subject to understand educational priorities across all components of their portfolio of programmes. It is also shaped by a deep understanding of the competitive landscape, the potential market for new developments, and needs within Ark Schools, other current users and non-users.

The Head of Product will lead a team of in-house and out-of-house designers and authors to implement agreed developments, ensuring strong project and content management processes are in place and followed. The Head of Product will also work closely with the Partnerships and Fundraising teams to ensure the benefits of the programmes and new developments are well understood and communicated and sales and renewal targets are met.

Key Responsibilities:

• Contribute to and implement the organisation’s strategy and mission
• Work closely with the Product Strategy Director, Education Director, and Heads of Subject to develop and implement programme strategies that contribute to the overall organisational mission, strategy, and sustainability
• Work closely with the Education Director and relevant Heads of Subject to understand the vision for subject excellence underpinning their portfolio of programmes, and to ensure that best practice is at the forefront of developments across all programme components
• Work closely with the Heads of Subject and other key stakeholders to arrive at a shared understanding of educational priorities across all programme components that will improve outcomes, including review of internal and external metrics and data points
• Build and share a strong understanding of competitor propositions and how AC+ wins against these
• Conduct school visits, interviews, and other feedback mechanisms, including review of usage data, to observe and gain feedback to inform future developments
• Based on these insights and educational priorities, develop a roadmap for new products and/or programme developments in their portfolio to set AC+ up for success
• Build strong proposals/business cases to justify new developments/products
• Build and lead the programme strategies across the relevant programme portfolio
• Ensure the product life cycle 1- and 3-year growth plans and prioritisations are clear, approved by leadership and Ark Schools, and realistic within available cashflow
• Work collaboratively with the Partnerships team to build strong go-to-market plans to get the most benefit and impact from product and programme developments
• In conjunction with the Leadership and fundraising team, develop relationships with existing and potential funders. Create proposals, updates, and meet with funders as appropriate to secure funding for organisational priorities and priorities within their portfolio of programmes
• Create and deliver strong implementation plans for new developments, monitoring progress, problem-solving, and mitigating risks to ensure releases are on time, within scope and budget, and to a high quality
• Lead and manage a consistent and rigorous quality assurance process, ensuring highly structured involvement of the Heads of Subject and the Education Director in pedagogical quality assurance
• Recruit, manage, and mentor staff as required and be accountable for line managing product strategy team members including Principal Design Leads and Design Leads, and Heads of Subject for new programmes still in pilot
• Lead and inspire their team to meet defined goals and objectives

Key Requirements:

• Educated to degree level
• Shows a significant commitment to ongoing professional development and specialist qualifications
• Right to work in the UK
• Leadership and team building skills
• Experience of leading, coaching, and managing teams to deliver a consistently high performance to meet defined goals and objectives
• Strong understanding of the performance management cycle and how to drive a high-performance culture
• Has a strategic outlook when making decisions, recognising the wider impact
• An experienced and confident leader with a proven ability to lead and implement change effectively and sustainably
• Highly developed communication and interpersonal skills
• Vision aligned with AC+’s high aspirations and expectations of self and other

View the full job description and person specification here

About Ark

We’re an international charity, transforming lives through education. We exist to give every young person, regardless of their background, a great education and real choices in life. In the UK, we’re a network of 39 schools, educating around 30,000 pupils in areas where we can make the biggest difference and we’re recognised as one of the highest achieving academy groups in the country. We want to change the lives of children everywhere, not just in our own schools. So, we create and incubate Ventures designed not only to help pupils in Ark schools, but also to improve education systems.

You’ll be joining a group of like-minded, ambitious individuals who work collaboratively and are all committed to our core mission, that every child has the potential to succeed. Having just celebrated our 20^th anniversary, we are shaping our goals for the next 20 and there has never been a more exciting time to join us.

Benefits

• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service up to 30 days after 3-years’ service. This entitlement is pro rata for part time employees. This entitlement excludes bank holidays
• Full office closure between Christmas and New Year
• Hybrid working, with currently two days a week in our state-of-the-art office in West London working alongside colleagues
• Regular social events, monthly free breakfast, and daily fruit
• A flexible approach to working with understanding and consideration for work life balance and personal commitments
• As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to
• Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face-to-face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests

How to Apply:

Apply with a CV and cover letter on our online recruitment portal. Applications to be submitted by Thursday 8^th August 2024 at 10am but please note: we will be reviewing applications on an on-going basis and this advert may close earlier than advertised depending on the level of response.

This ATS application form should take no longer 20 minutes to complete. At any time, you can pause, save, and log back in. If you have any difficulty with meeting the deadline for application, please contact recruitment@arkonline.org

Interviews will be arranged as suitable candidates are identified, so early application is strongly advised.

Ark is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in its academies. In order to meet this responsibility, its academies follow a rigorous selection process to discourage and screen out unsuitable applicants.  

Ark requires all employees to undertake an enhanced DBS check. You are required, before appointment, to disclose any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975. Non-disclosure may lead to termination of employment. However, disclosure of a criminal background will not necessarily debar you from employment - this will depend upon the nature of the offence(s) and when they occurred. To read more about Ark’s safer recruitment process, please click this link. 

We aim to build a diverse and inclusive organisation where everyone – staff and students – can do their best work and achieve their full potential. We want to reflect and represent diverse perspectives across our organisation because we know that doing so will make us stronger and more effective. To know more about Ark’s diversity and inclusion commitments, please click on this link.