Product Development Manager - 7236

Job Title: Product Development Manager

Salary: £49,300 - £65,950

Location: Cambridge, UK – Hybrid

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full-time, 35 hours

Are you passionate about shaping the future of international education systems globally and bringing innovative products to life that create real impact?  

We are Cambridge University Press & Assessment, a world-leading academic publisher and assessment organisation and a proud part of the University of Cambridge. 

We are looking for a strategic and collaborative Product Development Manager to join our Partnership for Education team working across the wider International Education Group. This is an exciting opportunity to scoping and developing new education reform products and lead on the strategic growth and success of Cambridge Discover – our surveying tool to support schools and ministries to make data informed decisions.

 

About The Role

In this role, you will lead the discovery, development and continuous improvement of innovative products within our Partnership for Education portfolio and in particular focus on the product strategy and roadmap for Cambridge Discover working across the International Education Group. You will combine strategic product leadership with customer-centred digital product management to ensure products meet customer needs, align with organisational priorities and deliver measurable educational impact and commercial value. To deliver impactful solutions that improve education systems worldwide, you will collaborate with internal teams and external stakeholders—including Ministries of Education, funders such as the World Bank, UNICEF and private sector organisations, school groups and delivery partners.

Additional responsibilities and accountabilities include: 

• Leading the development of new product propositions for the Partnership for Education product portfolio, including developing business cases, validating use cases and research
• Owning and evolving the product strategy and roadmap for Cambridge Discover and other assigned products, ensuring alignment with Partnership for Education strategy, International Education priorities, customer needs and market opportunities
• Applying a strong customer insight approach, using user feedback, market research, competitor analysis and product usage data to inform product decisions, prioritisation and continuous improvement
• Defining and tracking product success measures, including adoption, usage, impact and other key performance indicators, and using these insights to guide decision-making
• Translating product strategy into clear technical requirements, prototypes and prioritised deliverables, working closely with technical and cross-functional teams
• Managing product budgets and ensuring delivery within time and cost constraints
• Contribute to decision-making forums, supporting escalation where needed, and clearly communicating product vision, roadmap and priorities to stakeholders
• Collaborating across International Education and Partnership for Education with Commercial, Technical, Marketing and Regional teams to ensure alignment on strategy, opportunities pipeline and successful delivery
• Managing complex, senior-level stakeholder relationships across governments, funders and partners and representing Cambridge globally in high-level engagements
• Championing product management methodologies, embedding consistent product practices and building awareness, engagement and capability across internal teams and external partners.  
  
  

This position has been classified as a hybrid role, requiring the selected candidate to typically spend 40-60% of their time collaborating and connecting face-to-face at their dedicated location. Aside from our hybrid principles, other flexible working requests will be considered from the first day of employment, including other work arrangements should you require adjustments due to a disability or long-term health condition. 

 

About You 

You will be a strategic thinker and experienced product professional with a strong track record in delivering complex products . You will be highly collaborative, comfortable working across diverse stakeholders, and motivated by the opportunity to contribute to education reform on a global scale.

You will bring:

• Proven experience and understanding of product management principles across strategy, roadmap development, delivery and lifecycle management
• Demonstrated ability to develop and deliver product strategies and roadmaps for both new and existing products
• Experience managing digital product development using Agile or similar methodologies and applying customer-centred digital product practices, including continuous discovery, user feedback and evidence-based prioritisation
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capability, with the ability to balance customer needs, commercial considerations and technical feasibility
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence senior decision-makers
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity, taking a proactive approach and adapting quickly to shifting priorities through effective reprioritisation
• Experience working across global, cross-cultural teams
  
  

If you meet the above minimum requirements, we encourage you to apply. Your application will be even stronger if you can also demonstrate the following desirable criteria: 

• Understanding of the international education reform landscape and/or experience in the education sector
• Experience working with digital platforms, online learning solutions or technology-enabled products
• Knowledge of impact measurement or evaluation tools
• Experience engaging with governments, ministries, donor organisations or multilateral organisations
  
  

For a detailed job description, please refer to the link at the bottom of the advert on our careers site.

 

We are a Disability Confident (DC) employer that is committed to equality and inclusion ensuring our recruitment process is accessible to all. The DC scheme's Offer of an Interview commitment applies to applicants who opt in, and disclose a disability or a long-term health condition, and who best meet the minimum criteria for the role. In instances where interviewing all qualifying candidates is not practicable and/or appropriate, we prioritise those who best meet the minimum criteria, as we would for applicants who do not have a disability or long-term health condition. 

Cambridge University Press & Assessment is an approved UK employer for the sponsorship of eligible roles and applicants under the Skilled Worker visa route. Please refer to the gov.uk website for guidance to understand your own eligibility based on the role you are applying for.

Rewards and benefits  

We will support you to be at your best in work and to live well outside of it. In addition to competitive salaries, we offer a world-class, flexible rewards package, featuring family-friendly and planet-friendly benefits including: 

• 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays 
• Private medical and Permanent Health Insurance  
• Discretionary annual bonus  
• Group personal pension scheme 
• Life assurance up to 4 x annual salary  
• Green travel schemes  
  
  

 

Ready to pursue your potential? Apply now.

We aim to support candidates by making our interview process clear and transparent. The closing date for all applications will be 2 June 2026. We will review applications on an ongoing basis, and shortlisted candidates can expect interviews to take place from 8 June 2026.

If you are shortlisted and progressed through the stages, you can expect: 

• First stage interview: in-person at our offices in Cambridge. You will be provided with a brief to complete a role related task.
• Final stage interview may be held if required.
  
  

If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process due to a disability or a long-term health condition, there will be an opportunity for you to inform us via the online application form. We will do our best to accommodate your needs. 

 

Please note that successful applicants will be subject to satisfactory background checks including DBS due to working in a regulated industry.

We are committed to an equitable recruitment process. As such, applications must be submitted via our official online application procedure. Please refrain from sending your CV directly to our recruiters. If you experience technical difficulties or require additional support with submitting your online application, contact the Recruiter. 

 

Why join us 

Joining us is your opportunity to pursue potential. You will belong to a collaborative team that is exploring new and better ways to serve students, teachers and researchers across the globe – for the benefit of individuals, society and the world. Sharing our mission will inspire your own growth, development and progress, in an environment which embraces difference, change and aspiration.

Cambridge University Press & Assessment is committed to being a place where anyone can enjoy a successful career, where it is safe to speak up, and where we learn continuously to improve together. We welcome applications from all candidates, regardless of demographic characteristics (age, disability, educational attainment, ethnicity, gender, marital status, neurodiversity, religion, sex, gender identity and sexual identity), cultural, or social class/background.

We believe better outcomes come through diversity of thought, background and approach. We welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and communities, actively seeking to employ people from a wide range of different communities.