At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead product development from idea to launch, ensuring customer satisfaction and engagement.
- Company: Join Gladstone, a leader in leisure management software with a collaborative culture.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible hours, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Be part of a dynamic team shaping the future of leisure management.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on leisure technology that helps communities stay active.
- Qualifications: Experience in product management and agile development; strong communication skills.
The predicted salary is between 60750 - 74250 £ per year.
We’re looking for a Product Manager to own a product area end to end: working out what to build, getting it built well, and making sure customers use it. You’ll also line manage one experienced Product Manager.
Gladstone has been transforming leisure management software for over 40 years. Our platforms power bookings, memberships and payments for councils, universities, trusts and leisure operators across the UK and Ireland. Our purpose is simple: getting more people, more active, more often.
You’ll take a problem from first customer conversation, through discovery and delivery, to launch and adoption. Then you’ll measure whether it worked.
You’ll thrive here if you’re curious about customers, comfortable making trade-offs, and judge yourself by outcomes rather than releases.
Where you’ll sit: You’ll report to the Chief Product Officer and join a small, collaborative Product team where some Product Managers manage others. You’ll partner day to day with an agile squad of engineers, QA and design, and work closely with Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, Support, Professional Services and Finance.
What you’ll do:
- Discovery: decide what’s worth building. Run regular customer conversations, site visits and validation sessions with operators, from front-of-house staff to senior leadership. Use usage data, support trends, sales feedback and market and competitor insight to find and size problems. Build the business case for significant investments and present it to senior stakeholders. Weigh one customer’s request against what the wider customer base needs, and favour scalable, reusable solutions.
- Delivery: get the right thing built well. Own and prioritise the roadmap and backlog for your product area, balancing customer value, commercial priorities and technical considerations. Turn problems into clear, outcome-focused requirements and user stories, and refine them with the squad. Work daily with engineering, QA and design: join planning, refinement and reviews, and make scope decisions quickly. Champion user experience and self-service, so solutions are simple for operators and their members. Spot and manage risks, dependencies and compliance needs, and communicate them early. Coordinate with third-party and partner development teams, influencing without direct authority.
- Go to market: make sure it lands. Plan launches with Marketing, Sales, Customer Success, Support and Professional Services, so every team is ready on day one. Shape positioning and messaging, and equip Sales with clear value propositions and demos. Make sure release notes, Knowledge Base articles and training materials are accurate and ready.
Across all three: Provide clear updates on progress, priorities and outcomes to the executive team and wider business. Use AI responsibly in your own work, and consider where it can improve every feature you own.
Line management: Line manage one experienced Product Manager, coaching and mentoring them on Gladstone’s products, customers and ways of working. Work alongside them as a peer on delivery. Align goals, priorities and delivery updates with the CPO and other product leads.
What you’ll need to succeed: Experience as a Product Manager, Product Owner or in a similar role in B2B software or SaaS. A track record of taking products or features from idea to launch, including discovery work, not only delivery. Hands-on experience working with agile development teams and owning a backlog. Confidence talking to customers and turning what you hear into clear problems and priorities. A commercial mindset: you can build a business case and make trade-offs on value, cost and effort. Strong written and verbal communication, adjusted for technical and non-technical audiences. Experience coaching, mentoring or line managing others.
Why join Gladstone: You’ll join a collaborative Product team shaping leisure management technology used by councils, universities, trusts and leisure operators across the UK, and deliver products that make a real difference to our customers. As part of the Vesta Software and Constellation Software group, we combine the agility of a specialist software business with the backing of one of the world’s largest software groups.
Product Manager employer: Gladstone Software
Gladstone Software fosters a collaborative work culture that empowers employees to take ownership of their projects. With a focus on professional growth, the company encourages team members to lead strategic initiatives and contribute to meaningful outcomes.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Product Manager
✨Join Product Management Meetups
Get involved in local product management meetups or workshops. These events are perfect for meeting industry folks, sharing ideas, and staying updated on trends. Plus, you never know who might be hiring—it's a fantastic way to make connections that could lead to a job at places like Gladstone Software!
✨Show Off Your Product Sense
Create case studies or mini-projects showcasing your product management skills, and share them on platforms like Medium or LinkedIn. This not only puts your skills on display but also boosts your visibility in the product community. Imagine how impressed the hiring team at Gladstone Software would be by your initiative!
✨Utilise Online Communities
Dive into online product management communities like Product Coalition or Mind the Product. Engage in discussions, ask questions, and share your insights. These platforms are goldmines for networking and finding hidden job opportunities—many companies often scout talent from within these circles.
✨Leverage Your University Network
If you’ve recently graduated or are still in uni, tap into your alumni network for connections in product management. Many universities have their own job boards and affinity resources to help graduates land roles. Don't forget to keep an eye out for job openings at Gladstone Software through your school's career services!
We think you need these skills to ace Product Manager
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Off Your Product Passion:When applying for a product management role like Product Manager, let your passion for developing products shine through in your cover letter. Share specific examples of products you've managed, how you solved user needs, and any successful outcomes you've achieved. This is your chance to showcase your understanding of the product lifecycle!
Highlight Your Cross-Functional Skills:Product management isn't just about understanding the product; it’s about collaborating with different teams! Make sure to emphasise your experience working with developers, designers, and marketers. Use your CV to showcase your ability to bridge gaps between these areas, and include relevant experiences that demonstrate your communication and leadership skills!
Include Your Metrics and Achievements:In a full-time product management application, data speaks volumes! Quantify your achievements wherever possible. Did you increase user retention by a certain percentage? Launch a product ahead of schedule? Include these metrics in your CV to paint a picture of your impact and effectiveness in previous roles.
Tailor Your CV to the Role:Make sure your CV is tailored for the Product Manager position at Gladstone Software. Use keywords from the job description and ensure your relevant experiences are front and centre. Highlight any certifications or relevant training you’ve completed that will make you stand out as a strong candidate for the role. And remember, we’re excited to see your application on our website!
How to prepare for a job interview at Gladstone Software
✨Understand the Product Life Cycle
As a product management candidate, we need to get our head around the complete product life cycle. Be prepared to discuss real-world examples of how you’ve managed product development from ideation to launch. Bring specific insights on tools like JIRA or Trello that can help streamline these processes.
✨Showcase Your Cross-Functional Skills
Product management is all about collaboration. We should be ready to highlight how we’ve worked across teams—think marketing, engineering, and design. Prepare to discuss scenarios where you had to mediate differing opinions and how you got everyone on board with a shared vision.
✨Prepare for Case Studies
In a full-time role, we can expect to encounter case study questions during our interviews. Practise solving hypothetical product problems on the spot, such as prioritising features for a new app or improving user engagement metrics. This will show our analytical thinking and decision-making skills.
✨Know Your Metrics
Let’s face it, numbers are our best friends in product management. We should prepare to discuss key performance indicators (KPIs) and how we've used analytics to inform product decisions. Dive into examples where data has driven our strategy for improvements or justified product changes.
