At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead product strategy for InPlace, enhancing student experiences and operational efficiency.
- Company: King's College London, a diverse and inclusive university community.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible working hours, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Join a dynamic team focused on innovation and collaboration in higher education.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on student placements and contribute to Strategy 2030 objectives.
- Qualifications: SAFe Agile Product Manager certified with strong experience in Agile environments.
The predicted salary is between 65091 - 74613 £ per year.
This role is focussed in the Student Value Stream specifically for InPlace. This critical role is to establish a dedicated Agile delivery capability for InPlace, King's enterprise placement management platform. The current implementation is constrained by limited ongoing investment, resulting in a significant backlog of over 40 requests, operational inefficiencies, and underutilisation of the system's enterprise value.
A Product Manager will provide strategic product leadership, ensuring prioritisation aligns to institutional outcomes, including improved student experience, operational efficiency, and system scalability. This role is essential to stabilise and optimise the platform, enable delivery of integrations and enhancements, and support expansion to additional faculties and programmes. The role directly contributes to Strategy 2030 objectives by enabling consistent, high-quality placement experiences, improving employability outcomes, and supporting Student Services Transformation.
Without clear product ownership, delivery risks becoming fragmented, limiting value realisation and return on investment from an existing enterprise system. The Product Manager ensures a coordinated, value-driven roadmap that maximises benefits, reduces operational burden, and enables sustainable growth.
Full Time at 35 hours per week based in Lavington Street with flexible working to suit the team. You will be offered a fixed term contract until 31st July 2027, internal applicants would be seconded to this post.
At King's, we believe that the diversity of our community and a culture that is welcoming, open, inclusive and collaborative, are great strengths of the university. The Equality Act of 2010 protects the rights of our students and staff and provides a framework to fulfil our duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and in addition, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
We welcome your thoughts on how organisations can create an inclusive environment, including one which supports free speech and the exchange of a wide range of ideas. We are committed to free speech and to academic freedom, believing that our foundational purpose as a university, is to create spaces where a wide range of ideas, including ideas that are controversial, can be discussed and debated, and where members of our community can express lawful views without fear of intimidation, harassment or discrimination.
When engaging in the robust exchange of ideas, we ask that our community is mindful of our Dignity at King's guidance.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving rapidly, and we recognise its growing role in professional work. Applicants may use AI tools to support preparation of their application, for example to research the role or structure written responses. However, applications must reflect the applicant's own work and experience. AI tools should not be used during interviews or assessment activities unless this has been agreed in advance as a reasonable adjustment.
The Product Chapter is a vertical team of Product Managers and Product Owners delivering value right across all horizontal value streams at King's. Nested within IT Digital Solutions we work closely with Product roles across King's for digital products as well as our partners in the Agile Centre of Excellence, Enterprise Architecture, Business Analysis, Delivery and Build. Together as a chapter we mature our service and develop Product Management and a product mindset at King's.
Essential criteria
- SAFe Agile Product Manager (APM) Certified
- Strong experience in Product Management within Agile / SAFe environments
- Product Management leadership, working with and supporting other PMs to ensure alignment with shared outcomes, strategy and customer value
- Ability to translate strategy into measurable outcomes
- Proven ability to define roadmaps and prioritise backlogs at scale
- Experience with PI Planning and Agile delivery frameworks
- Excellent stakeholder engagement, communication and relationship building
Desirable criteria
- Experience in higher education / complex public sector organisations
- Familiarity with Student Services and range of Products in Student value stream
- Knowledge of data-driven product decision making
- Exposure to AI-enabled product capabilities
Grade and Salary: £65,091 - £74,613 per annum inclusive of London Weighting Allowance
Job ID: 155705
Product Manager employer: Kings College London
At King's, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, fostering a collaborative and inclusive work culture that values diversity and innovation. As a Product Manager in the Student Value Stream, you will play a pivotal role in optimising our enterprise placement management platform, contributing directly to our Strategy 2030 objectives while enjoying flexible working arrangements and opportunities for professional growth. Join us in creating impactful student experiences in a supportive environment that champions free speech and the exchange of ideas.
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 Kings College London!
✨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 Kings College London 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 Kings College London 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 Kings College London. 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 Kings College London
✨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.
