At a Glance
- Tasks: Drive product vision and manage the product lifecycle for innovative academic conferencing software.
- Company: Join Oxford Abstracts, a leader in academic conferencing software with a friendly remote team.
- Benefits: Enjoy 30 days holiday, flexible hours, and a work-from-home budget.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on products that simplify global academic conferences.
- Qualifications: 3+ years in product management and experience with SaaS products.
- Other info: Fully remote role with excellent career growth opportunities.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 70000 £ per year.
Product Manager (Maternity Cover)
Contract: Fixed Term
Level: Mid to Senior
Duration: 4 days a week for 11.5 months
Start date: 1st December 2025
Timezone requirement: GMT +/-2 hours
Location: Fully remote
Salary: £60,000 to £70,000
About Oxford Abstracts 🚀
Oxford Abstracts is a world leader in academic conference software, helping the world share groundbreaking ideas. We power over 2,000 conferences worldwide each year.
At Oxford Abstracts, our mission is simple: to enable anyone to expertly manage and create exceptional academic conferences.
With over 20 years of experience, Oxford Abstracts has evolved into a dedicated global team of 18. We understand the unique needs of academic conference organisers and are committed to helping them deliver successful, engaging events.
To find out more about the company and the team, please take a look at our Careers Page – https://oxfordabstracts.com/careers/
Our values 🏡
- Empowerment: We empower our clients by providing intuitive tools that simplify conference management, and empower our employees by fostering a culture of autonomy and growth.
- Transparency: We build trust with our clients through clear communication and honest practices, and we maintain an open workplace where every team member\’s voice is heard.
- Client Focused Innovation: Our clients inspire our innovative solutions, ensuring we meet their evolving needs, while our employees stay at the forefront of innovation, continually advancing their skills and contributing fresh ideas.
- Expertise: We provide industry-leading expertise to our clients, helping them become expert organisers, and we invest in our employees\’ professional development to ensure they continue to excel in their field.
About the role ⚒️
We’re looking for an experienced Product manager to join the team on a fixed-term basis to cover maternity leave.
In this role, you will be responsible for driving the product vision, ensuring we continue to deliver an exceptional service for our customers whilst also meeting our strategic business level goals.
We are striving to be the only tool you will need to host an academic conference. As a result, our product is incredibly varied. Some examples of upcoming projects:
- A website builder
- A schedule conflict checker
- The ability for users to bulk upload their conference schedule
- General modernisation of the application
Key responsibilities 💻
- Product strategy and delivery of the product roadmap: Take ownership and evolve the product roadmap to support business goals and customer needs
- Discovery and prioritisation: Incorporate customer feedback and market analysis to inform product strategies and feature prioritisation
- Cross-team collaboration: Work closely with design, research, engineers, marketing, customer success and customer support to inform product decisions and ensure smooth product launches
- Analytics: Track key product metrics and communicate progress to the team
- Product life cycle: End-to-end management of the product lifecycle – discovery, writing specs, testing, reviewing designs, copy, coordinating product launches
- Project management: Manage development cycles through agile methodologies – sprint planning, retrospectives, backlog refinement etc
- Continuity and handover: Document decisions, processes and learnings to ensure smooth handover
Must haves ✅
- 3+ years of product management experience
- Fast learner who is able to problem solve quickly
- Experience working with product teams that build and deliver software
- Experience working with multiple engineers and product designers
- Experience working with SaaS products
- Track record of building impactful products
- Comfortable working in a remote environment
- Comfortable working in a small team
- Located GMT +/- 2 hours
Benefits💛
- 30 days holiday a year
- Work from home budget
- Fully remote
- Flexible working hours and days
- For those employed on the UK payroll we offer additional pension benefits
Hiring process 🤝
- 20 minute video introduction call.
- Second interview with our PM and Designer where you will be asked to present a case study (1 hour)
- Final interview with an Engineer and CEO (1 hour)
In addition to the screening questions you must send a response to farihah@oxfordabstracts.com to the following questions. Any application without these responses will not be considered.
- This role is fully remote. Briefly describe your experience working in fully remote product teams and how you ensured team alignment?
- In your previous roles, what is one method of feature prioritisation you have used?
Product Manager (Maternity Cover) at Oxford Abstracts employer: Oxford Abstracts Ltd
Contact Detail:
Oxford Abstracts Ltd Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Product Manager (Maternity Cover) at Oxford Abstracts
✨Tip Number 1
Get to know the company inside out! Before your interview, dive into Oxford Abstracts' mission and values. Understanding their focus on customer feedback and continual learning will help you align your answers with what they care about.
✨Tip Number 2
Practice makes perfect! Prepare for the case study presentation by simulating it with a friend or colleague. This will help you refine your delivery and get comfortable with discussing your thought process.
✨Tip Number 3
Show off your remote work skills! Since this role is fully remote, be ready to share specific examples of how you've successfully collaborated with teams from a distance. Highlight any tools or methods you used to keep everyone aligned.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, it shows you’re serious about joining the team at Oxford Abstracts.
We think you need these skills to ace Product Manager (Maternity Cover) at Oxford Abstracts
Some tips for your application 🫡
Be Yourself: When you're writing your application, let your personality shine through! We want to get to know the real you, so don’t be afraid to show your enthusiasm for the role and our mission at Oxford Abstracts.
Tailor Your Responses: Make sure to tailor your answers to the specific questions we’ve asked. Highlight your experience with remote teams and feature prioritisation, as these are key to what we’re looking for in a Product Manager.
Showcase Your Experience: Don’t just list your past roles; tell us about the impact you made in those positions. Use examples that demonstrate your product management skills and how you’ve driven successful projects in the past.
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply through our website for a smoother process. It helps us keep everything organised and ensures your application gets the attention it deserves!
How to prepare for a job interview at Oxford Abstracts Ltd
✨Know Your Product Inside Out
Before the interview, dive deep into Oxford Abstracts' products and services. Understand their mission to simplify academic conferencing and be ready to discuss how your experience aligns with their goals. This shows genuine interest and helps you connect your skills to their needs.
✨Prepare for Case Study Presentation
Since you'll be presenting a case study in the second interview, choose a relevant project that showcases your product management skills. Structure your presentation clearly, focusing on your approach to problem-solving and how you prioritised features based on customer feedback. Practice makes perfect!
✨Emphasise Remote Work Experience
Given that this role is fully remote, highlight your experience working in distributed teams. Share specific strategies you've used to maintain team alignment and communication. This will reassure them that you can thrive in their remote environment.
✨Showcase Your Agile Methodology Knowledge
Familiarise yourself with agile methodologies, as they are crucial for managing development cycles. Be prepared to discuss how you've applied sprint planning, retrospectives, and backlog refinement in your previous roles. This demonstrates your ability to manage the product lifecycle effectively.