Web Product Owner

Are you a collaborative digital professional who enjoys turning business requirements into clear plans for software development? We are looking for a Web Product Owner to look after Pan Macmillan’s international website. In this role, you will work closely with technology, marketing and publishing teams to build and improve a digital platform that connects our authors, stories and readers around the world, showcasing our books across all formats.

You will join our technology team based in London, working closely with the Head of Content (Digital Marketing), an external development agency, and our QA testing team, as well as local website managers in India and South Africa.

Reporting to the Technology Director, you will be the main Product Owner for our global website platform. You will manage the product backlog and the development pipeline, translate business requests into detailed instructions for software developers, and guide the weekly work of our agency to keep the website fully functional and updated.

Your key responsibilities:

• Backlog and sprint management: create, organize and update the web product backlog, turning business ideas into clear user stories with specific completion criteria.
• Agency and QA collaboration: serve as the main daily contact for our external development agency and offshore testing team to keep project timelines on track.
• International stakeholder coordination: work with UK business teams and international website managers to incorporate local requirements into development plans.
• Roadmap planning: collaborate with the Head of Content to update the website roadmap, manage timeline risks and organize releases.
• Problem triage and testing: manage the process for fixing bugs and errors, balancing urgent fixes with new feature development, and verifying updates before deployment.
• Clear updates and communication: write and share simple, clear updates about new website features and changes for both technical and non‑technical staff.
• Content updates: support teams in creating well‑formed content, landing pages, or other assets.
• Track industry standards and emerging trends: stay up to date with digital standards and industry trends, assessing business impact and prioritizing relevant updates.
• Support for business tools: provide support for tools such as Docusign, Buffer and Zapier, managing access and troubleshooting issues.

Essential experience, abilities, knowledge and values you’ll need to succeed:

• Agile product management: practical experience as a Product Owner or in a digital project management role using Scrum or Kanban.
• Clear technical communication: effective written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain technical ideas to non‑technical people and translate business requirements to developers.
• Agency and vendor coordination: experience working directly with external software development agencies or technology vendors.
• Prioritisation and organisation: a structured approach to managing many requests from multiple departments and international teams simultaneously.
• Web technology foundational knowledge: a clear understanding of how websites, CMS and user interfaces work, with experience of headless architecture seen as a plus.
• Testing and quality assurance: experience coordinating software testing processes, logging bugs and reviewing software updates before publication.
• AI: understanding of how AI intersects with the web, including challenges, benefits and adaptation needs.
• Inclusion and representation: active dedication to promoting diverse voices and inclusive practices, ensuring workplace and publishing reflect the communities served.
• Community: a collaborative approach to building a supportive environment.
• Curiosity: a strong drive for learning and readiness to embrace different perspectives.
• Integrity: openness and honesty, taking responsibility for actions and learning from mistakes.

Desirable skills we’d love you to have:

• International platform management: previous experience on websites serving multiple countries or managing multi‑site CMS.
• Web analytics tools: familiarity with Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager to view website data and understand user behaviour.
• Publishing data standards: basic knowledge of book publishing metadata systems such as ONIX or BIC.

What you’ll get in return:

In return we can offer you a range of great projects, a supportive and collaborative working environment, a competitive salary and benefits package.

Salary £55,000 - 65,000 (dependent on experience and expertise)

Closing date 5 July 2027

Some of the benefits we offer:

• 28 days’ annual leave increasing with years of service + bank holidays
• Generous pension scheme
• Discounted private medical insurance or health cash plan
• Group income protection scheme
• Enhanced family pay and leave
• Flexible working hours and summer hours (early finish on a Friday during summer months)
• 2 volunteer days per year
• 75% off all Pan Macmillan books and regular staff book sales (highly reduced rates)
• Season ticket loan/advance
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discounts on shopping and gym memberships; Christmas club savings
• Daily free breakfast and monthly company lunch

Our commitment to diversity & inclusion:

At Pan Macmillan, we are committed to publishing a wide range of voices that reflect the full breadth of the communities we serve. Joining us means playing an active role in bringing our titles to life as part of a team that champions inclusion at every level. We are dedicated to building a workplace that is as diverse and welcoming as the stories we tell, ensuring all perspectives are celebrated across everything we do.

Disability confident scheme:

As a Disability Confident employer, we actively encourage applications from disabled candidates and people with long‑term health conditions, aiming to offer an interview to everyone who meets the essential criteria for the role and chooses to apply under the scheme. The essential criteria can be found under our “Essential experience, abilities, knowledge and values you’ll need to succeed” section. We never require you to disclose a disability unless you choose to do so.