Head of Product Development

Renaissance is a global leader in education technology. We help schools and school groups in the UK and around the world with educational assessments, practice and intervention solutions, and data analytics. Renaissance now incorporates GL Assessment (known internationally as GL Education), too – a leading provider of educational assessments.

Together, our assessments offer the ideal starting point to help teachers understand their students’ strengths and pinpoint areas of need. Our teaching and learning tools then provide effective next steps, with online literacy and maths solutions that meet students exactly where we are.

Worldwide, we support over 18 million students, operating in over 100 countries.

About this role:

The Head of Product Development at Renaissance is responsible for the development and continuous improvement of our GL Assessment testing platform, Testwise, and the educational assessments delivered through it.

This role ensures that the platform is robust, scalable, and user-friendly, meeting and exceeding user expectations. They will ensure that our assessments are of the highest standards of validity and reliability and built using scalable and repeatable processes.

In this role you’ll partner very closely with the Head of Product Marketing to align product roadmaps with commercial opportunities and competitive threats. You’ll also collaborate very closely with the technology leadership and teams on product strategy and delivery.

Head of Product Development, Job Responsibilities:

• Define and communicate the product vision, strategy, and roadmap for the Testwise platform and the assessment portfolio, in close collaboration with the Head of Product Marketing.
• Align product development efforts with the overall business strategy and goals.
• Work with the Director of Education and wider Product Leadership Team to define a product delivery lifecycle framework and ensure that roles and responsibilities in the lifecycle are clear, documented and communicated.
• Ensure that teams are structured in such a way as to enable full ownership and accountability for outcomes.
• Implement solutions to recurring problems in the development lifecycle and promote innovation within the team.
• Stay abreast of the rapidly evolving potential of digital assessments and ensure that we are harnessing all the potential that new technologies present.
• Oversee the product lifecycle from conception through launch and ongoing support working closely with the Head of Product Marketing.
• Ensure that products meet market needs and drive business growth.
• Lead and manage a team of product managers, assessment developers and product designers.
• Foster a collaborative environment, working closely with cross-functional teams including engineering, psychometrics, product marketing, and customer support.
• Work closely with Product Marketing to maintain a customer-centric approach, collaborating on regular market analyses and competitive research to stay ahead of industry trends.
• Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure product success and inform future strategies.
• Analyse market trends and user data to pivot product direction when necessary.

Skills and experience required:

Ideally, you’ll have some assessment development exposure preferably within EdTech or Tech industry and be a strong, humble leader who can lead through their team with the ability to challenge and coach where needed but also recognise the expertise of their team.

• Experience in B2B product and/or assessment development leadership roles delivering high stakes projects and outcomes.
• Proven experience in a range of delivery methodologies including project-based and agile approaches.
• Strong understanding of educational assessment, psychometrics and assessment development theory and practice.
• A pragmatic and highly analytical problem-solver – able to break problems down and find the highest value piece of the problem to solve first. Flexible in matching the solution to the problem.
• Able to zoom in and out between the detail and the big picture as required by the situation.

We are looking for someone who aligns with Renaissance’s mission to accelerate learning for all children and adults of all ability levels and ethnic and social backgrounds. We are looking for someone who is/has:

• Results-oriented with strong commercial acumen.
• Excellent in relationship building and stakeholder management.
• Strategic thinker with ability to influence stakeholders and to align product development with business goals.
• Strong collaborator with the ability to build relationships with key allies and stakeholders across the business.
• Strong communication and presentation skills.
• Motivated to make a positive difference in the lives of teachers and children worldwide.

Additional information:

• This role can be based in either our Brentford or Durham locations – hybrid based with a couple of days a week in the office. Some travel to other locations as needed.
• Salary range is up between £110-£120k (based on experience) plus annual bonus.
• 25 Days per annum plus Bank Holidays (3 to be used for our Christmas shutdown).
• A day off for your birthday, to be used in the month of your birthday.
• Access to a benefits and discount platform with access to 1000’s of discounts at retailers, leisure attractions and restaurants (provided by Reward Gateway).
• BUPA Healthcare, Life assurance, Permanent health insurance.
• Pension scheme with enhanced employer contribution.
• Season ticket loan and EAP.

We have an ongoing commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and have taken strides to become a more welcoming and inclusive workplace, including the introduction of our DEI Matters Network which is owned and driven by our staff.

We are an equal opportunities employer. We encourage and welcome applications from all underrepresented groups, as we believe and strive for community representation within our organisation.

If you have a disability and would prefer to apply in a different format or would like us to make reasonable adjustments to enable you to apply or attend any interview, please contact us and we will talk this through with you.

All your information will be kept confidential according to GDPR guidelines. Please note that we can only consider applicants who already hold a full work permit.

This role is subject to DBS and background checks.

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