Head of Innovative Vocational Qualification Products

Job Title: Head of Innovative Vocational Qualification Products

Salary: £66,100 - £88,500

Location: Cambridge, Coventry or Gateshead, hybrid

Contract: Fixed term contract until April 2025 with potential for extension. Full time or part time, with flexible working options.

An exciting opportunity to join us as Head of Innovative Vocational Qualification (VQ) Products, who will lead strategic thinking about future innovation in our UK vocational product portfolio.

We are Cambridge University Press & Assessment, a world-leading academic publisher and assessment organisation and a proud part of the University of Cambridge.

About the role

The Head of Innovative VQ Products sits in OCR's Product Management team, reporting to the Director of Vocational Qualification Products.

This is a heavily strategic role, working with a small team of Product Managers and external consultants to build ground-up strategic positions. The role is responsible for identifying strategic risks and opportunities, building propositions to address those, and ultimately safe-guarding the long-term commercial success of OCR's vocational portfolio.

With so much change in the political and Vocational Qualifications landscape, this is an exciting opportunity for a commercially-focussed and ambitious individual to deliver a real change to our business and our learners.

This fixed term contract opportunity will focus on four core areas of strategic activity:

• Using product management tools and analysis to develop a new opportunities strategy for our VQ product portfolio.
• Working with Sales and Marketing colleagues to build and deliver a proposition for a targeted new VQ customer base.
• Working with Product Development colleagues to build and deliver a proposition for a new, future-focussed qualification.
• Identify and contract appropriate experts to complete in-depth analyses of the evolving VQ assessment landscape. Use this work to build a long-term strategy to secure the future of our core VQ suites.

About you

You are a commercially-focussed self-starter, with a track record of successful strategic development and delivery.

You have a high level of product expertise in the education and assessment industry, with at least 5 years' experience of product ownership or management of a high-value product range and a deep understanding of strategic principles and techniques.

Possessing demonstrable commercial mindset and strong business acumen, including financial analysis and numeracy skills, the ability to make informed decisions to maximize commercial returns and the ability to identify emerging competitors and potential threats.

Deep knowledge of the UK vocational and technical education and assessment system at a strategic level, including a comprehensive understanding of policy and the interplay between education and the market.

Ability to influence senior stakeholders and cross-functional teams, generating commitment to shared commercial ambitions.

If you would like to know more about this opportunity and what will make you successful, please see the full job description attached to the bottom of this vacancy on our careers site.

Rewards and benefits

We will support you to be at your best in work and to live well outside of it. In addition to competitive salaries, we offer a world-class, flexible rewards package, featuring family-friendly and planet-friendly benefits including:

• 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Private medical and Permanent Health Insurance
• Discretionary annual bonus
• Group personal pension scheme
• Life assurance up to 4 x annual salary
• Green travel schemes

We are a hybrid working organisation, and we offer a range of flexible working options from day one. We expect most hybrid-working colleagues to spend 40-60% of their time at their dedicated office or location. We will also consider other work arrangements if you wish to work more flexibly or require adjustments due to a disability.

Ready to pursue your potential? Apply now.

We review applications on an ongoing basis, with a closing date for all applications being 10^th April and interviews are scheduled to take place between 17^th – 19^th April 2024.

Please note that successful applicants will be subject to satisfactory background checks including DBS due to working in a regulated industry.

Please note that Cambridge University Press & Assessment will not ordinarily be able to provide sponsorship for vacancies of less than 12-months in duration. Applicants must therefore have an existing right to work in the UK to be eligible for this position.

Why join us

Joining us is your opportunity to pursue potential. You'll belong to a collaborative team that's exploring new and better ways to serve students, teachers and researchers across the globe – for the benefit of individuals, society and the world. Sharing our mission will inspire your own growth, development and progress, in an environment which embraces difference, change and aspiration.

Cambridge University Press & Assessment is committed to being a place where anyone can enjoy a successful career, where it's safe to speak up, and where we learn continuously to improve together. We welcome applications from all candidates, regardless of demographic characteristics (age, disability, educational attainment, ethnicity, gender, marital status, neurodiversity, religion, sex, gender identity and sexual identity), cultural, or social class/background.

We believe better outcomes come through diversity of thought, background and approach. We welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and communities, actively seeking to employ people from a wide range of different communities.

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