Manager, Content Developer

• Job Purpose:

• This role is responsible for managing people to design and develop vocational teaching and learning products and

• services that include qualifications, sample assessments, End-Point assessments, digital or printed teaching and learning content, that meet the needs of learner, customers/clients and stakeholders and are compliant with the requirements of governments and regulators

• This role:

• managing people to generate strong evidence bases for the design and development of products and

• services that are aligned with our business and sector strategies

• managing people to design and develop products and services that are attractive to learners and customers, meet stakeholder needs and are compliant with the requirements of governments, regulators, clients and Pearson quality policies and procedures

• managing people to ensure smooth implementation of new qualifications including ensuring the clarity, consistency, and technical accuracy of product support through the lifecycle for the portfolio of qualifications allocated

• attracting, recruiting, developing, and retaining the best people to work at Pearson and facilitate strong relationships within the Product department and between the Product department and other teams (e.g. virtual sector, development and bid teams)

• In addition, it is responsible for supporting the Team Manager – Content Development with research, design, implementation, and ongoing customer experience of significant portfolios and suites.

Main responsibilities:

1. Insight and market shaping

• Support Team Manager – Content Development to generate a strong evidence base for strategy and product development for significant or high-stakes portfolios, suites or opportunities

• Ensure Product Managers and Product Developers are aligned in the way in which they generate and interpret the evidence base for new products and services (via learner, customer, stakeholder, labour market and competitor research)

• Develop and maintain insight into best practice (teaching and learning, assessment and the link between them)

• Represent Pearson in meetings with stakeholders as part of the development process, e.g. governments, regulators

2. Product strategy and financial management

• Lead team to develop strategies for designing and developing products and services that are both attractive to learners and customers and compliant with the requirements of governments and regulators.

• Contribute to portfolio, suite and sector strategy development

• Contribute to the financial and strategic business planning process

• Manage OPEX and CAPEX budgets and monitor team member’s budgets

3. Product design and development

• For significant or high-stakes portfolios, suites or opportunities support Team Manager – Content Development to:

• disseminate design principles, guidance and templates

• interpret how client, government and regulatory requirements should be implemented

• quality assure products and services developed ahead of Team Manager – Content Development approval to ensure they meet learner, customer and stakeholder needs, and are compliant with regulatory, government and client requirements and Pearson quality policies and procedures

• provide regular management information detailing risks and issues with appropriate mitigations that ensure

• delivery to time, budget and quality

Lead teams to:

• Design and develop winning products and services that meet learner, customer and stakeholder needs, and are compliant with regulatory, government and client requirements and Pearson quality policies and procedures

• Translate suite- or portfolio-level principles into winning proposals and qualification and assessment designs and client solutions

• Lead the product and services development and/or tender process (design, development, internal approval, accreditation and government approval) to time, budget and quality

• Provide regular management information detailing risks and issues with appropriate mitigations that ensure delivery to time, budget and quality

• Recruit, brief, train and performance manage writers in a strategic way to deliver winning qualifications and assessments to time, budget and quality

• Manage the updating and maintenance of specifications and sample assessment materials through the lifecycle for the portfolio of qualifications allocated

4. Implementation, customer experience and campaigns

• For significant portfolios, suites or opportunities, support Team Manager – Content Development to ensure the smooth implementation and ongoing running through the lifecycle by:

• communicating to internal teams the strategy, proposition, features and benefits

• maintaining up-to-date and accurate information in support of customer-facing teams

• briefing customer-facing teams re any amendments through the cycle clearly and simply

• managing and responding to customer complaints

• monitoring customer experience of our product support and identifying ways to improve it

Lead teams to collaborate with others to:

• ensure effective set up and implementation of new products and services

• maintain the accuracy and validity of products and services through their lifecycle

• ensure a positive customer and learner experience in delivery through the lifecycle

• ensure the clarity, consistency and technical accuracy of product support through the lifecycle for the portfolio of

• qualifications allocated

• identify opportunities to improve our product support and the customer and learner experience

5. Leadership and management

• Attract, recruit, develop and retain the best people to work at Pearson.

• Facilitate strong relationships within the Product department and between the Product department and other teams (e.g. virtual sector, development and bid teams)

• Develop staff resource plans to meet the requirements of our business strategy

• Champion a ‘learner and customer first’ culture across Pearson, ensuring there is good understanding of what is important to learners and customers and that all decisions are made with reference to their needs

• Lead on departmental initiatives to deliver better service to our customers and learners, and influence major stakeholders

Qualifications and experience:

Essential

• Qualified to degree level or equivalent

• Experience and understanding of the UK and/or international education and qualifications market and environment

• Experience of working on the design, and/or development of qualifications

• Experience of balancing a commercial focus with regulatory/legal requirements and assessment validity to create solutions for customers that are practical and have competitive advantage

• Experience and knowledge of assessment techniques and principles

• Experience of leading and managing high-performing teams including virtual teams

• Project management experience

Desirable

• Teaching experience

• Experience of working on the operation of qualifications

• Experience of developing customised qualification and assessment solutions for tenders

• Design and development of digital learning/teaching resources

• Experience of managing budgets

Skills and competencies

Essential

• Organisationally agile

• Influences without authority

• Ability to motivate, lead and empower others

• Prioritises and makes effective decisions

• Commercial acumen

• Customer empathy

• Creative and lateral thinker

• Strategic thinker

• Strong communicator with good interpersonal skills

• Collaboration skills

• Outcomes-oriented

• Digitally able and focused