Product Manager, BPrO, BDR Product Innovation

We are looking for a digital product manager to take our platform for the professional market (Bloomsbury Professional Online, BPrO) into a new phase. We are in the process of migrating the current platform, so the new product manager will join us at an exciting stage of its redevelopment.

Working as part of a cross-functional team, the product manager will ensure that the needs of  our professional users in the legal and tax markets are met through the delivery of timely product launches, content updates and evidence-based, functional enhancements.

You will be joining a dynamic and friendly team, who are re-imagining Bloomsbury’s academic and professional publishing for a digital environment. We are part of Bloomsbury Digital Resources (BDR), which sits within the wider Bloomsbury Academic and Professional Division.

Bloomsbury strives to be an inclusive employer and publisher, and is the 2022 winner of the London Book Fair Inclusivity in Publishing Award. This year, once again, we have been nominated for The Bookseller’s Academic, Educational & Professional Publisher of the Year Award.

The role

Product Development

• Ensure that requirements for new products, ongoing developments or any upcoming migration are clearly specified, liaising with relevant teams (e.g. UX, Content Architecture, Production) and/or commercial partners.
• Work with UX team to carry out research and testing with users and commercial partners to ensure that product requirements meet user needs (both before and after launch).
• Prioritise research outcomes to inform platform design.
• Use the platform admin interface to build and configure sites, working with Marketing and Editorial to agree site layout and visual design elements.
• Perform User Acceptance Testing during product development, reporting and ticketing bugs to ensure that the sites meet the agreed requirements.
• Where appropriate, work with Editorial Leads to develop any new digital product ideas from initial concept to proposal stage, by researching content and feature requirements, carrying out competitive analysis and user research, and contributing to Business Case documents and P&Ls, including costs, as required.
• Act as Product Management Lead during the design and development phase of new products, working alongside Editorial Leads and the UX team to define product requirements, scope and Minimum Viable Product.
• Support Migration Lead with testing and documentation of the new site and new workflows during migration to the Bloomsbury Publishing Platform.

Product Management

• Manage products after launch to ensure that content updates and enhancements are performed to an agreed schedule and within the agreed budget
• Liaise with external software developers on day-to-day site management and bug-fixing.
• Liaise with sales, marketing and customer services to communicate addition of new content and product enhancements.
• Monitor sites for bugs and improvements, respond to customer and sales requests for product enhancements, and prioritise requirements based on business priority
• Act as ‘product champion’, using product expertise to respond to queries from sales, marketing and customers, troubleshooting and escalating issues as required, and contributing to strategic development of those products
• Work with our Data Analyst to provide regular website usage analytics reports and advise on opportunities for improving content and features based on analytics and/or user research.
• Track and monitor spend on relevant budget lines, ensuring that overspend escalation rules are followed.

Content Management

• Support implementation of the new content workflows in preparation for migration and beyond, working with colleagues from Editorial, Production and Content Architecture.
• Manage content requirements for new products as required, liaising with Content Architecture and Production teams on planning, content conversion and content loading.
• Where required, responsible for subject indexing of content (either directly, or overseeing work of freelance indexers), working with Editorial on the development of taxonomies
• Liaise with partner organizations over content supply and data requirements, as required.

Strategic Planning & Staff Development

• Assist with recruitment and training of new team members, as required.
• Ensure consistency and best practice across the team in areas such as user engagement, analytics and usage reporting
• Support alignment and documentation of processes and workflows, suggesting improvements as appropriate, whilst also considering the needs of the professional market.
• Assign and oversee the work of a part-time assistant.

Representation

• Provide training and guidance for other teams as required, including commercial partners
• Promote the Product Management team within the wider company, and demonstrate an aptitude for more managerial tasks
• Represent the company externally, e.g. at meetings with partners, conferences, and presentations to customers or commercial partners.

Knowledge, skills and experience 

Essential 

• Sustained experience of digital product management, with a demonstrable record of delivering successful digital products, ideally for the professional (legal and tax) market 
• Project management experience, with excellent time-management and implementation and skills, with ability to prioritise to drive successful delivery 
• A demonstrable understanding of development processes, web usability and user-centred design principles 
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal), with ability to persuade and influence 
• Experience of conducting user research and usability testing  
• Experience of gathering and interpreting web usage analytics 
• An excellent eye for detail and a logical, problem-solving approach  
• Experience in editing XML and working with Content Management Systems  
• A proactive, “can-do” attitude  
• Ability to work in a matrix team environment 
• Passion and interest in developing a career in digital product management 

Desirable

• Understanding of the needs of the professional legal market  
• Experience of using Google Analytics 4 (GA4) as well as Jira and Confluence, or similar tools 
• Experience of working with commercial partners  
• Line management experience 

Additional information

The role is a full-time permanent position.

Salary Range: £40,000 - £50,000 depending on experience.

The role is based at our London office 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP on a hybrid-working pattern of 2 days office based / 3 days home based (or fully office based if preferred).  Allocated office days for this role are: Wednesday and Thursday

Please apply with a CV and covering letter addressed to Human Resources (Word or PDF format only) via the ‘APPLY NOW’ button detailing how you meet the requirements outlined above for this role by end of 19th April 2024.

Bloomsbury reserve the right to close the role early if we exceed the required number of applications.

Bloomsbury Benefits

As well as a fantastic opportunity to join a global award-winning organisation, Bloomsbury offers the following competitive benefits package:

Working Pattern

• hybrid working pattern of: 2 days office based / 3 days home based (or fully office based if preferred)

Holidays

• 25 days holiday
• 3.5 days Christmas company holiday

Other Benefits:

Two paid Personal Wellness Days

Flexible Fridays – take Friday afternoon off by working an additional 3 hours and 45 minutes earlier in the week

Season Ticket Loan

Share Save Scheme

AXA Healthcare Plan (Private Medical Insurance)

In-house Doctor

Eye Care Voucher Scheme

Company culture – Employee Voice Meetings, Staff Networks (Bloom (BAME), Accessibility, Mental Health, Pride, and Parents, Guardians and Carers) and 21 Mental Health First Aiders trained across the UK offices, Publishing Events and access to free Publishing Resources

Bloomsbury is a place where anyone of any background, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender identity, age, ability, or socio-economic status can thrive, feel comfortable, and be heard and accepted. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

We are willing to make any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process, please flag to the recruitment team if required.

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK.