Oxford International Education Group
Head of Product Development
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Head of Product Development - EFL UK
Location: Hybrid/UK (Must be able to visit centres for team days/development sessions and periods of travel overseas for fam trips/agent meetings)
Type of Contract: Permanent, Full Time
Salary: Competitive
About Oxford International Education Group
Oxford International Education Group is a renowned institution dedicated to providing exceptional educational experiences to international students. With a global presence and a commitment to academic excellence, we strive to empower students to achieve their full potential and thrive in a dynamic, interconnected world. We are proud of our culture and have recently been officially certified as a Great Place to Work ©!
Job Purpose
The Head of Product Development is responsible for driving the commercial development and launch of the organisation's portfolio of English language programmes across adult, junior and residential markets.
The role is focused on identifying market opportunities, developing commercially successful products, and ensuring the organisation's programme portfolio remains innovative, competitive, and profitable.
The role involves substantial stakeholder engagement, working closely with the EFL Sales Director and global team, Principals and Centre Managers, Marketing, Finance, Operations, Agencies, and strategic partners.
The Head of Product Development will convert market intelligence into new products and programme enhancements that increase student recruitment, maximise utilisation of the organisation’s year-round schools and residential centres, improve profitability and strengthen the organisation’s competitive position.
The role acts as the bridge between the market and programme delivery, ensuring products are customer-led, commercially viable, operationally deliverable and capable of supporting sustainable business growth.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
Commercial Product Strategy
- Develop and implement the organisation's programme development strategy across adult English, junior groups and residential programmes.
- Own the commercial lifecycle of the programme portfolio from concept through to launch and on-going reviews.
- Develop a rolling product roadmap aligned with commercial objectives and international market priorities.
- Develop business cases for new programmes including revenue, profitability and ROI. Evaluate programme performance and recommend expansion, redevelopment or withdrawal.
- Work with marketing to ensure accurate and compelling material development and timely launch plans for new products, with a clear and trackable strategy in place.
Adult English Portfolio
- Lead the on-going development and positioning of courses including general English, business English, academic English, exam preparation, Navigator (study tours), pathway preparation and collaborate on bespoke group programmes.
- Ensure products remain attractive and commercially competitive.
- Working with the operations team on market requirements around admissions, accommodation and overall service delivery, to ensure successful implementation and ability to deliver.
Junior & Residential Portfolio
- Support the commercial direction of residential summer schools, year-round junior groups, English Plus programmes, including STEM, leadership, business, sports and cultural programmes.
- Develop differentiated programme concepts combining English, activities and excursions.
- Maintain and grow partnership-based programmes including school immersion and other year-round initiatives.
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Market Intelligence & Product Development
- Gather market intelligence from regional sales teams, in-country representatives, international agencies, and strategic partners.
- Establish regular product feedback forums with overseas sales teams and agencies.
- Work with admissions and the GRT to monitor enquiry trends and identify potential products to fill gaps in portfolio.
- Monitor and highlight competitor products, pricing, and market trends.
- Lead pilot projects and maintain a structured programme review process based on commercial performance.
Sales & Agency Collaboration
- Meet regularly with the UK Sales Director and wider global recruitment team.
- Engage with, and where necessary visit, key international markets to gather direct feedback from agencies and partners.
- Understand barriers to conversion and improve programme competitiveness.
- Support conferences, product launches and sales training.
- Work with the Business Development team to support tenders/bids.
Real Estate & Centre Portfolio Optimisation
- Develop off-peak and premium products to improve flow of revenue across the financial year.
- Work with the Operations team to identify specific gaps and potential opportunities to drive capacity usage.
Marketing & Product Positioning
- Develop product positioning, sales collateral and launch materials.
- Support campaigns, webinars, and recruitment events.
Person Specifications
Legal status
- Eligibility to live and work in the UK
- Willingness to undergo a DBS check.
Qualifications
- Undergraduate Degree
- Project Management or PG qualification in relevant subject (Desirable)
Experience and knowledge
- Experience within the international English language, education or study travel sector.
- Proven experience developing and managing commercially successful educational products or programmes.
- Experience working with international education agencies, recruitment partners and overseas markets.
- Experience managing product lifecycles, from concept through to launch, evaluation and continuous improvement.
- Experience leading cross-functional projects involving Sales, Marketing, Operations and Academic teams.
- Experience managing multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
- Strong understanding of international student recruitment and agency networks.
- Knowledge of the global English language teaching market.
- Knowledge of pricing strategies, market positioning and customer segmentation.
- Understanding of programme profitability and commercial performance metrics.
- Knowledge of international education trends and competitor activity.
- Understanding of operational considerations within year-round language schools and residential centres.
- Understanding of customer journey mapping and student experience design.
- Experience within a multi-centre English language school group. (Desirable)
- Experience managing both adult and junior programme portfolios. (Desirable)
- Experience developing residential summer schools or educational travel products. (Desirable)
- Experience launching new international products or destinations. (Desirable)
- Experience with digital, blended or online learning products. (Desirable)
- Experience of pricing strategy or revenue management. (Desirable)
- Experience of estate or capacity management. (Desirable)
- International travel and market development experience (Desirable)
- Understanding of AI and emerging technologies within education. (Desirable)
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Skills and Abilities
Commercial & Strategic
- Commercially astute with strong business acumen.
- Excellent strategic planning and portfolio management skills.
- Ability to identify new market opportunities and translate them into commercially viable products. Strong financial awareness with the ability to interpret budgets, margins and return on investment.
- Ability to balance innovation with operational and financial realities.
Product Development
- Excellent product development and product lifecycle management skills.
- Ability to convert market feedback into successful programme concepts.
- Experience developing pricing strategies and product positioning.
Market Insight
- Excellent market research and competitor analysis skills.
- Ability to interpret customer feedback and recruitment trends.
- Experience working collaboratively with international Sales teams and agency partners.
Communication and Technical
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Confident presenter with experience engaging senior stakeholders and international partners.
- Microsoft Excel and data analysis skills.
- Strong report writing and presentation skills.
Personal Attributes
- A customer-first mindset.
- Commercial curiosity and a passion for innovation.
- Strategic thinking combined with strong operational awareness.
- Confidence in challenging existing ways of working and introducing new ideas.
- High levels of personal accountability and ownership.
- Resilience and adaptability in a fast-moving commercial environment.
- A collaborative approach, building effective relationships across departments and international markets.
- The ability to make evidence-based decisions using commercial insight and market intelligence.
Additional Information
This job description is provided as a guide to the role. It is not intended to be an exhaustive description of duties and responsibilities and may be subject to periodic revision.
Oxford International is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Recruitment checks, including checks with past employees, are undertaken in accordance with our Recruitment and Selection policy.
Oxford International is an equal opportunity employer. Every applicant and employee has the same opportunities regardless of race, colour, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression, or veteran status.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy earlier than the advertised closing date should we receive a high volume of suitable applications. We therefore encourage interested candidates to apply as early as possible.
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