Principal Product Manager

At Arbor, we’re on a mission to transform the way schools work for the better.

We believe in a future of work in schools where being challenged doesn’t mean being burnt out and overworked. Where data guides progress without overwhelming staff, and where everyone working in a school is reminded why they got into education every day.

Our School Management Tools are already making a difference in over 9,000 schools and trusts. Giving time and power back to staff, turning data into clear, actionable insights, and supporting happier working days.

At the heart of our brand is a recognition that the challenges schools face today aren’t just about efficiency, outputs and productivity - but about creating happier working lives for the people who drive education everyday: the staff. We want to make schools more joyful places to work, as well as learn.

We are looking for a highly strategic and experienced Principal Product Manager to join our product team. This role is for a seasoned individual contributor who will operate at the most senior level within the product management function. You will be responsible for creating and owning the product and commercial strategy for one of our core domains, tackling wide and complex problem spaces with a high degree of autonomy.

The ideal candidate is a proactive, data-driven individual who is comfortable with ambiguity, a master of stakeholder management, and a confident leader who can drive significant impact without direct authority. You'll be a key voice in shaping not just the product, but the strategic direction of your domain and the wider product organisation.

We're looking for someone with experience in replatforming and migrating existing customer bases. The ideal candidate will also be familiar with building products using machine learning, and be able to understand complex domains and the challenges of a current product and its customer base. You'll be able to step back and abstract the core problems customers face when thinking about new functionality.

Core responsibilities

• Own the strategic direction and vision for a product domain, creating and maintaining a long-term product and commercial strategy that is deeply aligned with company goals and market opportunities.
• Lead the discovery process for highly complex and ambiguous problem spaces, defining opportunities and hypotheses with a deep understanding of customer needs, the market, and commercial viability.
• Champion strong product leadership and act as the strategic expert for your domain, communicating a deep understanding of the business, the EdTech landscape, and user needs across the organisation.
• Champion a user-centric approach by leading cross-functional teams (including engineering, design, and commercial) to identify, test, and validate product solutions.
• Drive significant business outcomes by using a data-driven approach to define and measure the impact of your product roadmap, communicating results to senior leadership and across the business.
• Proactively influence stakeholders, including a wide range of senior internal and external stakeholders, ensuring alignment on product vision, strategy, and roadmap.
• Maintain and communicate a deep contextual awareness of the business, the edtech landscape, and user needs, acting as a strategic expert for your domain.

We’re looking for a highly independent and strategic product leader who can navigate complex domains and stakeholder landscapes with confidence and clarity. In addition, we'd love to see:

• Significant experience as an expert in product management and leadership, particularly in highly complex or data related domains
• Experience in maintaining products within complex technical domains
• Proven ability to lead large, high-value initiatives with a high degree of autonomy.
• Experience in using machine learning to solve complex problems
• Experience in replatforming existing products with updated technology, particularly a move to cloud based solutions
• Proven ability to create migration journeys between products
• The ability to create and articulate impactful narratives and communicate complex concepts with clarity to inspire and align a wide range of audiences, from your team to executive leadership.
• Proven experience in driving transformative change in products based on a forward-looking understanding of customer needs and commercial opportunities.
• A track record of delivering significant business results and leading initiatives that redefine success for the organization.
• A growth mindset and a resilient approach to navigating critical business challenges and shaping the perspective of others.
• A passion for building products that make a real difference to the working lives of people in schools.

The chance to work alongside a team of hard-working, passionate people in a role where you’ll see the impact of your work everyday. We also offer:

• A dedicated wellbeing team who champion initiatives such as mindfulness, lunch n learns, manager training, mental health first aid training and much more!
• 32 days holiday (plus Bank Holidays). This is made up of 25 days annual leave plus 7 extra company wide days given over Easter, Summer & Christmas
• Life Assurance paid out at 3x annual salary
• Comprehensive wellness benefit provided by AIG Smart Health, which provides a 24/7 virtual GP service, Mental health support, Counselling, and personalised Health Checks 
• Private Dental Insurance with Bupa 
• Salary sacrifice Pension provided by Scottish Widows
• Enhanced maternity and adoption leave (20 weeks full pay) and paternity (6 weeks full pay) pay
• 5 free return to work maternity coaching sessions, helping you adapt to this new exciting time of life!
• Access to services such as Calm and Bippit (financial wellbeing coaching) 
• All of our roles champion flexible working and we are happy to discuss what this means to you
• Social committees that plan team, office and company wide events to bring people together and celebrate success
• Dedicated professional development training budget (CPD courses, upskilling resources, professional memberships etc)
• Volunteer with a charity of your choice for a day each year

1. Phone screen
2. 1st stage interview
3. 2nd stage with presentation

We are committed to a fair and comfortable recruitment process, so if you require any reasonable adjustments during your application or interview process, please reach out to a member of the team at [email protected].

Our commitment is also backed by our partnership with Neurodiversity Consultancy, Lexxic who provide us with training, support and advice. 

Our goal is for Arbor to be a workplace which represents, celebrates and supports people from all backgrounds, and which gives them the tools they need to thrive - whatever their ambitions may be so we support and promote diversity and equality, and actively  encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. 

Know someone else who would be good for this role? You can refer a friend, family member or colleague, if they are offered a role with Arbor, we will say thank you with a voucher valued up to £200! Simply email: [email protected] 

Please note: We are unable to provide visa sponsorship at this time.