Lead Product Strategy & Research Analyst at 2U

Summary of Job:

• The Lead Product Strategy & Research Analyst is a specialist analyst within the Product Strategy & Research team and is responsible for  shaping the product strategy of a selected vertical(s) and universities as well as selecting new courses for development, marketing and presentation to deliver this vision. Ongoing surveillance and interpretation of consumer and industry trends and market intelligence is required to maintain our product’s competitive advantage and the specialist must inform on this for product innovation, development and improvement. Through deep specialised research, the Lead Product Strategy & Research Analyst must identify courses that have high market demand in order to maximise the revenue produced from these courses, at a viable CPA (Cost per Acquisition). Program Management is guided by these recommendations and equipped with the data to find the institutional will to match this identified market demand to ensure new course content development matches the demand. The role is also required to significantly contribute towards the delivery of the teams strategic priorities, driving the required changes that the business needs to make to remain relevant.

Key Role and Responsibilities: 

• Strategic ownership of key subject vertical, creating a strategic vision and plan for development of the vertical.  Remaining at the forefront of emergent trends as well as ensuring this knowledge remains democratised and co-contributors to this vertical are aligned and remain abreast with trends.
• Through the strategic understanding of the vertical, identify high potential, commercially viable courses, qualified by  industry and trends analysis - search term trends, competitor analysis, student and customer surveys and job searches.
• Full ownership of a university partner  developing a UP strategy which aligns to the overall product strategy.
• Regular collaboration with PGM’s, GM’s and other key stakeholders in support of getting buy-in for new courses in line with the above defined strategy; driving focus to high potential courses.
• Maintaining our competitive advantage through understanding of the market to inform product innovation and improvement  as well as contributing to overall competitive intelligence efforts.
• Leverage consumer insights to understand the performance of existing courses and how these can be optimised for improvement.
• Work with the relevant internal stakeholders to produce new course budgets, financial viability proposals as well as advise on pricing and forecasting.

Education and Experience:

• Masters degree, preferably with quantitative research experience
• 7+ yrs working experience  
• Strong data interpretation and analysis skills 
• Strong writing and communication skills
• Curiosity and a love for learning 
• Being comfortable with ambiguity, pressure and being able to work flexibly and independently are essential