Product Director - Goodwood at Oxford University Press Southern Africa

Product Director: Southern Africa

(Permanent position)

Oxford University Press is recruiting for a strategic Product Director to head up its Schools, Higher Education, Dictionaries and TVET publishing lists in southern Africa.

• We are looking for someone with a desire to lead and inspire our talented and creative product team, an ability to identify and evaluate opportunities for business growth, and a track-record of successfully designing and implementing effective product strategies.
• This is a senior role that involves exploring business opportunities, growing and maintaining profitable product offerings, planning, designing and implementing print and digital publishing programmes, and directing the implementation of OUP’s policies and procedures.

The successful candidate will be required to build rapport with authors, partners, Ministries, and other business stakeholders, while embodying the organisation’s values and ethical principles.

The Product Director will report to the Managing Director, Africa. This post is based in Goodwood, Cape Town.

Requirements

Principal Accountabilities:

• Product Strategy and Planning: Create and lead the product vision and strategy, ensuring that is competitive, and delivers value informed by customer needs and market trends. Identify, evaluate and prioritise opportunities in key market segments to formulate a product plan. Proactively manage priorities, budgets and timelines in conjunction with the Publishing Managers.
• Innovation: Lead on product innovation, including delivering and rigorously validating pilot projects to explore market trends and opportunities.
• Commissioning and Author Care: In collaboration with the Publishing Managers, supervise the commissioning of authors, ensure that relations with authors are fostered and developed and input into the negotiation of author and partner contracts.
• Market, Product and Impact Research: Develop and maintain knowledge of the market, competitor landscape, institutions, customers and the usage and performance of our products. Ensure that product feedback and market research is evaluated, confirmed, and used to improve existing products and inform marketing campaigns and new business proposals. 
• Design and Editorial: In collaboration with the Publishing Managers, supervise project development and the shaping of content so that the final product is suitable for its intended market and meets the necessary quality standard. Supervise the creative design and visual identity of products in collaboration with the Publishing Services Manager.
• Digital Product: In collaboration with the Publishing Manager for Digital Products, create a strategic roadmap for digital products and supervise digital product creation.
• Collaborate with Sales and Marketing: Collaborate with and support the Sales and Marketing teams to ensure effective promotion of frontlist and backlist products.
• People: Establish OUP as the best product and publishing organisation in the region. Recruit, manage, and motivate product teams to ensure product plans are delivered effectively, and to a high standard.
• Operational effectiveness and change management: Ensure operational effectiveness and successful implementation of change, ensure that new processes, workflows, and systems are implemented effectively.
• Finance and Resources: Create and monitor the product team budget, including the budget for staff resourcing to deliver the Press’ product plan and maximize its profitability and effectiveness.
• Government Business: Keep up to date about policy changes, trends or plans made by Ministries of Education at National and Provincial Level in all the markets we operate in. Identify threats and/or opportunities and suggest appropriate strategic responses.
• Wider Press: Participate in global, divisional and branch level product initiatives. Ensure that Due Diligence, OUP Compliance policy and ethical practices are followed.

Qualifications and Experience

• Relevant degree or equivalent experience in a professionally managed organization and handling a team in a senior managerial capacity
• Significant experience in progressively responsible leadership roles in professional organizations including leading transformation and change to deliver better outcomes
• Deep knowledge of the educational publishing sector, including Schools, Higher Education and TVET
• A proven track-record of developing and delivering educational product and business strategy
• Experience of designing innovative business models and identifying partnership opportunities
• Strong business acumen along with knowledge of financial, commercial, and business processes
• Strong interpersonal skills, ability to communicate and manage well at all levels of the organisation
• Strong problem-solving and creative skills and the ability to exercise sound judgment and make data-led decisions
• High level of integrity and dependability with a strong sense of urgency and focus on results

Attributes:

• Strong action and results-driven leader
• Shows resilience and commitment
• Problem solver
• Highly organised multi-tasker
• Innovative and creative thinker
• Effective communicator with high emotional intelligence
• Demonstrates a passion for education
• Curiosity about the role of new technologies in supporting learning