Senior Manager Product Innovation

CQUniversity; Sydney; On-site; AUD 135,000 - 141,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

17% superannuation

5.4 weeks annual leave

10 days personal/sick leave

7.25 hours engaged service leave

Career development opportunities

Up to 26 weeks parental leave

Employee Assistance Program & Fitness

Job summary

CQUniversity is seeking a Senior Manager, Product Innovation to drive market-informed education product strategy across our national footprint. You will shape the portfolio, collaborate with stakeholders from Corporate Training Solutions to Marketing, and guide product development from concept through launch, ensuring quality and regulatory compliance.

You will translate learner insights into innovative offerings, manage portfolio prioritisation, and deliver evidence-based business cases while

Qualifications

• Postgraduate qualification and proven management experience in product management.
• Experience leading end-to-end product development and portfolio management.
• Strong understanding of market insights, pricing and value differentiation.

Responsibilities

• Shape portfolio strategy and identify opportunities for new or enhanced education products.
• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration across university units.
• Guide product development from market insight to business case, development and launch.
• Provide evidence-based recommendations on priorities and growth opportunities.
• Establish post-launch reviews to assess performance and continuous improvement.

Skills

Collaboration

Influencing

Commercial acumen

Growth mindset

Education

Postgraduate qualification or equivalent

Job description

• CQUniversity Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Sydney or Melbourne (Relocation support available)
• Higher Education Worker Level 9
• Total Remuneration $160,005 to $166,856 pa (including salary of $135,207 to $140,996 plus 17% superannuation and leave loading)

Join an organisation with an unbreakable belief that quality education, training and research should be available to everyone - regardless of background, location or life circumstances.

Working at CQUniversity

CQUniversity's course portfolio spans vocational and higher education, domestic and international students, and a dual-sector model no other Queensland university can offer - all delivered across Australia's largest university footprint with regional and metropolitan locations, on-campus, online and blended delivery modes.

As Senior Manager, Product Innovation, you'll play a critical, facilitative role in shaping CQUniversity's future-focused education portfolio - responding to emerging learner needs, industry shifts and the evolving global education landscape. You'll partner with stakeholders right across the University to help advance our diverse portfolio of vocational and higher education products, driving market-informed decisions that create sustainable growth, competitive differentiation and an outstanding learner experience.

You'll collaboratively drive a market-responsive approach to course and product development, bringing together expertise from across the University to turn ideas and market insights into innovative and compliant offerings. You will:

• Play a leading role in shaping portfolio strategy and identify opportunities for new and enhanced education products.
• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration across Corporate Training Solutions, Learning and Teaching Futures, Schools, Quality, Finance and Marketing.
• Guide product development from market insight and concept through to business case, development and launch.
• Provide evidence-based recommendations on portfolio priorities, investment and opportunities for growth.
• Establish structured post-launch reviews to evaluate performance, market response and opportunities for continuous improvement.

Who We're Looking For

This role is built for someone with strong collaboration and influencing skills, sound commercial acumen and a growth mindset - someone who moves fluidly between strategic thinking and hands- on delivery, who has translated market and learner insight into products that launch, while ensuring quality and compliance is upheld.

We welcome candidates from backgrounds including product or portfolio management, curriculum and course development, program management, innovation or transformation within a university, or commercial product roles where market insight has been translated into strategy and successful products.

Be Rewarded

• 17% superannuation (with the choice to join an award-winning superfund)
• 5.4 weeks annual leave (incl. Christmas and New Year closure)
• 10 days personal/sick leave, plus 5 days carer's leave
• 7.25 hours engaged service leave
• Fantastic professional and career development opportunities
• Up to 26 weeks (six months) paid parental leave
• Access to an Employee Assistance Program and Fitness Passport

Position Requirements

Essential:

• Relevant postgraduate qualification, extensive product management experience and proven management expertise (or an equivalent combination of relevant experience and/or education training).
• Knowledge of product management and innovation methodologies such as design thinking, human-centred design, agile development, and portfolio lifecycle management.
• An understanding of financial and commercial principles underpinning product viability, pricing, and sustainability.
• Demonstrated success leading the end-to-end development and delivery of new academic or training products, including market analysis, cross-functional co-design and stage-gate processes, through to launch and evaluation, while safeguarding quality and regulatory compliance.
• Proven ability to interpret and connect market insights, competitor data, learner needs, institutional strategy and academic capability to inform evidence-based product strategies.
• Strong commercial acumen with capability in strategic planning, data analysis and synthesis, business case development, and product portfolio management.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, including the ability to present recommendations and build alignment across executive and operational teams while navigating complex governance environments.

Desirable:

• An understanding of vocational and tertiary education systems in Australia, including regulatory and quality assurance frameworks (AQF, TEQSA, ASQA).
• Awareness of national and global trends in higher education, vocational education, and emerging learner markets with experience leading education transformation or organisational change.
• Experience working with teams responsible for education product marketing strategies, and an understanding of digital capability required to scale and automate practices.

Pre-Employment Checks

Appointment to this role is subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks, which may include a National Police Check and/or Working with Children Check (where applicable).

The University is committed to providing a safe, inclusive and respectful environment where its members can study, work and live free from gender-based violence. In line with our organisational values and regulatory obligations, applicants may be required to declare any past or current allegations, investigations or findings relating to gender-based violence.

The successful candidate may also be required to demonstrate that they meet the "fit and proper person" criteria as required under applicable legislation and regulatory frameworks (including ASQA requirements where relevant).

Our Commitment to Inclusion

At CQUniversity, inclusivity is at the heart of who we are. We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels respected, supported and empowered to succeed regardless of background or ability.

We advance reconciliation through our Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), First Nations Workforce Strategy and our First Nations Cultural Competency Framework, strengthening opportunities for First Nations peoples and embedding cultural respect across our organisation.

Through our Disability-Informed Action Plan, we continue to enhance accessibility and inclusion across our University. As a recognised member of the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Program, we actively promote awareness and understanding of non-visible disabilities, helping to ensure everyone can bring their whole selves to work and thrive.

CQUniversity is also committed to providing an accessible, equitable and inclusive recruitment and selection process. The University will provide reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment, selection, appointment and onboarding process to ensure people with disability can participate on an equal basis with others.

Position Description

For further information about this position, please refer to the Position Description.

Applications Close:

11:59pm, Sunday, 20 September 2026

Job Requisition ID:

7535

Contact Details:

Kylie Devine

• 3295 1161

[e-mail]

Work Rights:

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position. Candidates must hold the full rights to work in Australia to be considered for this appointment.

CQUniversity is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes diversity in the workplace. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and CQUniversity's domestic and international student graduates with post-study work rights are encouraged to apply.