Head of Product - Commercial

News Corp UK & Ireland Limited; London; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading media company is seeking a Digital Operations Manager to lead product strategy in their innovative digital suite. The successful candidate will work closely with senior stakeholders to drive product development and align strategies with market demand. This role requires expertise in project management and a strong background in ad technology. Candidates who can effectively communicate and influence across teams will thrive in this dynamic environment.

Benefits

Maternity leave up to 18 weeks full basic salary

Private medical insurance including pre-existing conditions

Discount on gym memberships

Access to training and full LinkedIn Learning

25 days holiday plus bank holidays

Wellbeing benefits such as counselling

Access to exclusive events and competitions

Qualifications

• Experience as a specialist in publisher ad technology is crucial.
• Proven ability to launch products into the market, understanding technical and commercial aspects.
• Strong negotiation and relationship-building skills essential for managing vendors.

Responsibilities

• Lead the commercial advertising product roadmap and strategy development.
• Communicate product launches and enhancements to the wider business.
• Manage vendor relationships and negotiate contractual agreements.

Skills

Project management

Presentation skills

Negotiation skills

Strong influencing skills

Understanding of ad technology

Innovative mindset

Effective communication

Problem solving skills

Education

Experience in a strategic product role

Experience with programmatic advertising

Tools

Publisher ad servers

DMPs

Job description

Job Description

We are News Broadcasting: Driving digital innovation, our people create award-winning national and local radio and podcasts which are must-listens for millions across the UK, Ireland and beyond. talkSPORT,the world’s biggest sports radio station, delivers the very best live sport and analysis and is truly powered by its millions of fans. Life sounds good with Virgin Radio - home to Chris Evans at Breakfast and Ryan Tubridy at mid-mornings. Times Radio brings together the peerless journalistic expertise of The Times and The Sunday Times with world-class broadcast talent including John Pienaar, Kate McCann and Andrew Neil.

Octave: A premium, data-fuelled video and audio monetisation business, leveraging world class talent, brands, rights and content from News Broadcasting across multiple platforms. Octave is powered by Nucleus, News UK’s award winning next generation data platform connecting brands with their audiences in premium environments delivering market leading results.

Your Role: Reporting into the Director of Digital Operations, this role will be integral to the strategic direction of the Octave business, ensuring our product suite is best in class. You will take the lead in defining how our first party data and unique consumer insights are collected, enriched, packaged and developed for market monetisation and client planning.

The role will work across multiple digital products and all of News Broadcasting brands including talkSPORT, Virgin Radio, Times Radio and Talk.

Day to day you will:

• Work alongside the Director of Digital Operations to implement product strategies across our portfolio.
• Lead the commercial advertising product roadmap across multiple touchpoints: data/creative/formats/sales/industry certifications etc.
• Communicate product launches/enhancements to the wider business.
• Carry products from ideation to completion, by utilizing all teams within the business.
• Leading Audience, Data & Analytics innovation alongside our Insights team.
• Keep abreast of industry trends and innovations to ensure our products remain relevant and fit for purpose.
• Be the main point of contact for all product resources and decks, and ensure these remain up to date.
• Build strong relationships with all teams in the business to create a conducive environment for projects to thrive and deliver.
• Manage our vendor relationships and contractual agreements, including renewals and negotiations.
• Build relationships across the industry to maintain long-lasting connections in your field.
• Leverage the voice of our customers to develop and improve our existing products and services.
• Work closely with the ‘Head of Monetisation’ to ensure the product roadmap aligns with the businesses’ targets.
• Bridge the gap between Operations and Sales through product offerings, and understand both teams’ pain points and needs.
• Work with the sales teams to build unique pro-active briefs, using previous campaign knowledge and product launches that will compliment campaign planning.
• Present product strategy/innovations/new vendors to the Director of Digital Operations and influence buy-in to begin projects.

What we’re looking for from you:

• Specialist in publisher ad technology with experience working with major publisher ad servers.
• Solid understanding of the programmatic advertising ecosystem and digital inventory management.
• Project management skills, preferably at a large publisher.
• Excellent presentation skills, comfortable public speaking.
• Comfortable attending and partaking in industry events.
• Strong influencing skills, both verbally and through presentations.
• Familiarity of DMPs, their applications and use cases across industries.
• Experience of innovating, influencing and implementing the commercial data strategy of an organisation by working with multiple stakeholders and engineering/delivery teams.
• Ability to communicate to all levels of the business in a clear and concise manner.
• Exceptional problem solving and decision making skills.
• Previously worked in a strategic and product focused role.
• Experience in launching products to market, and understanding both the technical and commercial aspects of product launches.
• Strong negotiation skills, preferably in contract renewals.
• Effective verbal and written communicator with the ability to build strong relationships both internally and externally with key strategic partners.
• Visionary, with a creative mindset who is not afraid to think outside the box.
• You have an entrepreneurial spirit and are driven, energetic and passionate
• You have a desire to learn and grow within the role.

At News UK, we know the value of working together, which is why we operate a hybrid working policy with a minimum of three days a week in the office. Being in the office allows us to collaborate, innovate, and thrive as a team in our vibrant and dynamic workspace. Some roles may require more office-based days depending on the nature of the position, so we encourage you to speak with your recruiter to learn more about what’s required for your role.

We are News UK: One of the leading media businesses in the UK and Ireland. Our newsbrands include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, The Sun on Sunday and The TLS. Our national broadcast brands include talkSPORT, Times Radio, Talk and Virgin Radio UK, and we have market-leading local radio stations across Ireland. Our world-famous brands provide news, analysis, opinion and entertainment to almost 40 million people each month. Spanning print and pixel, audio and video, events and experiences, our multiplatform brands are home to a plurality of opinion, representing the diverse communities we serve. News UK is wholly owned by News Corp.

Life at News

Driven by passion, guided by principles and acting with purpose. We represent, reflect and reach the nation, telling the stories that matter. We inform our audiences so that they can make decisions based on trusted information.

To do this, we believe our employees must represent different backgrounds, perspectives and experiences. We strive to maximise and encourage every individual’s potential and ensure everyone feels valued. We support this through our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy, which focuses on three main priorities - attracting talent from a wider, more representative pool, developing equity programmes to drive better representation in our leadership, and ensuring diversity and inclusivity in our workforce as well as the journalism and content we produce. We also currently have 12 employee led networks and groups that support our strategy and connect like minded employees socially.

Benefits

Some of our benefits include:

• Maternity leave up to 18 weeks full basic salary & paternity leave up to 2 weeks

• Wide range of training available, plus full LinkedIn Learning access

• Private medical insurance including coverage for pre-existing conditions

• Discounted gym memberships, free ClassPass at Home, weekly virtual yoga classes

• ‘Bikes for Work’ and ‘Electric Car’ scheme

• Up to 60% discount on Harper Collins books

• Access to exclusive events and competitions with exciting brands such as talkSPORT, Virgin Radio UK & The Times. Weekly virtual panel chats with top journalists and celebrities

• Access to wellbeing benefits such as EAP, physio/massage and counselling

• A generous pension scheme with employer contributions of up to 5%

• 25 days holiday, plus bank holidays and up to 4 volunteering days per year

We want to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to perform to their best when applying for a role. If you would like to receive any information in a different way or for us to do anything differently to support you apply for any of our roles please contact us on [e-mail].