Head of Product Innovation and Development

The Ascentis Group; Lancaster; Hybrid; GBP 62,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a leading educational charity as the Head of Product Innovation and Development, where you will shape the future of qualification portfolios. You will lead product development, enhance educational services through innovation, and work with talented teams in a flexible work environment. This is a unique opportunity to drive change and make a significant difference in education.

Benefits

25 days annual leave plus public holidays

Competitive pension benefits

Access to state-of-the-art office facilities

Flexible working hours

Discounted gym membership

Personalised development plans

Qualifications

• Solid understanding of strategic and operational objectives in education.
• Experience in implementing innovative learning strategies.
• Passion for driving innovation in education.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Product Development team and foster a culture of innovation.
• Create a product innovation model for current and future needs.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams on market trends.

Skills

Leadership

Innovation

Strategic Planning

Collaboration

Operational Expertise

Education

Degree in Education or relevant field

Job description

Salary: £62,900(£64,473 w.e.f. 1 August 2025)

Working Pattern: Full-time Monday to Friday 35 hours per week (flexible working patterns considered)

Contract Types: Permanent

Location: Hybrid working with 2 days at Head Office in Lancaster preferable

Are you ready to lead a team that is passionate about revolutionising education through cutting-edge product innovation? As the Head of Product Innovation and Development at Ascentis, you'll play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our qualification portfolio, ensuring we stay at the forefront of industry advancements. Join us in enriching the overall centre and learner experience, leveraging AI/digital technologies to drive the evolution of education.

The Job Description

As the Head of Product Innovation and Development, you will lead the Product Development team, fostering a culture of innovation. You will also play a key role in creating a product innovation model that not only meets our current needs but also establishes a robust foundation for future growth.

In this role, your primary task is to lead the way in how we innovate our educational products. You'll collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, ensuring our offerings align with market trends and emerging technologies. Your strategic insights and operational expertise will be instrumental in shaping the future of Ascentis.

We are searching for an individual with a solid understanding of strategic and operational objectives, especially within the education sector. Your experience in implementing innovative learning strategies will be highly valued. As a key player in our growth journey, your role will be instrumental in setting the pace for ongoing development and excellence within our educational services.

As the Head of Product Innovation and Development, you have the chance to truly influence our organisation and empower our team to thrive in the ever-evolving educational landscape. If you have a genuine passion for driving innovation in education, coupled with the skills and experience we seek, we'd be delighted to receive your application. Take the next step to become our Head of Product Innovation and Development and contribute to our ongoing growth and success.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone to join our team, and in return, we can provide you with flexible working, personalised development plans and the ‘feel good factor’, knowing that what you do makes a difference.

The full Job Description can be found by clicking here.

Further Information

Closing date: Wednesday, 9 July 2025

We reserve the right to close the job vacancy early if we find an appointable candidate or receive a high volume of applicants.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this opportunity further, you can contact a member of the People and Culture team at [e-mail]

A little more about who we are

In this role, you’ll be partly based in our state of the art office on Lancaster Business Park. We have some amazing facilities which have been designed around bringing all of our team together. This includes loads of fun, creative spaces for collaboration including a Harry Potter themed room, Alice in Wonderland inspired room, Xbox, pool table, and outdoor seating. What’s more, we offer an excellent range of benefits (detailed below) and offer flexible working patterns. We are passionate about delivering a consistently positive day to day experience and environment for our employees.

We are proud to be one of the UK’s leading educational charity groups, encompassing an awarding organisation, a provider of dyslexia intervention software and an online training organisation. We work across the UK and internationally to provide life-changing opportunities through our range of qualifications. We work closely with colleges, schools, independent training organisations and universities to design cutting-edge qualifications to enable people to progress to further study, higher education, and employment.

Our enthusiastic people bring genuine passion and natural energy to everything that they do and through their infectious energy they transform the lives of thousands of people each year through the power of education. It has never been a more exciting time to join The Ascentis Group as we continue our journey of growth across the UK and overseas.

We are market leading in the education sector and the specialist areas we operate within, maintaining the #1 provision for ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) and Access in the UK. We are based in Lancaster but have a national reach and hold top positions in all areas we operate within and have a dominant market share in London. We recently won two awards at the FAB 2024 Awards - Innovation of the Year and Awarding Organisation of the Year.

The Ascentis Group is made up of brilliant people, unique in terms of background, personality, characteristics, experience and skill. We value our people for the differences they bring to the table and believe this diversity is powerful. We are an equal opportunities employer, and we are determined to ensure that no applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of gender, age, disability, religion, belief, sexual orientation, marital status, or race, or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justifiable.

As an employer, we invest in developing our people and are extremely proud of the internal progression of many of our talented people.

To find out what our employees have to say about working at Ascentis watch the video foundhere.

Benefits

• 25 days annual leave plus 8 public holidays (pro-rata for part time staff), birthday day off, closure days gifted during the Christmas period, increased annual leave with long service and an Annual Leave Purchase Scheme (up to a maximum of 43 days)
• Competitive pension benefits, including a salary sacrifice scheme
• Access to Informal Flexibility, allowing you to flex your working times and location where viable
• Incremental service benefits as a family-friendly employer, including enhanced Maternity, Neonatal, Paternity, Shared Parental, Adoption Leave and Pay, Sick Pay, Life Insurance, and Paid Compassionate Leave
• Access to state-of-the-art office and break facilities, such as bean-to-cup coffee machine, vending machine, pool table, Xbox, outdoor seating, dressing room (with access to hair dryers, straighteners, airers, shower facilities), Harry Potter reading room, employee library and more
• Free parking, paid electricity charging points, locked bike storage shed
• Tailored learning and development opportunities
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Home and Tech Scheme
• Discounted gym membership at 3-1-5 Health Club
• 24-hour employee helpline and a proactive focus on wellbeing
• Aviva DigiCare+ health app with access to virtual GP appointments, annual health check and more
• Reward and recognition scheme, regular team building and communication activities

Do you like the sound of Ascentis, but think your skills might suit another role?

We also have other vacancies available. Take a look at our website for more! www.ascentis.co.uk/jobs