Senior Product Development Lead - Maternity Cover

Consortium; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 41,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Home allowance

Remote work

Job summary

Voice 21 is seeking a Senior Product Development Lead for a 12-month maternity cover. This remote-first role involves leading product planning, coordinating cross-functional teams, and shaping the commercial model for national rollout.

You will travel regularly across the UK, including to London, and collaborate with delivery, learning and insight teams to deliver a high‑quality training product. Applicants outside the UK mainland will not be considered.

Qualifications

• Proven project management experience in a product or programme role.
• Experience developing or launching new products or programmes.
• Understanding of commercial models and routes to market in education.
• Ability to work across multiple teams and disciplines.
• Able to turn ideas into clear plans and deliver.
• Comfort with ambiguity and a results-focused approach.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning, timelines and decision-making.
• Coordinate input from Product, Delivery, Communications, Technology and Learning & Insight.
• Ensure the product is well-designed, well-tested and ready for scale.
• Keep the work moving, remove blockers and maintain clear reporting.
• Shape the commercial model and rollout plan.
• Use pilot insights to refine the product and strengthen its value.

Skills

Project management

Product development

Commercial models

Cross-functional collaboration

Planning & execution

Ambiguity tolerance

Job description

Senior Product Development Lead - Maternity Cover

Job Type: Temporary, Work From Home, Full-time

Highlighted points for this job

Senior Product Development Lead maternity cover role

£45,748.00 salary plus working from home allowance

Remote with expected travel to London and other UK locations

Responsibilities include product planning, coordination, and commercial model shaping

Requires strong project management and cross-disciplinary collaboration

Senior Product Development Lead - Maternity Cover

Salary: Senior Lead Band, Spine point 5, £45,748.00 plus £312 p.a working from home allowance (see below for more details on remuneration)

Contract: Fulltime, 12 months (maternity cover), remote first/home-based.

Location: Remote, but with the expectation of flexibility to travel regularly to London and occasionally to other locations in the UK. (Applicants residing outside mainland UK will not be considered.)

About Voice 21 Oracy is our ability to articulate our ideas, develop understanding, and engage with others through speaking, listening and communication. Like reading, writing and maths, oracy is fundamental for learning and life. Every child should be taught how to use their voice to thrive in education and beyond. Voice 21 is the national charity on a mission to secure high quality oracy education for every child. We know that teaching oracy skills improves children’s confidence, wellbeing, engagement and attainment. We support teachers and school leaders to weave oracy into everyday teaching and whole-school culture, to transform learning and outcomes for their pupils. We focus where we can make the most difference, in state schools that serve economically disadvantaged pupils. We also work to influence national policy and champion oracy across the education system. Follow the links to find out more about why oracy is so vital and the impact Voice 21 has.

About this role We are developing our training and professional development offer for teachers that has the potential to reach new audiences, meet needs identified in the education system and widen our impact. To do this well, we need someone who can bring together all the moving parts including content, delivery, marketing, tech and evaluation and drive the work forward with focus and pace. Right now, responsibility for this sits across several teams, so this role will have collaboration at its core, giving us the dedicated capacity and coordination we need to get this right.

Main responsibilities

The Senior Product Development Lead will take over responsibility for a specific product, from early development through to pilot and national launch. They will:

• Lead the planning, timelines and decision‑making
• Coordinate input from Product, Delivery, Communications, Technology and Learning & Insight
• Ensure the product is well‑designed, well‑tested and ready for scale
• Keep the work moving, remove blockers and maintain clear reporting
• Shape the commercial model and roll‑out plan
• Use pilot insight to refine the product and strengthen its value

This role will sit with the Director of Programmes to ensure strong alignment with delivery, implementation and organisational priorities.

We are looking for someone who brings

• Strong project management experience
• Experience developing or launching new products or programmes
• Understanding of commercial models and routes to market, especially in the education sector
• Confidence working across multiple teams and disciplines
• Ability to turn ideas into clear plans and deliver them
• Comfort with ambiguity and a focus on getting things done

What success looks like after 12 months

• A high‑quality training product developed and tested
• A clear, evidence‑based recommendation for national roll‑out
• A well‑designed pilot with strong insight
• A commercial and operational plan ready for launch
• Clear ownership and processes for long‑term delivery
• Strong collaboration across Product, Delivery, Comms, Tech and Insight

Who you’ll work with

This post sits within the Programme Directorate. The line manager for this post is the Director of Programmes, Tim Judge.

Further details

• Start date: End of February 2027
• Terms: 12 months maternity cover, subject to successful probation review.
• Contract: FTE contract
• Location: Home-based with frequent national travel, including overnight stays, to work with schools and attend meetings. Applicants must hold a valid UK driving licence and have access to a car they can use for work.

Closing date: Tuesday 8th December 2026, mid-night

Interview date: Interviews are likely to take place during the week commencing 14th December 2026.

Valuing every voice

Voice 21 believes that every voice should be heard and valued. We are committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and do not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership.

We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join Voice 21.

If this job opportunity is not suitable, then check out the other LGBT friendly jobs across UK!