At AQA, we’re committed to advancing education and we’re committed to our people. As the largest provider of academic qualifications in the UK, we mark over 10 million exam papers each year and it’s our people who make this happen.
Qualification Product Manager (English)
Permanent
Manchester: £55,000 - £63,000
Milton Keynes / London / Guildford: £57,000 - £65,500
Hybrid working: 2 days per week in the office
Are you interested in English education and using insight, evidence and market understanding to develop products and services that meet customer needs?
As curriculum and assessment reform continues to shape the education sector, we're expanding our Product Management capability to ensure our qualifications, resources and services continue to meet the needs of teachers and learners.
As our English portfolio continues to evolve, we're growing the team to increase capacity and support the development of our qualifications, resources and services. You'll work across a portfolio of English qualifications used by schools and colleges across the UK, using customer insight, market understanding and data to help inform decisions, coordinate activity and improve the products and support we provide.
Working across Product Management, Subject Support, Assessment, Sales, Marketing, Finance and Operations, you'll help turn insights into actions that support both our customers and our business objectives.
What you'll be doing
- Using customer insight, market understanding and data to inform short, medium and longer-term plans for AQA's English qualifications.
- Identifying opportunities to improve qualifications, resources and support for teachers and learners.
- Coordinating activity across multiple teams to support delivery of product plans and strategic projects.
- Monitoring progress and supporting delivery against agreed objectives and timelines.
- Building relationships with internal and external stakeholders to gather insight, test ideas and refine recommendations.
- Representing AQA at stakeholder events, conferences and customer visits where appropriate.
What's in it for you?
- Join a growing Product Management team as we continue to expand our capacity and expertise.
- The opportunity to develop your Product Management expertise while working across one of AQA's largest qualification portfolios.
- Access to professional development, including Product Management and leadership training.
- The chance to work with colleagues from across Product Management, Subject Support, Assessment, Sales, Marketing, Finance and Operations.
- 25 days' annual leave, rising with service, plus Christmas closure days and bank holidays.
- Combined pension contributions of up to 18.5%.
- Private Medical Insurance.
- Life Assurance.
- A wide range of wellbeing benefits and support.
You’ll thrive in this role if you have:
- Knowledge and understanding of English education and the needs of schools, colleges and teachers.
- Experience gained through educational publishing, educational product development, teaching, curriculum support, marketing or another role within the wider education sector.
- Experience using insight to shape products, services, content or customer experiences.
- An interest in product management and using insight to improve products and services.
- The ability to analyse and interpret information from different sources to support decision-making.
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
- A well-organised approach and the ability to manage competing priorities.
What next?
Please submit your CV and a supporting statement outlining your relevant experience and motivation for applying and complete a short application questionnaire.
Key dates
- Closing date: 30 July 2026
- If shortlisted, you will be invited to complete a video interview based on preset questions Early August 2026
- Final Stage Face to Face interviews for candidates progressing further will be held in AQAs Manchester or London offices week commencing 24th August 2026. (Contingency interview dates may be considered.)
Your video interview responses will be reviewed by two independent AQA panel members. This approach helps us ensure a fair, balanced and consistent assessment for everyone. You will not be assessed via AI.
Onboarding expectations: The expected start date can align with teacher notice periods or earlier if required.
If applicable, successful candidates will be unable to maintain an Associate role with AQA or any other exam board.
Every application will receive a written response.
At AQA, we are committed to fostering a workplace that celebrates diversity and promotes equity and inclusion. We believe that a diverse team brings richer perspectives and drives better outcomes. Our ED&I strategy ensures that everyone, regardless of religion, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, age, disability, sexual orientation or background, is valued, respected and empowered to thrive.
We actively promote inclusive language, avoid stereotypes and strive for representation across all dimensions of diversity. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and lived experiences.
#MCRE #AREF
Recruitment Agencies
We have a preferred supplier list (PSL) in place.
Unsolicited CVs will be treated as a gift. We will not be subject to or liable under your terms and conditions for agency fees.
Full Job Description
Summary
At AQA we focus on understanding customer needs deeply and translating them into high-quality qualifications and support services. As a Product Manager, you will bring strong commercial awareness, stakeholder engagement, and matrix management skills to help turn strategic vision into meaningful outcomes.
This is a key role in setting and delivering strategic plans, and you will be accountable for managing and developing a portfolio of qualification products across a range of subject areas.
Using data and customer insights, you’ll uncover and evaluate market opportunities and innovations, liaising with internal and external stakeholders and influencers to capture and develop ideas. The Product Manager will also work closely with subject experts and stakeholders across AQA to ensure our products meet the changing educational demands and create real impact for learners and our customers.With curriculum and assessment reform on the horizon, the education landscape is evolving and there are opportunities at AQA to shape the future of learning in a growing Product Management team.
Led by the Director of Product Management, the team is divided into portfolios, including English, Science, Maths, two portfolio subject groups, development team along with Publishing, Content and Resource, Data Analyst and Performance Planning lead.
The Product Managers will report into the relevant Heads of Product for their portfolio and will collaborate frequently with colleagues from Subject Support and Assessment and regularly with colleagues across Sales, Marketing, Finance, Operations and external stakeholders and customers.
The Product Managers are individual contributors with no line reports, but do lead working groups and project teams in a matrix style of working. The role sets strategy at a product level, including raising business cases and taking accountability for project budgets.
Activities:
Defining, communicating and managing the delivery of the strategy and roadmap for a specified portfolio of products
Delivering quality products and outcome as recognised by the customer.
Analyse and interpret data and information from different sources to make recommendations and to inform sound strategic and operational decisions that drive change and improve our offer, in line with wider business goals
Leading and liaising with cross-functional teams to ensure the delivery of planned activities, tracking and reporting on delivery to ensure delivery of strategic projects on time and on budget
Collaborate with colleagues to develop evidence-based proposals and financial business cases, and monitor and update financial targets for products
Where appropriate represent AQA, attending conferences, exhibitions, and stakeholder visits, working closely with colleagues from the science Subject Support teams.
Where data is also a focus for the role the following will also apply:
Ensure that AQA’s regulatory product data on regulators’ portals is always compliant. You will be the expert in the business regarding regulatory product data, ensuring definitions are known and applied consistently and that implications on funding are understood.
Maintain the Qualifications Data Catalogue (QDC) and the Assessment Product Catalogue (APC) on Microsoft Dynamics to ensure accurate data is readily available to colleagues, customers and regulators.
Close collaboration with the Regulatory Relationships Team and a wide range of other teams and stakeholders is essential.
To be successful in this role, you will need to demonstrate:
Essential Criteria
Knowledge
Knowledge of Product Portfolio Management
An understanding of the educational landscape and AQA’s products, customers and the market in which it operates
Skills
Commercially astute with proven strategic planning and operational delivery expertise
Demonstrable interpersonal and communication skills: able to influence and build rapport with a diverse range of stakeholders internally and externally, including communicating commercial or technical expertise to non-specialists
Able to think strategically and understand the commercial context in which AQA operates and the likely impact on stakeholders of product design and management at a national level
Able to see the big picture and understand how different services, materials and activities relate to the delivery of a quality product as a whole
Able to think creatively to find solutions to complex and intangible problems
Able to negotiate effectively and balance competing priorities in complex situations
Able to understand and synthesise complex, diverse and incomplete information, including qualitative and quantitative information, and use it to support sound decision making.
Able to constructively challenge the thinking of others
