Job Description
Job Title: Head of Product
Posting Start Date: 17/02/2026
Job Id: 2223
School/Department: IT Services
Work Arrangement: Full Time (Hybrid)
Contract Type: Permanent
Salary per annum (£): £71, £90,603.00
Closing Date: 03/03/2026
The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.
We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more.
Overview
The Head of Product will lead the Education product portfolio, owning the roadmap that delivers the University's digital learning environment. Reporting to the Assistant Director of Product Delivery, they will manage a significant budget and be accountable for student-facing outcomes, digital accessibility compliance, and adoption rates across the student lifecycle.
The portfolio spans the Virtual Learning Environment, student records systems integration, assessment and marks management platforms, and the digital tools that underpin teaching delivery across faculties. The postholder will work directly with academic mschools] and professional services colleagues to ensure products meet both operational needs and the University's strategic objectives.
This role requires proven experience delivering large-scale education technology, with particular strength in accessibility standards, service design for diverse user groups, and managing complex integrations between student-facing and administrative systems.
The successful candidate will be implementing during IT Services' transition to product-led delivery, meaning they will need to maintain product delivery momentum whilst fundamentally changing how their team operates.
Main duties and responsibilities
* Define and communicate the Product Vision aligned to a defined University Strategic Pillar, working closely with Academic and Professional Services leaders across the University. Create, own and deliver the Product Roadmap and approach to achieve that, Vision.
* Lead, manage and mentor the product management and delivery teams. Set the strategic direction for associated IT Services teams and ensure they have clarity of vision, expected outcomes and deliverables, along with access to resources to achieve their goals.
* Create a clear and trusted relationship between the product team and the wider University to ensure that all products and services meet operational and strategic needs. Act as the central contact and escalation point to the University for the product portfolio, sitting on project, product and governance boards.
* Work with academic departments to ensure education technology adoption supports teaching delivery whilst meeting faculty-specific requirements and academic calendar constraints. Build understanding of discipline-specific needs and translate these into product requirements.
* Establish user experience baselines for student-facing and staff-facing products, with measurable improvement targets. Ensure all products meet agreed accessibility and inclusivity standards, with regular compliance auditing and remediation tracking.
* Work with the wider Infrastructure, Architecture, Development and Test teams to deliver the product roadmap to an accepted and agreed technical standard.
* Establish product governance processes that balance delivery pace with university governance requirements, ensuring Executive Board and relevant governance boards have appropriate visibility of delivery progress, risks, and dependencies.
* Own the product communication strategy and build appropriate senior leadership relationships to ensure delivery progress is appropriately communicated to all relevant stakeholders and the adoption of changes are well received, measured and successful.
* Embed an agile product development approach across the Product Team and University customers. Ensure that measurable value is delivered as quickly as possible to customers and products and services meet the University's needs.
* Be a member of the IT Services Leadership Team that works collectively to achieve strategic aims. Support Executive leaders in the delivery of strategy whilst working in partnership and collaboratively with colleagues to achieve those defined outcomes.
* As a member of staff, you will be encouraged to make ethical decisions in your role, embedding the University sustainability strategy into your working activities wherever possible
* Carry out other duties, commensurate with the grade and remit of the post
Person Specification
Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and is respected. Even if your past experience doesn't match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply. Please ensure that you reference the application criteria in the application statement when you apply.
Criteria
Essential or desirable
Stage(s) assessed at
Significant experience in digital product management, with a proven track record of successfully leading and delivering complex product roadmaps across full software lifecycles
Essential
Interview
Demonstrable leadership experience building and developing high-performing product and delivery teams, including transforming traditional development functions into product-led organisations
Essential
Interview
Strong understanding of software development methodologies, including agile and waterfall. Proficient in user-centred design principles and accessibility standards
Essential
Interview
Understanding of accessibility requirements (WCAG 2.1 AA minimum) and inclusive design principles, with experience embedding these into product development practices and demonstrating compliance
Essential
Interview
Strong communication skills; the ability to distil and communicate complex ideas, proposals, issues and implications to colleagues and stakeholders at all levels
Essential
Interview
Experience managing multi-year product budgets of £3-5million+, including navigating constrained funding environments and demonstrating ROI to governance boards
Essential
Interview
Proven ability to establish credibility with senior stakeholders where you lack direct authority, particularly in federated or matrix organisations
Essential
Interview
Ability to think strategically and translate business goals into actionable product plans. Proven expertise in defining product vision, prioritising features, and measuring product success
Essential
Interview
Experience delivering student-facing education technology in HE settings, including understanding of academic calendars, assessment cycles, and the dynamics between academic, professional services, and student user groups
Essential
Interview
Knowledge of the HE sector – including strategic challenges, regulatory frameworks (OfS, TEF), and the constraints of balancing academic autonomy with institutional strategy
Desirable
Application
Further Information
Grade
Professorial Equivalent (Band 1)
Salary
£71,566-£90,603 per annum
Work arrangement
Full-time
Line manager
Assistant Director of Product Delivery
Direct reports
Product Lead, Delivery Lead, Systems Admin Support Lead
Our website
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For informal enquiries about this job contact Sarah Boyd, Assistant Director, Product Delivery: on
Next steps in the recruitment process
We plan to let candidates know if they have progressed to the selection stage within two weeks of the closing date. If you need any support, equipment or adjustments to enable you to participate in any element of the recruitment process you can contact it-services-
Our vision and strategic plan
We are the University of Sheffield. This is our vision: ().
What we offer
* A minimum of 41days annual leave including bank holiday and closure days (pro rata) with the ability to purchase more.
* Flexible working opportunities, including hybrid working for some roles.
* Generous pension scheme.
* A wide range of discounts and rewards on shopping, eating out and travel.
* A variety of staff networks, providing opportunities for social interaction, peer support and personal development (for example, Race Equality, LGBT+, Women's and Parent's networks).
* Recognition Awards to reward staff who go above and beyond in their role.
* A commitment to your development access to learning and mentoring schemes.
* A range of generous family-friendly policies
* paid time off for parenting and caring emergencies
* support for those going through the menopause
* paid time off and support for fertility treatment
* and more
We are a Disability Confident Employer. If you have a disability and meet the essential criteria for this job you will be invited to take part in the next stage of the selection process.
Criminal record
A basic DBS check will be needed for this role. More details on the checks can be found on the Government website: (opens in a new window).
Possession of a criminal record is not an automatic bar to employment at the University of Sheffield. We recognise the value of steady employment in the rehabilitation process and examine each case in its own right. More information can be found on our Information for candidates page:- (opens in a new window).
We are a research university with a global reputation for excellence. Our ideas and expertise change the world for the better, making a real difference to society. We know that when people come together with different views, approaches and insights it can lead to richer, more creative and innovative teaching and research and the highest levels of student experience. Our University Vision ) outlines our commitment to building a diverse community of staff and students that recognises and values the abilities, backgrounds, beliefs and ways of living for everyone.