Product Manager

At Arbor, we’re on a mission to transform the way schools work for the better. 

We believe in a future of work in schools where being challenged doesn’t mean being burnt out and overworked. Where data guides progress without overwhelming staff. And where everyone working in a school is reminded why they got into education every day. 

Our School Management Tools are already making a difference in over 9,000 schools and trusts. Giving time and power back to staff, turning data into clear, actionable insights, and supporting happier working days. 

At the heart of our brand is a recognition that the challenges schools face today aren’t just about efficiency, outputs and productivity - but about creating happier working lives for the people who drive education everyday: the staff. We want to make schools more joyful places to work, as well as learn. 

Arbor MIS is a product that helps over 9000 schools across the UK to manage everything from attendance and assessment, to clubs and trips and timetabling. We’re looking to expand the capabilities that we offer, and build new modules that support the day to day working of schools, and that interlink with the current functionality that Arbor offers.

We are looking for a data driven and detail oriented Product Manager to join our Arbor MIS product team. This role will own the discovery and delivery of a new module that sits within our core MIS, and go onto support our core MIS functionality more broadly. 

We’ll expect you to also build a deep understanding of user needs and the market landscape. This role will have responsibility for positioning and launching the new product, so if you’re a clear communicator and enjoy working collaboratively, this is the role for you.

Core responsibilities

• Own and maintain product roadmap aligned with company goals
• Define problems and hypotheses based on customer needs and feedback, ensuring alignment with the product strategy.
• Set out clear stages for work, with shippable increments and value.
• Collaborate with engineering and design during discovery to identify assumptions, risks, and testing strategies.
• Support the team’s Engineering Manager with planning and coordination of the delivery of product development, through iterative sprint cycles and regular team ceremonies
• Use data-driven iteration and testing to measure impact and inform adjustments.
• Maintain contextual awareness of the business, education sector, and user needs, and effectively communicate this to the team.
• Foster collaboration, communication, and a culture of shared learning within the team and across teams - this person will work with teams from School MIS, MAT MIS, LA MIS and our data team.
• Champion a user-centric approach using feedback, metrics, and research to inform product decisions.
• Document all work stages and contribute to team knowledge.
• Proactively communicate with stakeholders on milestones, progress, and changes.
• Work with our go to market committee and other departments to successfully launch functionality. 
• Continuously seek improvement opportunities and share learnings

We’re looking for a clear communicator who can take complex requirements and turn them into a prioritised roadmap and backlog for their engineering team. Beyond that, we’d love to see:

• Experience working in a product role, with cross-functional teams, including engineering, design, and marketing.
• Continuous discovery practice
• A test early and frequently approach 
• Passion for building user-centric products that make a difference.
• Experience in the education sector is a plus.
• Experience using AI to make your product practice more efficient is also a plus
• Enjoy working in a fast paced environment and manage multiple lines of communication

The chance to work alongside a team of hard-working, passionate people in a role where you’ll see the impact of your work everyday. We also offer:

• A dedicated wellbeing team who champion initiatives such as mindfulness, lunch n learns, manager training, mental health first aid training and much more!
• 32 days holiday (plus Bank Holidays). This is made up of 25 days annual leave plus 7 extra company wide days given over Easter, Summer & Christmas
• Life Assurance paid out at 3x annual salary
• Comprehensive wellness benefit provided by AIG Smart Health, which provides a 24/7 virtual GP service, Mental health support, Counselling, and personalised Health Checks 
• Private Dental Insurance with Bupa 
• Salary sacrifice Pension provided by Scottish Widows
• Enhanced maternity and adoption leave (20 weeks full pay) and paternity (6 weeks full pay) pay
• 5 free return to work maternity coaching sessions, helping you adapt to this new exciting time of life!
• Access to services such as Calm and Bippit (financial wellbeing coaching) 
• All of our roles champion flexible working and we are happy to discuss what this means to you!
• Social committees that plan team, office and company wide events to bring people together and celebrate success
• Dedicated professional development training budget (CPD courses, upskilling resources, professional memberships etc)
• Volunteer with a charity of your choice for a day each year

1. Phone screen
2. 1st stage
3. 2nd stage

We are committed to a fair and comfortable recruitment process, so if you require any reasonable adjustments during your application or interview process, please reach out to a member of the team at [email protected].

Our commitment is also backed by our partnership with Neurodiversity Consultancy, Lexxic who provide us with training, support and advice. 

Our goal is for Arbor to be a workplace which represents, celebrates and supports people from all backgrounds, and which gives them the tools they need to thrive - whatever their ambitions may be so we support and promote diversity and equality, and actively  encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. 

Know someone else who would be good for this role? You can refer a friend, family member or colleague, if they are offered a role with Arbor, we will say thank you with a voucher valued up to £200! Simply email: [email protected] 

Please note: We are unable to provide visa sponsorship at this time.