Product Development Manager

Job Title: Product Development Manager Salary: From £doek Location: Remote Type of Role: Full Time / Permanent Travel: Travel expected to our offices, HO in Northampton and offices in London / Nursery settings Closing Date: 28th February 2026Purpose Of Role The Product Development Manager will lead the end-to-end development of new and enhanced products, ensuring they meet customer needs, achieve commercial targets, and align with the organisation’s strategic priorities. They will partner across Education, Operations, Marketing, and Finance to deliver timely, high-quality outcomes and continuous improvement. This role is pivotal in shaping the product roadmap for the B2C market and exploring direct-to-consumer opportunities to support sustainably grow and diversify revenue streams. Key Tasks And Responsibilities

• Own the product development roadmap from concept through launch and lifecycle management.
• Define clear product requirements and success metrics informed by customer insight and market data.
• Plan and lead cross-functional delivery (Education, Operations, Marketing, Finance) using Agile/Stage-Gate approaches.
• Build robust business cases, including pricing, cost, margin, and ROI analysis.
• Manage project timelines, budgets, risks, and dependencies; escalate issues and drive resolutions.
• Run pilots, validation testing, and quality reviews; oversee readiness for launch and post-launch optimisation.
• Monitor product performance (adoption, net promoter score, customer engagement survey results, revenue, margin); recommend enhancements or retirement decisions.
• Coach and develop colleagues; foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Identify and evaluate direct-to-consumer opportunities to expand and diversify revenue streams.
• Drive innovation by introducing new concepts, technologies, and processes.
• Continuously assess and improve existing products to enhance customer experience and market competitiveness.
• Ensure all product development initiatives align with the company’s strategic objectives and operational priorities.
• Conduct market research to identify trends, customer needs, and competitive positioning.
• Use data-driven insights to inform product development decisions and prioritisation.

Essential Experience

• Demonstrated, end-to-end product development experience from concept to launch and in-life management.
• Proven ability to translate customer insight and market analysis into product requirements and strategy.
• Substantial cross-functional collaboration experience across Education, Operations, Marketing, and Finance.
• Project management expertise: planning, budgeting, resource allocation, and risk management.
• Technical literacy in the relevant product domain; ability to assess feasibility and quality standards.
• Commercial acumen: pricing strategy, margin optimisation, business case development, and portfolio alignment.
• Leadership experience: leading teams, coaching talent, and driving outcomes in fast-paced environments.

Desirable Experience

• Previous experience in project management or similar roles.
• Worked with agile, scrum or stage gate type methodologies.

Qualification

• A good first degree and/or significant relevant experience (Essential)
• Evidence of continuous professional development and awareness of current early years national initiatives (Essential)
• Project Management accredited qualification (Desirable)
• Full, clean driving licence (Essential)

Personal Attributes

• Is results, oriented and commercially aware, balances speed with rigor and keeps impact at the centre of decisions.
• Has a continuous improvement mindset, naturally questions the status quo and seeks smarter, simpler, faster ways of working.
• Growth orientated who is energised by scaling, learning, and developing others; treats change as an opportunity.
• Has high integrity and accountability, does what’s right, owns outcomes, and models ethical decision‑making.
• Exceptional coach and talent developer who invests in people, promotes professional development, and builds succession strength.
• An inclusive collaborator who values diverse perspectives and fosters a safe, high‑performance team environment.
• Exceptional change champion, credible advocate for transformation; prepares, supports, and energises teams through change.
• Is data‑literate and insight‑driven and confident to turn complex data into clear, actionable narratives and recommendations.
• Is a systems thinker who understands processes end‑to‑end and anticipates downstream impacts and interdependencies.
• A strong, clear, concise communicator who adapts messaging for technical and non‑technical audiences; simplifies complexity

Bright Horizons is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. This post is subject to safer recruitment practice and pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS check, which will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. We are an inclusive employer and welcome people from all backgrounds to apply. We will consider reasonable adjustments required by applicants. If you share our passion, values, and have most of the skills listed, we encourage you to apply – as you may be just what we are looking for! We look forward to receiving your application! If you experience any problems, please email europe.recruitment@brighthorizons.com and we will be happy to help.