Overview

Director, Digital Transformation (Product) at QS Quacquarelli Symonds. Location: UK, London. Job type: Full time, Permanent – Hybrid. This position offers a hybrid work model with flexibility between working from home and our office and requires 4 days in the office per week.

About QS

QS Quacquarelli Symonds is a world leader in higher education services, analytics, insights and intelligence. Our mission is to empower motivated people around the world to fulfil their potential through higher education. We value collaboration, respect and support for each other and are committed to diversity and inclusion.

QS was named as one of Newsweek’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces in the UK (October 2023) and is a gold-accredited Investors in People organisation.

Role responsibilities

Product vision, strategy and roadmap

• Define and execute a digital strategy that scales student engagement and drives institutional conversions.
• Develop, maintain, and communicate a clear product vision and multi-quarter roadmap aligned to business objectives.
• Own the end-to-end student experience, from initial engagement to enrolment, across all QS channels and platforms.
• Build, launch, and scale products informed by market trends, competitor analysis, and user insights.
• Innovate in user journeys, personalisation, and matching using emerging technologies, including generative AI.
• Apply scalable platform thinking, designing modular, extensible solutions to support future growth and integrations.
• Ensure products meet legal, data privacy, and ethical AI standards.

Product discovery and market insight

• Drive structured discovery processes, including market research, competitor analysis, and user interviews, to rapidly validate ideas before moving to build.
• Identify and target high-value student segments as recruitment dynamics evolve.
• Safeguard QS’s high-value datasets while maximising AI-influenced search opportunities.
• Establish formal innovation pipelines for rapid prototyping, experimentation, and commercialisation of new ideas.
• Incorporate global and inclusive design principles, ensuring solutions meet accessibility and localisation requirements.

Planning, prioritisation and execution

• Define the QS student experience and maintain points of distinctiveness relative to competitors.
• Translate product requirements into a clear, data-driven prioritisation process balancing customer value, business impact, and technical feasibility.
• Implement and refine product development frameworks (e.g., Agile, Scrum, Kanban) to improve delivery speed and quality.
• Manage product budgets and resource allocation to ensure efficient delivery.
• Oversee back-end systems, including CRM platforms, and integrate systems with partner institutions to enhance conversion and value.
• Drive operational excellence in delivery processes, release management, and quality assurance.

Cross-functional leadership and stakeholder engagement

• Lead within the Candidate Engagement senior leadership group the end-to-end student experience across QS assets.
• Lead and mentor product managers, collaborating with technology leads to deliver rapid, data-driven improvements.
• Facilitate alignment across marketing, sales, operations, and engineering through regular updates, workshops, and decision-making forums.
• Contribute to building a strong internal product culture and coaching PM talent.

Metrics, measurement and continuous improvement

• Establish measurable success criteria, track performance against key metrics, and adjust strategy accordingly.
• Define analytics requirements, use experimentation (A/B, multivariate) and behavioural data to drive product decisions.
• Coordinate go-to-market planning, product launches, and post-launch analysis with cross-functional teams.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate product, market, and operational risks throughout the development cycle.
• Manage the full product lifecycle from ideation through optimisation to timely retirement of underperforming features.
• Link product outcomes directly to commercial impact through ROI analysis, pricing models, and monetisation strategies.

Other duties

• Any other duties that fall within the scope and purpose of the role.

Key skills and experience

• Track record of taking digital products from concept to profitability.
• Track record of mapping out and delivering distinctive customer journeys.
• Strong product leadership in digital engagement and conversion.
• Understanding of AI’s impact on search, discovery, and conversion.
• Solid grasp of key technologies, architectures, and integration approaches, enabling effective collaboration with technical teams.
• Ability to translate engagement into measurable revenue through institutional partnerships.
• Strong leadership, communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills.

We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet all criteria but have the skills and passion to thrive in this role.

Benefits and equal opportunities

• Access to an annual bonus scheme (for qualifying roles only)
• 25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays – increasing to 27 days after 5 years
• Buy Holiday scheme – up to 5 additional holiday days per year
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
• Generous pension through Royal London
• Comprehensive private medical insurance and wellness scheme through Vitality
• QSmiles discount scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Vibrant multicultural environment

Equal opportunities

QS is proud to be a fair and equal organisation where everyone has the same opportunity to achieve their full potential. We celebrate diversity and believe in learning from one another to enable our business to thrive.

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