Advanced Specialist, Portfolio Management

Job Title

Advanced Specialist, Portfolio Management

(Humanities, Social Sciences & Law)

Description

Lead the development and growth of Pearson's Higher Education portfolio across Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, shaping market-leading products and services that help educators deliver better learning outcomes and student success.

This role is aligned to other titles in the market such as Portfolio Manager, Higher Education Portfolio Manager, Product Portfolio Manager, Subject Portfolio Manager, Publishing Manager, Content Strategy Manager, Learning Products Manager, Academic Portfolio Manager, Product Strategy Manager, or Higher Education Product Manager.

About the Role

Pearson is seeking an Advanced Specialist, Portfolio Management to support the ongoing development, performance, and strategic direction of a portfolio spanning Humanities, Social Sciences and Law within the UK Higher Education market.

Working closely with Sales, Marketing, Product, Customer Insights, Technology, Production and Academic stakeholders, you will help identify market opportunities, understand evolving educator and learner needs, and develop innovative products and services that deliver measurable value. You'll act as a subject matter expert for your portfolio, building relationships with authors, academics and institutions while helping shape Pearson's future higher education offerings.

What You'll Be Doing

Portfolio Management

• Develop deep expertise across your subject portfolio and associated market trends.
• Manage a balanced, commercially successful portfolio that remains current, relevant and aligned to market demand.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with authors, academic influencers and subject matter experts.
• Partner with Product, Strategy, Marketing and Sales teams to develop new products and improve existing offerings.
• Support the ongoing evolution of Pearson's digital learning and courseware solutions.

Market Research & Customer Insights

• Conduct market research to understand the changing needs of educators, institutions and learners.
• Gather and analyse customer feedback, competitor activity and industry trends.
• Identify key market challenges and opportunities within Higher Education.
• Support problem-solution testing and product-market fit validation activities.
• Use customer insights to influence product development priorities and long-term portfolio strategy.

Strategy & Innovation

• Develop a strong understanding of the UK Higher Education sector, particularly within Psychology, Law and wider Social Sciences disciplines.
• Monitor changes in teaching, learning, assessment and higher education policy to identify opportunities for innovation.
• Use data and market intelligence to inform portfolio decisions and investment priorities.
• Partner with Sales teams to support growth opportunities and market conversations with institutions.
• Help shape the future direction of products and services within your portfolio.

Go-to-Market & Customer Engagement

• Support the development and execution of go-to-market plans for new and existing products.
• Partner with Sales and Marketing teams to drive product adoption and engagement.
• Support new digital product launches and build relationships with early adopters.
• Act as an advocate for your portfolio both internally and externally.
• Help create compelling value propositions and customer messaging that resonates with Higher Education audiences.

What We're Looking For

• Experience within portfolio management, product management, publishing, content development, higher education, learning, or related fields.
• Strong commercial awareness and understanding of how products succeed within competitive markets.
• Experience conducting market research and analysing customer insights.
• Excellent communication, presentation and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to influence cross-functional teams and work effectively within a matrix organisation.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Experience working with educators, institutions, authors, content creators or academic communities would be advantageous.
• Understanding of digital learning solutions, courseware, instructional design or educational technology would be beneficial.
• Passion for improving learning experiences and outcomes for students and educators.

Why Join Pearson?

At Pearson, our mission is simple: to help people realise the life they imagine through learning. You'll join a collaborative and highly visible team responsible for shaping products used by educators and learners across Higher Education, helping Pearson continue to innovate and lead within a rapidly evolving educational landscape.

Working Model

This role works closely with colleagues across Product, Marketing, Sales, Technology, Customer Insights, Production and Strategy functions. The position forms part of Pearson's International Higher Education Portfolio Management team and supports customers and markets across the UK Higher Education sector.

Skills

Portfolio Management | Product Strategy | Higher Education | Product Development | Customer Insights | Market Research | Go-To-Market Strategy | Product Marketing | Academic Publishing | Educational Technology | Stakeholder Management | Customer Engagement | Competitive Analysis | Product Innovation | Learning Solutions | Digital Courseware | Author Management | Strategic Planning | Commercial Strategy | Cross-Functional Leadership

UK Benefits & Rewards

Pearson offers a competitive salary and benefits package which may include annual bonus opportunities, pension contributions, life assurance, private healthcare options, holiday entitlement, wellbeing programmes, learning and development opportunities, employee assistance programmes, and a range of flexible benefits. Eligibility and offerings may vary by location and employment status.