Head of Product

Role Overview

Pearson's data organization is amid a significant transformation, and we're looking for builders.

We are seeking a Head of Data Product to lead the strategy, build, and scale of Pearson's enterprise data product portfolio. Reporting to the Global Head of Data, this role sits at the center of advanced technology, data, AI, and analytics as core drivers of long-term growth. That means modernizing platforms, scaling AI-driven capabilities, and embedding data-informed decision-making across Pearson's global ecosystem.

This is a player-coach role: equal parts strategic thought leader and practitioner. This pivotal role will define the vision and operating model for a product-led data organization while working hands-on alongside engineering and analytics teams. Acting as the bridge between technical data teams and business stakeholders, the Head of Data Products translates complex data capabilities into scalable, high-value products across segments and corporate functions.

Key Responsibilities

Data Product Strategy & Portfolio Leadership

· Define and execute the enterprise data product strategy, vision, and roadmap, focusing first on self-service analytics and expanding across domains; drive prioritization aligned to measurable business outcomes

· Define enterprise standards for evaluating data product investments, with value realization and adoption impact as core criteria

Build & Scale Data Products

· Lead design, build, and rollout of data products: single source of truth, reusable and scalable assets, measurable business impact

· Shape data models and semantic layers; define MVPs; accelerate time to market using AI

· Embed a culture of iteration and innovation — informed by user feedback, usage data, and emerging technology

Build the Data Product Function

· Stand up and scale a small, high-performing Data Product team; define roles, responsibilities, and ways of working across product, engineering, and analytics

· Lead, mentor, and coach data product managers on product mindset, prioritization, stakeholder engagement, and execution discipline

· Champion a data-as-a-product mindset across the organization, driving cultural and operational change to treat data with the same rigor as software products

Self-Service Analytics Enablement

· Lead the development of self-service data platforms to democratize access to trusted data across business units, enabling consistent metrics, standardized models, and easy-to-use data access for business stakeholders

· Drive adoption across business teams, reducing fragmented analytics and enabling business users to sustain self-service independently

Platform & Architecture Alignment

· Partner with platform teams on medallion architecture (bronze/silver/gold), scalable pipelines, and modeling

· Ensure data products are built on a governed, high-quality enterprise platform; align with real-time and streaming architectures

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Partner with business stakeholders (Marketing, Sales, Product, Finance); collaborate with Engineering, Analytics Engineering, and Governance

• Act as the bridge between business needs and technical execution; build executive alignment and influence while ensuring business needs are translated into actionable data product roadmaps

Required Experience & Skills

Experience

• 10+ years in data, analytics, or product management; 5–8+ years in Data Product Management at enterprise scale

• Proven track record in building and scaling data products or data platforms at enterprise scale

Product & Leadership

• Strong product management expertise: vision, roadmap, prioritization, value delivery; experience leading and scaling product teams

• Ability to operate at both strategic and hands-on levels; agile/scrum methodology applied to data product delivery

• Change management experience - driving organizational shift toward product-led, data-driven decision-making

Technical & Data Expertise

• Deep hands on understanding of modern data engineering, architecture, governance, and analytics

• GCP / BigQuery; dbt / data transformation & semantic modeling; visualization tools (Looker, Tableau, Power BI)

• Medallion architecture (bronze/silver/gold); data pipelines, modeling, and data access patterns

• Data governance, cataloging, data contracts & SLAs for governed data product delivery

• AI/ML literacy: understanding generative AI integration, model outputs as data products

Analytics & Business Acumen

• Experience enabling self-service analytics at scale; strong KPI frameworks and business performance metrics

• Ability to connect data products to measurable business outcomes: growth, efficiency, decision-making

Leadership Profile

• Thought leader in data products and analytics transformation; builder mindset, thrives in ambiguity

• Highly collaborative; outcome-oriented; executive presence

Compensation at Pearson is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and specific location. As required by the California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York State, New York City, Vermont, Washington State, and Washington DC laws, the pay range for this position is as follows:    

The minimum full-time salary range is between $200,000 - $220,000.  

This position is eligible to participate in an annual incentive program, and information on benefits offered is here.  

Applications will be accepted through 30th June. This window may be extended depending on business needs.