Job description
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SENIOR PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
MANAGER
JOB DETAILS
Job Title:
Senior Product Development Manager
Reports to (title):
CEO – Cochrane Innovations
Date:
June 2015
PURPOSE OF THE JOB
Support the CEO of Cochrane Innovations by leading the development of products and
services to create profitable lines of new business for Cochrane. Help to diversify and
expand Cochrane’s funding base and ensure a sustainable future for Cochrane. Build
key relationships with customers and collaborate with senior management and
stakeholders across Cochrane to help implement the overall innovation strategy through
product development and market commercialization.
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES/KEY RESULT AREAS
Work closely with cross-functional teams from sales, marketing, editorial and technology
to support the development of new product ideas and to manage the development of
specific projects from idea conception to launch, and on-going management and
maintenance beyond.
Lead the assessment of new product ideas to develop business plans – for the
projects that you are responsible for, oversee the initial assessment and market
validation process for new product ideas, carrying out market research, developing
product business requirements and carrying out internal impact assessment. Deliver
business cases for new product concepts, including user research and financial
projections.
Manage product development – for the projects that you are responsible for, lead the
business decisions required to drive new product development, co-ordinating market
research and cross-functional consultation within Cochrane and our publishing partners.
Lead product enhancements and new products through the development process.
Support product innovation – support the idea generation / new product concept
process through Cochrane and prototyping for new ideas.
Market research and user engagement – interact regularly with customers and the
wider market, and maintain processes to develop deep and broad insights to understand
our customer’s needs and their problems. Gather new product and enhancement ideas,
testing new product ideas, conducting usability testing and competitive research.
Cochrane is an equal opportunities employer
www.cochrane.org | www.thecochranelibrary.com
Registered Charity No 1045921; Registered in England No 3044323
Registered Office: Cochrane, St Albans House, 57-59 Haymarket, London SW1, UK
Job description
Establish new routines to monitor market trends and track competitor activities. Develop
a deep understanding of the users and buyers, their needs, and the competitive
landscape for your products.
Project management – For the projects you are responsible for, establish and lead
product and project meetings, managing agenda, framing discussions, and following up
on agreed actions.
Business development - Support CEO in identifying, developing and defining
relationships with strategic and commercial partners. Participate in pitches and customer
meetings as required.
Budget management - Participate in the preparation of annual revenue and cost
budgets for assigned products, and manage project budgets including monthly reporting
cycles.
Cochrane stakeholder engagement - Leading role in engagement and communication
with the Cochrane community, ensuring their needs and requirements are considered
within product and service development projects. Facilitate communication between
Cochrane Innovations and the Cochrane community with support from the Cochrane
communications team.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Qualifications
 Degree; relevant postgraduate qualification is desirable
Experience
 3+ years’ experience in product development or product management
 3+ years working with a STM publishing organisation or within the electronic
information industry.
 Experience managing major projects within a publishing organization.
 Experience of rapid testing and proof of concept in the market place (using agile
development, rapid prototyping and lean start-up methods) desirable.
 Experience of developing online products desirable.
 Experience working across an evidence based medicine (EBM) product portfolio
desirable.
Skills and ability
 Ability to win the confidence of the CEO, and Board by presenting thoughtful and
persuasive business cases.
 An ability to develop and maintain working relationships with key stakeholders
 Ability to work independently while keeping management appropriately informed.
 Ability to build strong relationships across departments and across the Cochrane
community.
 Leadership skills to validate product ideas working with customers and users.
 Innovative and creative approach to problem solving.
 Project management skills.
 Excellent verbal and written communication skills
 Ability to work under pressure
 Commercially minded
Cochrane is an equal opportunities employer
www.cochrane.org | www.thecochranelibrary.com
Registered Charity No 1045921; Registered in England No 3044323
Registered Office: Cochrane, St Albans House, 57-59 Haymarket, London SW1, UK
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Job description
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Ability to work on multiple projects at once, and to manage changing and multiple
priorities
Confident with a positive attitude
Basic understanding of evidence synthesis and evidence based medicine.
Proficient IT skills, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint
Strong customer focus – able to ensure that customer expectations are met and
exceeded.
Good customer-facing skills – ability to represent Cochrane in face-to-face customer
meetings
Decision-making – able to make timely and effective decisions, and take prompt
action to accomplish objectives and goals beyond what is required
Adaptable and flexible to changing business and customer needs
Ability to travel internationally.
KEY INTERFACES
Internal: All groups within Cochrane, including Cochrane Review Groups, Cochrane
Authors, Cochrane Centres, and the Central Executive Team
External: Potential users and purchasers of Cochrane evidence products and services.
Suppliers, stakeholders and partners.
DIMENSIONS
Budgetary responsibility: Yes, agreed on an individual project basis.
Number of direct and indirect reports: One – Product Development Manager
providing administrative and project management support within Cochrane
Innovations.
Cochrane is an equal opportunities employer
www.cochrane.org | www.thecochranelibrary.com
Registered Charity No 1045921; Registered in England No 3044323
Registered Office: Cochrane, St Albans House, 57-59 Haymarket, London SW1, UK
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