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Assistant Digital Product Manager, Bloomsbury Digital Resources

To help us scale up our academic digital product delivery, we are looking for a new Assistant Digital Product Manager to join our Product Innovation team.

You will work across our award-winning digital product portfolio, which spans the visual and performing arts, and humanities and social sciences. This role will be responsible for the delivery of ebook collections licensed from third-party content partners. You will be part of a dynamic, growing and friendly team, who are re-imagining Bloomsbury’s academic publishing for a digital environment.

Our team is part of Bloomsbury Digital Resources, which sits within the wider Bloomsbury Academic and Professional Division.

Bloomsbury is a key player in scholarly publishing and winner of The Bookseller’s Academic, Educational & Professional Publisher of the Year Award 2021. The Academic & Professional Division is growing and recently acquired ABC-Clio, Red Globe Press (from Macmillan Education Ltd), Zed Books and Oberon.

Bloomsbury values the importance of life–work balance and we offer flexible working options. This full-time role is only expected to be in the office 2 days per week (Wednesdays and Thursdays) and we offer a core hours policy of 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, with flexible Fridays throughout the year. See below for further details.

The role

ebook product pipeline management

  • Manage ebook partner products from content delivery to launch, working to an agreed schedule and budget, in close liaison with platform Product Managers.
  • Provide management team with progress reports across the ebook partner product pipeline.
  • Support platform Product Managers with monitoring sites for bugs and improvements, as required.
  • Using product portfolio expertise, support platform Product Managers with responses to queries from sales, marketing and customers, troubleshooting and escalating issues as required.
  • Liaise with sales, marketing and customer services to communicate addition of new content and keep them informed of imminent launches.
  • Support platform Product Managers with market research, end-user interviews and User Experience research to ensure that product requirements meet user needs (both before and after launch), as required.

Product development

  • Use the Bloomsbury Publishing Platform admin interface to build and configure new discovery and index pages, working with platform Product Managers, UX, Marketing and Editorial to agree site layout and visual design elements, within pre-defined templates.
  • Report and ticket bugs to ensure that the products meet the agreed requirements, in consultation with platform Product Manager.

Content management

  • Manage the content requirements for new products, liaising with Content Architecture and Production teams on data planning, content conversion and content loading.
  • Responsible for subject indexing of content (either directly, or overseeing work of suppliers), working with Editorial on the development of taxonomies (in consultation with platform Product Managers).
  • Proactively liaise with Editorial team to track progress on imminent ebook products.
  • Create epics in Jira to assign tasks to Content Architecture, Digital Production and Metadata and Discovery colleagues.
  • Advise Editorial colleagues on content supply and data requirements.
  • Work with suppliers to ensure they perform content checks according to a brief and schedule.

Staff development

  • Assist with recruitment and training of new team members as appropriate.

Representation

  • Provide training and guidance for Editorial teams on processes etc., as required.
  • Promote the Product Management team within the wider company, and demonstrate an aptitude for more managerial tasks, as required.
  • Support the Editorial teams with handling content partner queries.
  • Contribute to process improvement initiatives, as required.

Key skills and experience

Essential

  • Experience of digital product development and management, ideally in an academic publishing environment
  • Project management experience.
  • Understanding of digital product development and publishing processes.
  • An excellent eye for detail and a logical, problem-solving approach
  • Excellent implementation and time-management skills
  • Excellent communication skills (written and verbal)
  • Experience of working with content management systems
  • A firm grasp of web usability issues.
  • Demonstrable interest in developing a career in digital product management
  • A proactive, “can-do” attitude and willingness to learn.
  • Understanding of the academic library market.

Desirable

  • Experience of using Jira or similar tracking tool.
  • Experience of working with, instructing and managing suppliers/vendors, as well as working with content partners.
  • Experience in editing XML.
  • Experience of gathering & interpreting web usage analytics.

Additional information

The role is a full-time and permanent position.

The role is based at our London office (50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP) on a hybrid working pattern of 2 days office based / 3 days home based (or fully office based if preferred). Allocated office days for this role are Wednesday and Thursday.

Please apply with a CV and covering letter addressed to Human Resources (Word or PDF format only) via the ‘APPLY NOW’ button detailing how you meet the requirements outlined above for this role by Wednesday 5thApril 2023.

Bloomsbury reserve the right to close the role early if we exceed the required number of applications.

Bloomsbury Benefits

As well as a fantastic opportunity to join a global award-winning organisation, Bloomsbury offers the following competitive benefits package:

Working Pattern

  • hybrid working pattern of: 2 days office based / 3 days home based (or fully office based if preferred)

Holidays

  • 25 days’ holiday
  • 3.5 days’ Christmas company holiday

Other Benefits:

  • Two paid Personal Wellness Days
  • Flexible Fridays – take Friday afternoon off by working an additional 3 hours and 45 minutes earlier in the week
  • Season Ticket Loan
  • Sharesave Scheme
  • In-house Doctor
  • Eyecare Voucher Scheme
  • Company culture! – Employee Voice Meetings, Staff Networks (Bloom, Disability, Mental Health, Pride and Parents, Guardians and Carers), 12 Mental Health First Aiders trained across the UK offices, Publishing Events and access to free Publishing Resources

Bloomsbury is a place where anyone of any background, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender identity, age, ability, or socio-economic status can thrive, feel comfortable, and be heard and accepted. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

We are willing to make any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process, please flag to the recruitment team if required.

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK. 

The Company

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

Bloomsbury Publishing is a leading independent publishing house, established in 1986, with authors who have won the Nobel, Pulitzer and Booker Prizes, and is the originating publisher and custodian of the Harry Potter series. Bloomsbury has offices in London, New York, New Delhi, Oxford and Sydney. Within Bloomsbury’s Academic division, it publishes under Bloomsbury, as well as under a number of prestigious and historic imprint names. Read Our Story for how it all began. 

 Bloomsbury is committed to creating a working environment that stimulates creativity and collaboration, is respectful of difference, is inclusive and ethical in its practice, and promotes well-being. We are determined to nurture and develop our employees to reach their highest potential, and we know that our success is down to the passion, commitment and hard work of our talented people. We recognise the urgent need to attract and support applicants from all backgrounds and identities to become part of the global publishing industry, allowing diverse voices to reflect and shape our culture and society.

Please read more on our Missions and Values here.

Please read our environmental policy here.

Assistant Digital Product Manager, Bloomsbury Digital Resources

Full-time, Permanent
Publisher
Administration, Assistant, Content, Publishing, Communications, Business Development, Product Management
Reference: 
Assistant Digital Product Manager, Bloomsbury Digital Resources
Salary description: 
Competitive

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Experience of digital product development and management, ideally in an academic publishing environment Project management experience.