Head of Portfolio Growth, Evaluation

Role: Head of Portfolio Growth, Evaluation

Location: UK, London

Applicants must have the existing right to work in the UK. This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Job type: Full time, permanent – Hybrid

This position offers a hybrid work model, allowing flexibility between working from home and our office.. Employees are expected to work 2 days in the office per week.

Why QS?

At QS, we believe that work should empower you. That’s why we foster a flexible working environment that encourages every employee to own their career whilst flourishing personally and professionally. Our commitment to people development is recognised globally: QS is a Gold-accredited Investors in People organisation, placing us among the top 28% of workplaces worldwide. Our company values underpin everything we do – we collaborate, respect and support each other.

It’s our mission to empower motivated people around the world to fulfil their potential through higher education, ensuring that everyone has access to opportunities that change lives.

Our diversity makes us stronger. By sharing our experiences, we learn from one another and achieve more together, driving progress across the sector.

At QS, you’ll be responsible for implementing real change in the international higher education landscape. You’ll take on meaningful challenges that see a positive impact across the business and the wider sector.

We’re confident you’ll feel right at home here. QS was named as one of Newsweek’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces® in the UK (October 2023), recognising the respect, trust and appreciation that drive our culture every day.

As a Head of Portfolio Growth, Evaluation, this is what you’ll be doing:

As Head of Product Growth, Evaluation, you will lead the growth, commercial performance and long term development of QS’s mature evaluation portfolio, including QS Stars and other established commercial evaluation frameworks.

You will be accountable for whether the portfolio achieves its revenue growth, renewal, adoption and market development ambitions. You will lead the product strategy, roadmap, positioning, pricing and lifecycle decisions that create the conditions for sustainable commercial success.

You will bring together the contributions of various teams across the business into one coherent product growth strategy, ensuring that the proposition, customer value, pricing, adoption, enablement and go-to-market model are capable of delivering the overall product level revenue outcome.

You will lead and develop the product team, building a culture in which product success is measured through business performance and customer value. You will work closely with Sales, Marketing, Customer Experience, Frameworks, Delivery & Operations and regional teams to accelerate growth and strengthen the mature evaluation portfolio.

Role responsibilities

Commercial growth and performance

- Own annual and multi-year product revenue growth targets for QS Stars and other mature evaluation products.

- Develop and execute product level growth plans covering client acquisition, renewal, expansion, pricing, packaging, adoption and market development.

- Maintain robust product revenue forecasts, identify performance gaps and lead corrective action where growth is below plan.

- Analyse performance by product, customer segment and market to identify opportunities for accelerated growth.

- Identify and develop new recurring revenue opportunities, product extensions, packages and routes to market.

- Ensure the full range of commercial drivers required to meet product revenue targets is understood, owned and actively managed.

- Provide clear product-level commercial recommendations to the VP, Evaluation & Insights, who retains formal P&L and investment accountability.

Renewal, retention and expansion

- Own renewal and retention outcomes across the mature evaluation portfolio.

- Develop clear renewal strategies for each product, market and customer segment.

- Analyse the drivers of retention, churn, customer expansion and lifetime value.

- Lead cross functional action plans to improve renewal rates and net revenue retention.

- Partner with central Customer Experience, Sales, regional teams and QS Elevate to ensure renewal plans are executed effectively.

- Develop opportunities for upsell, cross-sell, upgrades and additional evaluation services.

- Ensure customer adoption and value realisation are treated as core drivers of retention and expansion.

Product strategy and portfolio leadership

- Set the strategic direction and roadmap for QS Stars and other mature evaluation products.

- Translate customer needs, market opportunities and business priorities into clear product strategies and investment plans.

- Prioritise roadmap investment according to expected revenue, adoption, retention, customer value and scalability outcomes.

- Lead product discovery, proposition development, enhancement, launch and lifecycle management decisions.

- Develop robust business cases for material product investments and growth initiatives.

- Monitor the continuing relevance, differentiation and performance of each product.

- Recommend when products should be accelerated, repositioned, extended or retired.

- Support the integration of additional mature evaluation frameworks into the portfolio where appropriate.

Proposition, pricing and go-to-market

- Own the product value proposition, positioning and packaging for the mature evaluation portfolio.

- Develop evidence led pricing recommendations that support sustainable growth and customer value.

- Create clear go-to-market plans in partnership with Sales, Marketing and regional teams.

- Ensure Sales and Customer Experience teams have the proposition, evidence, insight and enablement required to engage customers effectively.

- Monitor market developments, institutional needs and competitor activity to maintain product differentiation.

- Test commercial assumptions and define success measures before significant product investment.

- Lead post launch reviews to assess whether commercial and customer objectives have been achieved.

Customer value and adoption

- Define how institutions should realise value from each evaluation product.

- Establish and monitor meaningful measures of adoption, engagement and customer value.

- Use customer feedback, usage evidence and renewal insight to inform product strategy and roadmap priorities.

- Partner with QS Elevate to develop programmes that help institutions understand and apply evaluation outcomes.

- Work with central Customer Experience and Delivery & Operations to improve the end to end customer journey.

- Ensure product growth does not compromise evaluation quality, operational viability or customer trust.

Product leadership and collaboration

- Lead, coach and develop product managers and specialists.

- Build a commercially focused product culture in which teams are accountable for measurable business and customer outcomes.

- Establish clear product ownership, objectives, measures and decision rights across the portfolio.

- Improve product forecasting, prioritisation, discovery and lifecycle management capability.

- Partner with Frameworks team to ensure product development is supported by credible and robust methodologies.

- Partner with Delivery & Operations team to ensure products and product changes can be delivered consistently and at scale.

- Influence Sales, Marketing, Customer Experience and regional teams through clear evidence, shared plans and aligned objectives.

- Represent the mature evaluation portfolio in senior business planning and performance discussions.

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

Key skills and experience

- Proven ability to deliver significant revenue growth through the development and management of B2B products or services.

- Experience owning product level revenue, renewal, adoption or commercial performance outcomes.

- Strong understanding of recurring revenue business models and the drivers of client acquisition, retention, expansion and customer lifetime value.

- Proven ability to develop and execute commercially effective product strategies and growth plans.

- Experience making evidence led decisions about product positioning, proposition, pricing, packaging and investment.

- Comfortable working in a high paced environment and juggling multiple priorities.

- Ability to translate customer and market insight into differentiated products and measurable business outcomes.

- Strong product management expertise, including discovery, prioritisation, roadmap management, launch and lifecycle decision making.

- Experience improving renewal or retention performance through cross functional leadership.

- Proven ability to influence Sales, Marketing, Customer Experience, Operations and other teams while respecting their distinct accountabilities.

- Commercial and financial judgement, including forecasting, business case development and interpretation of product level performance.

- Strong people leadership, with the ability to coach product professionals and build a commercially accountable team.

- Ability to operate effectively through ambiguity, balance competing priorities and make clear recommendations.

- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, including confidence working with senior leaders.

- Commitment to customer value, evidence led decision making and continuous improvement.

- While an understanding of the purchasing behaviour of the higher education sector would be desirable, we are open to expertise gained through different sectors, roles and career pathways where the candidate can demonstrate relevant product growth and commercial leadership capability.

Please note, if you don't meet all the criteria but believe you have the skills and passion to thrive in this role, we encourage you to apply.

So, who are we and what do we do?

QS is the world leader in higher education services, analytics, insights and intelligence. From consultancy to student mobility, academic partnerships to branding solutions, our services power both institutional and individual success.

We’re behind the world’s most widely read university rankings. With an 85% share of all Google searches for university rankings, the QS World University Rankings® reach hundreds of millions, shaping decisions and guiding futures.

Since launching in 1990, our impact and influence have only grown. Today, we work with more than 2,000 of the world’s leading higher education institutions, over 12,000 employers, and governments seeking change and socioeconomic development through higher education – while helping more than 75,000 students enrol each year.

Join QS and you’ll join an 800-strong community of problem-solvers, creators, collaborators and change-makers based in 40+ countries and 11 international offices, including Australia, Malaysia, India, Romania, Singapore, France, Germany, the USA and our headquarters in London.

With every talented new hire, business acquisition and bold initiative, we’re strengthening our reach and delivering even greater value to institutions and learners worldwide. Are you ready to shape the future of higher education?

We take investing in our people very seriously.

As standard you will have:

- Competitive base salary

- Access to an annual bonus scheme (for qualifying roles only)

- 25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays – increasing to 27 days after 5 years’

- Access to a Buy Holiday scheme allowing you to buy 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

- Cycle to work scheme

- A vibrant social environment and multicultural and multinational culture

But that’s not all. Outside of these standard benefits we also offer resources to allow professional growth and wellness initiatives to nurture a healthy mindset:

- Free subscription to the Calm App – the #1 app for sleep, meditation, and relaxation

- A focus on welfare which is led by our global wellness team, with mental health first aiders globally

- Access to a variety of diversity and inclusion initiatives and groups

- Strong recognition and reward programs – including a peer-to-peer recognition platform, quarterly and annual QS Applaud Awards, Connect with your Career annual PD event

- Support for volunteering and study leave

- Free subscription to LinkedIn learning – with over 5000 courses and programmes at your fingertips

- Options to join our outstanding global Mentorship programme

Like what you’ve heard? Great, apply now!

As a candidate, we know the application and interview process can be daunting and so it’s important that you have a great experience with us. Our dedicated Talent Team will work hard to ensure you are fully informed at all stages and you are really excited by this opportunity to do meaningful work in the education space.

Equal opportunities

QS Quacquarelli Symonds is proud to be a fair and equal organisation where everyone has the same opportunity to achieve their full potential, irrespective of their background or personal attributes. We celebrate our diversity and believe through sharing our experiences we can learn from one another, be stronger together, and enable our business to thrive.

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