We are looking for a Product Manager to join us in the News Products team at Reach where you’ll work with a great team of product people, engineers and designers who care about building the right thing in the right way - on products that reach millions of people every day. 

Reporting to the Head of Product, the Product Manager will be responsible for translating the strategy and roadmap into a clear and prioritised tactical backlog and working closely with the development team to execute the backlog into actionable tasks.

Role Location

This role is Home and Hub Based - we’re a team located around the United Kingdom with people North, South, East and West but have central hubs in the North (Manchester/Liverpool) and South (London Canary Wharf) - your nearest Hub will be your assigned Hub.

Some infrequent travel to our core offices will be required from time to time (once a quarter) but for the most part, you’ll be remote.

So, who are we?

We are Reach Plc, you might not have heard of us but we have probably met without you even realising it. We are home to the UK and Ireland’s most iconic digital platforms, magazines and newspapers. From the Mirror, Daily Express and OK!, to our regional titles such as the Liverpool Echo, BirminghamLive and the Manchester Evening News (plus lots more), our brands and the stories we cover are as varied as our people. We help all kinds of people share experiences through our stories because we believe this is what makes us human.

Oh, and we should probably also mention that with a monthly readership of 47 million people, Reach is the largest commercial publisher in the UK. At Reach, not only will you feel better understood, you will also feel you understand other people better too.

Responsibilities will evolve as the needs of the business change, from a focus on delivery to analysis to longer term strategic activities. The product manager needs to understand and occupy the space between design, delivery and engineering and will be required to flex to changing business needs based on the direction set by Director Product Design and management.

• Responsible for ensuring requirements are gathered and communicated to development teams, collaborating with developers, testers and stakeholders to evolve work and ensure it is ready to work on

• Responsible for the ownership of the product backlog as part of the agile process and the supply of well defined work for engineering and design to work on

• Responsible for planning sprints/increments of work far enough in advance so dependencies can be understood and resources can be planned

• You will communicate across multiple teams (including QA, Development) to ensure requirements are met within a given timeframe, and communicate with stakeholders around strategy & product performance

• Understands business priorities and technical options, as well as researching the market to constantly explore new ideas

• Previous experience of working within a customer engagement and/or an audience development team would be advantageous

• Experience of analysing business problems and work collaboratively to find solutions

• You’ll have worked as a Product Manager on on complex technical products and should be comfortable communicating with engineers and architects

• Previous experience working within an agile/scrum/product team - you’ll have been embedded into teams consisting of Software Engineers, Quality Assurance and Design in the past  

• A track record of building, scaling and solving challenges in complex product environments

The Ideal candidate

• An expert at identifying ways to improve the customer experience 

• A fan of data and a believer in the opportunities it can unlock

• A confident and articulate communicator capable of inspiring strong collaboration within an organisation and between teams

• Leads market/user research, identifies market/user segments, determines market fit of the proposed solution

• Leads and facilitates group meetings as well as fosters and supports the development of positive collaborative culture across teams

• Demonstrates the ability to think beyond best practice solutions and innovate

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

We are offering a competitive salary and benefits including;

• Help saving for your retirement - join our pension scheme and we’ll match contributions up to 6%
• 25 days’ holiday per year when you join. After three, five and ten years’ service with Reach, you’ll accrue one additional day of annual leave. We also have a Holiday Purchase Scheme
• Giving back day - an additional day’s leave each year to support a cause close to your heart
• Enhanced family leave - including maternity, paternity and adoption - and you’ll be eligible after just six months’ employment
• Private Healthcare Cash Plan - free health cash plan so you can claim back cash for a range of medical expenses
• As one of the UK’s top 50 Inclusive Employers everyone’s invited to join our events, programmes and networks to celebrate diversity and build an environment where all our people can thrive
• Wellbeing support - including a 24/7 employee assistance programme (EAP) for you and your nearest and dearest
• Awesome career opportunities - you’ll have support from your line manager and a range of learning & development programmes
• We are also a member of the 30% Club, a global campaign aimed at increasing gender diversity at board and senior management levels

Reach plc believes diversity brings benefits for our customers, our business and our people. This is why we are committed to being an inclusive employer and encourage applications from all suitable applicants irrespective of background, circumstances, age, disability, gender identity, ethnicity, religion or belief and sexual orientation.