Product Manager - Identity

Pearson technology organization is pivoting to a service-based operating model and this role is critical to helping us establish a service management practice and team. You will be a part of the architecture and technology leadership team and the broader Chief Information Office’s organization.

The Product Manager for Identity and Access Management team will be responsible for maximizing the value delivered by the corporate Identity Service and ensuring that the team backlog is aligned with customer and stakeholder needs. As a member of the extended Service Management function, the SM is the team’s primary customer advocate and primary link between business and technology strategy.

How You’ll Make an Impact: The Mission

The Identity service you’ll manage will measurably impact the millions of students who interact with Pearson for Higher Education, Virtual Schools, Workforce Skills, Language Learning, Qualifications, and everything in between. In this role, you will partner closely with a diverse collection of people across the organization--from senior leadership to individual contributors across all our lines of business to create a singular Pearson learner identity and experience.

Connecting with the Customer:

• Our service strategy, design, and implementation must evolve with ever-changing customer desires and business needs. The Service Owner / Product Manager applies a customer-centric mindset to guide our technology teams toward delivering solutions that are desirable, viable, feasible, and sustainable.

• Know the Customer - Value is determined by the customer; therefore, the Service Owner / Product Manager is keenly aware of the needs of the people to whom their services are delivered. Customers may be internal or external to the enterprise and may have direct or indirect relationships with the Service Owner / Product Manager.

• Know the stakeholders – Service design and implementation must also reflect the needs of non-customer stakeholders.

• Identify the problem to be solved and develop solutions - solutions that address a range of customer needs are more valuable than those that target a single need.

Managing and Prioritizing the Team Backlog

• While Service Owners / Product Managers contemplate the solutions and experiences for the customer, they also understand what solutions and experiences the engineering teams can deliver. This practical insight is a valuable contribution to the vision and roadmaps that guide solution implementation. The Service Owner / Product Manager applies this pragmatic insight in the following ways:

• Understand market forces and trends – Market rhythms, market events, sudden opportunities, competitive threats, and changing regulations significantly influence strategy

• Represent the end user – Objective insights about how end-users interact with services and the features they desire most ensure that the vision and roadmap contain real value.

• Assist with Service Backlog prioritization – In collaboration with Product Management, System/Enterprise Architects, Release Managers, and other stakeholders, the Service Owners / Product Managers help guide the sequencing of features over time toward the best economic outcomes.

• Educate the Engineering Teams during planning – The Vision and Roadmap are living artifacts created and adjusted in alignment with business and technical strategy, but a portion of them is always in scope for near-term implementation.

Supporting the Team in Delivering Value

• Value is created when engineering teams pull from the backlog, implement stories, integrate, and test changes, and deliver a solution increment. As an integral member of the team and the primary customer proxy, the Service Owner / Product Manager provides daily insights that guide development toward the highest-value outputs and the team toward meeting iteration goals

• Balance stakeholder perspectives – Service Owners / Product Managers constantly receive input, feedback, and insights from customers, stakeholders, teams, and tools that can impact solution development. This information can validate, invalidate, or challenge implementation decisions unexpectedly.

• Elaborate Stories – Stories are typically created before iteration execution but require ongoing elaboration. Service Owners / Product Managers facilitate frequent conversations with their teams to resolve questions, manage dependencies, and communicate priorities that emerge as stories are implemented.

• Foster Built-In Quality – As the primary proxy for customers and stakeholders on the team, the Service Owner / Product Manager plays a pivotal role in evaluating the value delivered from the backlog.

• Participate in team and engineering process – As a member of the technology team, the Service Owners / Product Managers attends and actively participates in team events during execution.

Qualifications Needed

• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills

• Familiarity with product managements tools such as: JIRA, Confluence, Aha! etc.

• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to partner and drive change with people at all levels in the organization

• Expert skills in translating business requirements and value into functional requirements and engineering pipelines

• Experience leading and building a highly effective team of solution managers.

• Established track record of managing and driving multiple, long term, complex projects concurrently

• Ability to synthesize quantitative and qualitative feedback and insights to prioritize features, and influence decision making

• Thorough understanding and experience working in Agile, iterative practices

• Experience working with engineering and design teams to create high quality UI/UX experiences

• Highly detailed and organized in documenting informational resources and product requirements

• Ideally, this candidate will have 1-2 years’ experience in product management in the Identity and Access management (IDAM) field.

What to expect from Pearson

Did you know Pearson is one of the 10 most innovative education companies of 2022?

At Pearson, we add life to a lifetime of learning so everyone can realize the life they imagine. We do this by creating vibrant and enriching learning experiences designed for real-life impact. We are on a journey to be 100 percent digital to meet the changing needs of the global population by developing a new strategy with ambitious targets. To deliver on our strategic vision, we have five business divisions that are the foundation for the long-term growth of the company: Assessment & Qualifications, Virtual Learning, English Language Learning, Workforce Skills and Higher Education. Alongside these, we have our corporate divisions: Digital & Technology, Finance, Global Corporate Marketing & Communications, Human Resources, Legal, Strategy and Direct to Consumer. Learn more at We are Pearson.

We value the power of an inclusive culture and also a strong sense of belonging. We promote a culture where differences are embraced, opportunities are accessible, consideration and respect are the norm and all individuals are supported in reaching their full potential. Through our talent, we believe that diversity, equity and inclusion make us a more innovative and vibrant place to work. People are at the center, and we are committed to building a workplace where talent can learn, grow and thrive.

Pearson is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer and a member of E-Verify. We want a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. All employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit and business need. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other group protected by law. We strive for a workforce that reflects the diversity of our communities.

To learn more about Pearson’s commitment to a diverse and inclusive workforce, navigate to: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Pearson.

If you are an individual with a disability and are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our career site as a result of your disability, you may request reasonable accommodations by emailing ppsmhr@pearson.com.

Note that the information you provide will stay confidential and will be stored securely. It will not be seen by those involved in making decisions as part of the recruitment process.

Job: TECHNOLOGY

Organization: Corporate Strategy & Technology

Schedule: FULL_TIME

Req ID: 13881