Senior Product Manager, Arbor Education
£70k
More information about location
We helps schools transform the way they work using data
Be an early applicant
We helps schools transform the way they work using data
201-500 employees
Be an early applicant
£70k
More information about location
201-500 employees
Company mission
Arbor's mission to transform the way schools work for the better, and it starts by giving everyone the right tools and technology for the job.
Role
Who you are
- SaaS Product Experience: Strong experience in a B2B or B2C SaaS product environment
- UI/UX Fluency: Solid understanding of user experience design methodologies and interface best practices
- Tooling Proficiency: Hands-on experience with product management systems such as Jira, Figma, Productboard and Slite
- Framework Mastery: Practical experience applying structured, data-driven prioritisation frameworks (specifically RICE)
- Agile Delivery: Proven track record running agile working practices and sprint ceremonies
- Communication & Autonomy: Strong communication skills with a self-starter mindset and complete ownership of outcomes
- Mission Alignment: A true passion for improving the working lives of school staff and thriving in a fast-paced environment
Desirable
- UK Education Domain Knowledge: Understanding of the UK school system, MAT structures, or statutory educational data frameworks
- Analytics Tools: Experience working with user engagement data in platforms like Mixpanel, Pendo or Gainsight
What the job involves
- As a Senior Product Manager, you’ll be a vital cross-functional catalyst at Arbor. You will take abstract, overlapping software development lifecycles—from initial discovery through to go-to-market execution—and turn them into intuitive, high-impact features
- Working closely with engineering, design, and commercial teams, you will own the strategic roadmap for core user-facing capabilities that impact millions of daily interactions across UK schools
- Ultimately, you will be accountable for driving platform adoption, elevating customer satisfaction, and unlocking revenue growth
- Own, prioritise and execute the product vision and delivery roadmap for assigned tools and features
- Translate broad product strategy into clear operational plans, milestones, and release timescales
- Partner with the CTO, Lead Engineers, and executive peers to commercialise innovative capabilities that support company growth
- Backlog Management & Requirements Engineering
- Empathise with MIS users, turning complex operational needs into clear problem statements, epics, and user stories
- Rigorously prioritise backlogs using data, customer usage trends and the RICE framework
- Manage technical tickets and tasks across tools like Jira, Figma and Productboard
- Lead routine sprint ceremonies, backlog grooming, and planning sessions in direct partnership with your Lead Engineer
- Balance high product quality with on-time delivery schedules
- Drive continuous team process improvements by monitoring software pipeline performance
- Build structural wireframes and interface concepts independently to rapidly test and iterate solutions
- Partner with UX/UI and Frontend teams to deliver measurable usability improvements
- Ensure all interface changes align strictly with modern UI/UX standards
- Collaborate with Finance and Legal teams to ensure national statutory and regulatory educational requirements are built into specifications
- Align product functionality directly with revenue targets, partnering with Sales and Marketing to execute effective go-to-market plans
- Educate internal Sales and Customer Success teams on upcoming releases and feature updates
- Represent Arbor at sales meetings, user forums, and national education conferences
Application process
- Phone screen
- 1st stage
- 2nd stage
Our take
Arbor helps schools transform the way they work, saving teachers time and improving student outcomes.
The mess and stress of data and admin is a major source of unhappiness in our schools. 60% of a teacher's time is spent on admin-related work, 53% agree that it contributes to stress and it's only getting worse every year. Arbor is tackling this by building hassle-free school technology. The company has two products, a Management Information System to automate school workflows, saving teachers time, and benchmarking analytics to identify areas of concern and reduce time to intervention.
With a team of diverse and experienced individuals, including former teachers and education specialists, the company stands poised to enact meaningful change within the sector, Its mission is clear: to assist schools in prioritising what matters most - enhancing the well-being of teachers and fostering positive student outcomes worldwide.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 5 rounds)
Apr 2020
$4.1m
EARLY VC
Dec 2018
$2.5m
EARLY VC
Total funding: $14.4m
Company benefits
- Aside from the chance to work alongside a team of hard-working, passionate people in a role where you’ll see the impact of your work everyday.
- At Arbor we're passionate about learning, and to support this we have a dedicated training budget for all teams.
- Dedicated Mental Health First Aiders and Wellbeing Champions with ongoing support and learning around mental health.
- Depending on your role we can also offer you flexible working - just mention it in your interview and we'll let you know what your options are
- We have regular team socials where we spend dedicated time together. This year we've had BBQs, been to theatre shows, gone white water rafting, and more!
- Half-day summer Fridays Plus, we shut the office for a day at Easter and over Christmas so you get some extra time off then too!
- 25 days holiday (excl. bank holidays)
- EAP - Choice of comprehensive 24/7 support services with UK and Ireland's most trusted health and wellbeing network.
- We're all about making an impact! So everyone who joins us gets 1 day a year to volunteer for a charity or cause of their choice
Company values
- Own what you do - We act like owners, embrace responsibility and own the outcomes of our work - both good and bad!
- Everyday's a school day - Education and technology have changed more in the last 10 years than in the last 100. We need to embrace change and continually challenge ourselves to grow and stay ahead
- Make an impact - We take pride in being part of a movement to improve how schools work, so we're always thinking about how we can make a difference
- No-one can whistle a symphony - ...it takes an orchestra! We work together as a team to help each other, our partners and our customers to achieve their full potential
Company HQ
London, UK
Articles
Leadership
James Weatherill
(Co-Founder & CEO)Previously Analyst at Ledbury Research for 3 years and Venture Manager at Therefore Ventures for 1 year
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Arbor Education
Ben Ainger (Talent Acquisition Lead)
- At Arbor, our mission is to transform the ways schools work. That means we serve a broad and diverse professional community - from teachers to SLT to Support Staff - and an equally diverse student and parent community. We want to make sure we build the best products for our schools, and we passionately believe that starts with building a workforce as diverse as the communities we serve
- As of today we know we’re not there yet, but we’re committed to doing the work to improve. We want Arbor to be a workplace which represents, celebrates and supports people from all backgrounds, and which gives them the tools they need to thrive
- Our focus over the past few months has been on understanding where we need to improve, and on making sure that everyone at Arbor has had the chance to share their views. So far, we’ve established a Diversity and Inclusion Committee, surveyed our team, hosted training and workshops, and reviewed our recruitment process. We know we’ve still got big work to do, but we’re actively working on it. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on how we’re doing
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