Director, Digital Transformation (Product) na QS Quacquarelli Symonds

Role: Director, Digital Transformation (Product)

Location: UK, London

Job type: Full time, Permanent – Hybrid

This position offers a hybrid work model, allowing flexibility between working from home and our office.

Due to the nature and scope of the role, you will be expected to work 4 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 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. And as a gold-accredited Investors in People organisation – putting us among the top 28% of workplaces globally – it’s official: QS is a place where everyone can thrive.

As a Director, Digital Transformation (Product), this is what you’ll be doing:

We are transforming how we engage students across multiple channels, including our digital platforms, online communities, and partner integrations. Our goal: connect students via a unique and distinctive customer proposition with the right institutions while enabling our clients to recruit their ideal candidates.

This role will build student-focused digital solutions that:

• Drive engagement across a full and distinctive student journey.
• Monetise engagement and conversion via institutional client partnerships (not student fees).
• Target and convert high-value student segments as recruitment dynamics evolve.

We are seeking a product leader with:

• Demonstrated success in taking a digital product from launch to profitability in today’s online landscape, or in transforming a legacy product to align with the behaviours and expectations of Gen Z and Gen Alpha. 
• Experience of delivering a distinctive customer service experience on digital platforms.
• Expertise in optimising for AI-driven search while protecting proprietary data.
• Strong product background and understanding of the technology, teams, and processes needed to deliver impactful digital solutions.
• The ability to deliver a cohesive digital strategy that grows engagement, conversion, and revenue.
  

Role responsibilities

Product vision, strategy and roadmap

• Define and execute a digital strategy that scales student engagement and drives institutional conversions.
• Develop, maintain, and communicate a clear product vision and multi-quarter roadmap aligned to business objectives.
• Own the end-to-end student experience, from initial engagement to enrolment, across all QS channels and platforms.
• Build, launch, and scale products informed by market trends, competitor analysis, and user insights.
• Innovate in user journeys, personalisation, and matching using emerging technologies, including generative AI.
• Apply scalable platform thinking, designing modular, extensible solutions to support future growth and integrations.
• Ensure products meet legal, data privacy, and ethical AI standards.

Product discovery and market insight

• Drive structured discovery processes, including market research, competitor analysis, and user interviews, to rapidly validate ideas before moving to build.
• Identify and target high-value student segments as recruitment dynamics evolve.
• Safeguard QS’s high-value datasets while maximising AI-influenced search opportunities.
• Establish formal innovation pipelines for rapid prototyping, experimentation, and commercialisation of new ideas.
• Incorporate global and inclusive design principles, ensuring solutions meet accessibility and localisation requirements.

Planning, prioritisation and execution

• Define the QS student experience and ensure clear points of distinctiveness and differentiation are maintained relative to competitors. 
• product requirements and manage a clear, data-driven prioritisation process balancing customer value, business impact, and technical feasibility.
• Implement and refine product development frameworks (e.g., Agile, Scrum, Kanban) to improve delivery speed and quality.
• Manage product budgets and resource allocation to ensure efficient delivery.
• Oversee back-end systems, including CRM platforms.
• Integrate systems with partner institutions to enhance conversion and value.
• Drive operational excellence in delivery processes, release management, and quality assurance.

Cross-functional leadership and stakeholder engagement

• Lead within the Candidate Engagement senior leadership group the end-to-end student experience across QS assets
• Lead and mentor product managers, collaborating closely with technology leads to deliver rapid, data-driven improvements.
• Facilitate alignment across marketing, sales, operations, and engineering through regular updates, workshops, and decision-making forums.
• Actively contribute to building a strong internal product culture and community, embedding best practices and coaching PM talent.

Metrics, measurement and continuous improvement

• Establish measurable success criteria, track performance against key metrics, and adjust strategy accordingly.
• Define analytics requirements, use experimentation (A/B, multivariate) and behavioural data to drive product decisions.
• Coordinate go-to-market planning, product launches, and post-launch analysis in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate product, market, and operational risks throughout the development cycle.
• Manage the full product lifecycle from ideation through optimisation to timely retirement of underperforming features.
• Link product outcomes directly to commercial impact through ROI analysis, pricing models, and monetisation strategies.

Other duties

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

Key skills and experience

• Track record of taking digital products from concept to profitability.
• Track record of mapping out and delivering distinctive customer journeys
• Strong product leadership in digital engagement and conversion.
• Understanding of AI’s impact on search, discovery, and conversion.
• Solid grasp of key technologies, architectures, and integration approaches, enabling effective collaboration with technical teams.
• Ability to translate engagement into measurable revenue through institutional partnerships.
• Strong leadership, communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills.

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 (Meltwater 2023). Our 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.

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
• Access to QSmiles – a discount scheme that actually makes a significant difference
• 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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