Head of Product (EdTech)
RecruitHer is partnering with a global EdTech organisation that is building a learning community for young people to develop real skills, complete meaningful projects and create stronger pathways into higher education and employment.
The organisation works with learners, universities, education partners, employers and industry experts across several global markets. Its learning model is based on active participation and real projects, rather than passive content or simulated tasks.
At the centre of this work is a community platform where learners can:
• Find learning programmes and projects
• Connect with peers, educators and mentors
• Build portfolios that show real work
• Earn and manage recognised credentials
• Demonstrate skills to universities and employers
• Access pathways into further study, internships and early career opportunities
The platform already exists and supports current education programmes and institutional partnerships. The next stage is to turn it into a scalable, always available learning community that learners actively choose to return to.
The role
The Head of Product will own the product strategy, platform thesis and roadmap.
You’ll bring together the needs of learners, educators, universities, employers and other partners, then turn those needs into a clear and focused product direction.
This is a senior individual contributor role with significant leadership responsibility. You’ll work closely with a small engineering team, experienced design support, learning specialists and senior leaders across the organisation.
You’ll need to set the direction and do the work. That means moving comfortably between long term platform strategy, user research, prioritisation, product decisions and day to day delivery.
This role suits someone who has built a community platform or scaled online learning product and understands why people join, participate, contribute and return.
Location: New York City, hybrid
Employment type: Full time
Start: ASAP
Salary: $220,000 to $250,000 base salary (negotiable based on expereince)
What you’ll be responsible for
Own the platform strategy
Define a clear product thesis for a global learning and community platform.
Create and manage a roadmap that supports current institutional programmes while building towards a wider, learner led community.
Decide which user problems the organisation should solve now, which should come later and which shouldn’t be prioritised.
Build meaningful participation
Design the systems that help learners move from joining the platform to becoming active contributors.
This may include:
• Learner profiles
• Portfolios and project records
• Reputation and contribution systems
• Credentials and skill evidence
• Peer and mentor connections
• Learning and career pathways
• Community spaces and collaboration tools
You’ll understand that community isn’t created by adding a forum. It comes from well designed reasons to participate, contribute, connect and return.
Connect learning with opportunity
Build a platform that helps learners show what they can do, not only what courses they’ve completed.
You’ll help create stronger links between projects, portfolios, credentials, higher education and employment opportunities.
This includes working through questions around credential frameworks, assessment, trust, platform integrations and how learner achievements can be recognised across different organisations.
Lead through influence
Work closely with engineering, design, learning, commercial and partnership teams across several countries and time zones.
Bring structure to different stakeholder needs and strong opinions.
Say no or not now when needed, while keeping trust high and explaining the reasoning clearly.
Work directly with users
Engage learners, educators and community members throughout product development.
Use research, rapid prototypes, product data and real usage patterns to shape decisions.
Test assumptions early rather than relying on seniority, internal opinion or the loudest stakeholder.
Increase product pace
Create a clear product process across discovery, delivery, testing and measurement.
Move quickly from an early product to a platform that can support far greater learner and partner demand.
Set and track meaningful measures, including:
• Activation
• Retention
• Contribution
• Project participation
• Portfolio completion
• Credential achievement
• Progression into education or work opportunities
Shape the commercial model
Work with senior leaders to explore and test revenue models for the platform.
Make sure product decisions support both learner outcomes and a sustainable business model.
You don’t need to be a finance leader, but you should understand how product strategy, user value and commercial models connect.
Tell a clear product story
Communicate what the organisation is building, why it matters and what happens next.
Create a product narrative that makes sense to learners, universities, employers, funders and internal teams.
What you bring
• At least 10 years of product management experience
• Senior experience building or scaling an online community, learning platform or creator platform
• Evidence of taking a product from one main use case into a platform serving several user groups
• Experience designing participation, contribution, reputation or community systems
• Strong understanding of online learning, learner engagement or skills based education
• A record of owning both product strategy and delivery
• Experience working with engineering and design on complex web products
• Strong product judgement and the ability to make difficult trade offs
• Confidence working with senior founders and leaders who are closely involved in the product
• The ability to turn many ideas and stakeholder requests into a clear plan
• Strong user research and participatory design experience
• Technical fluency across platform architecture, APIs, integrations, credentials or assessment systems
• Commercial understanding, including how platform and revenue models affect product choices
• Clear communication and strong product storytelling skills
• Experience working across cultures, organisations and time zones
Helpful, but not essential
• Experience with recognised credentials, portfolios or skills assessment
• Experience working with universities or education partners
• Knowledge of open source communities and contribution models
• Experience with AI features that help learners participate, create and make stronger choices
• Understanding of motivational design and how learning products can create belonging
• Experience within a founder led or early stage organisation
The kind of person who’ll do well here
You’re curious, direct and comfortable taking ownership.
You can take a complex conversation with several competing views and turn it into a clear product decision.
You’re strategic, but you don’t need a large team before you can make progress.
You enjoy building, testing and learning. You’re willing to change your view when the evidence points somewhere else.
You can work through some ambiguity and changing priorities without losing sight of the learner or the wider product direction.
About RecruitHer
RecruitHer partners with EdTech organisations to build strong, inclusive teams and connect them with talented professionals from a wide range of backgrounds.
We welcome applications from people whose experience doesn’t follow a traditional route. Research shows that women and people from underrepresented groups often apply only when they meet every requirement. You don’t need to tick every box to start a conversation.
