Chief Product Officer

Role : Chief Product Officer

Team : Business Development Leadership Team

Package : Pension, Unlimited leave, Flexible working

Location : 1-2 days in the London office per week

Salary : Senior leadership package with an attractive bonus scheme

About Corndel:

Corndel is the UK’s leading strategic skills partner, working with some of the world’s largest and most ambitious organisations. We specialise in leadership, AI, data, and people development, delivering programmes that combine deep expertise, practical application and personalised coaching.

Our mission is to inspire people to think bigger and shape the future. Since 2016, we have scaled to a team of 550 and now support over 10,000 learners annually – achieving ~35% year-on-year growth for the past three years. We are proud to be part of Galileo Global Education, one of the world’s largest education groups.

We are entering our next phase of growth – transforming how our products evolve to meet rapid shifts in technology, policy and employer needs. Our focus is on delivering measurable impact for individuals and our clients, while maintaining our position as the market leader in quality.

The role:

This newly created Chief Product Officer role is a critical member of our leadership team. You will shape the future of Corndel’s product strategy across apprenticeships, higher education and commercial training, ensuring our programmes remain in-demand, innovative and impactful.

Corndel is entering a pivotal phase. We have grown rapidly and are now aligning the business around a clearer product strategy and structure. This role will provide the inspirational leadership to take our product development approach to the next level —evolving how we design, deliver and scale programmes to meet the aspirations of the business and the changing needs of employers and learners.

Working closely with the Chief Commercial Officer and other senior colleagues, you will define the vision for our product portfolio and lead the evolution of our Academies and programmes. You will ensure they remain distinctive, grounded in world-class partnerships, built on quality, and designed to deliver measurable impact for learners and employers.

This is a unique opportunity to join a high-growth, purpose-driven organisation at a moment of transformation — shaping the products that will inspire people to think bigger and shape the future.

Responsibilities include:

Product Strategy and Partnerships

• Define and deliver Corndel’s product strategy across apprenticeships, higher education and commercial training.

• Leverage our world-class partnerships (Imperial College, Microsoft, and respected awarding bodies) to integrate the latest thinking to our programmes.

• Working closely with the strategy team, align product strategy with wider business priorities, market research, and policy developments.

• Engage with external stakeholders such as Skills England and DfE/DWP to represent Corndel’s interests and shape the skills agenda.

Product Lifecycle Management

• Own the end-to-end product lifecycle – from discovery and design through to launch, scaling and continuous improvement.

• Evolve our launch and introduction of new and updated products to ensure they land seamlessly and are a great experience for learners, clients and our people.

• Embed agile and adaptive development processes, recognising that different product types (e.g. apprenticeships, short courses, higher education programmes) may require different methodologies, review cycles and speed of iteration.

• Maintain rigorous focus on quality and learner/employer outcomes throughout the lifecycle.

AI and Innovation

• Lead the strategic use of AI in product development and learning experiences –enabling experts to design, test and integrate AI-driven tools that enhance relevance, adaptability and impact.

• Ensure programmes remain in demand by anticipating market needs and refreshing products to address emerging needs of our clients.

Team Leadership and Collaboration

• Build and lead a high-performing product function that unites design, technology and delivery capability.

• Inspire and develop team members, creating a culture of collaboration, innovation and accountability.

• Establish clear ways of working that get the best from individuals and teams, enabling them to deliver at pace while maintaining quality.

• Anticipate and manage the risks inherent in product development – balancing ambition with pragmatism to ensure successful outcomes.

• Review and recommend the optimal organisation structure to support product development at scale.

Stakeholder and Market Engagement

• Collaborate with senior colleagues to align product initiatives with businessstrategy.

• Develop and maintain external relationships with industry experts, awarding bodies and technology partners to ensure Corndel stays ahead of best practice.

• Act as a visible ambassador for Corndel, representing our products and impact at events, in policy forums and in key client engagements.

About You:

• You are an inclusive and collaborative leader, trusted by stakeholders and respected for your integrity.

• You are a strategic product leader with the vision to shape a market-leading portfolio and the pragmatism to deliver results at pace.

• You thrive at the intersection of people and technology, enabling experts to harness AI and emerging tools to enhance both product development and the learner experience.

• You balance ambition with pragmatism: comfortable influencing at executive level while also getting close to the detail to ensure delivery.

• You are driven by measurable outcomes for learners, employers, and Corndel’s growth, and you hold yourself and others to high quality standards.

Experience and Skills:

Essential:

• Significant senior leadership experience (typically 10+ years) in product, commercial or related roles, with a demonstrable ability to shape and deliver market-leading products or services.

• Demonstrated success in developing and executing product strategies that deliver growth, differentiation and measurable impact.

• Experience operating in high-growth or transformational contexts, with the ability to set direction and deliver at pace.

• Strong commercial acumen and ability to align product innovation with business goals and client outcomes.

• Credibility in leading experts across disciplines, including AI and technology enabled learning, without needing to be the technical specialist.

• Inclusive and collaborative leadership style, with a record of building high performing teams and uniting diverse stakeholders.

• Excellent communication and influencing skills, able to engage effectively with board members, clients and delivery teams.

• Pragmatic and hands-on when required, balancing strategic vision with operational detail.

Desirable:

• Experience in education, training, professional services or other complex B2B environments.

• Experience of building products in partnership with universities, awarding bodies or major corporate partners.

• Exposure to leveraging AI and emerging technologies to enhance learning experiences and product development.

Why join Corndel?

• You will play a central role in shaping the next phase of growth for one of the UK’s most ambitious and successful skills businesses.

• Corndel is recognised for quality and excellence by learners, employers and independent bodies – and your work will be critical to maintaining and strengthening that leadership position.

• We are transforming how organisations build capability, with distinctive solutions across apprenticeships, higher education and commercial training. You will have the opportunity to lead innovation at the heart of this transformation.

• You will join a collaborative, ambitious and inclusive senior team that values flexibility, trust and autonomy.

• We recruit for skills and experience – and give leaders the space to apply them, to make an impact for learners, employers and the business.

As part of our commitment to create an inclusive workplace where all colleagues can be their true selves, excel in their roles and progress in their careers, we recognise the importance of embracing the diversity in the working population and making Corndel a fully accessible employer.

As Corndel is a Disability Confident Employer, we make sure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for a job will be offered an interview. If you would like to be considered under this scheme, when submitting your application, please select the appropriate option to let us know that you have a disability. Please note this does not mean that all disabled people are entitled to an interview, in some recruitment situations such as peak times, we might need to limit the overall numbers of interviews we offer.

If you have a disability that might affect any stage of the recruitment process, please let us know about any help or reasonable adjustments you need before any interview or assessment. We’ll work with you to make sure any appropriate support is in place and make the application process a more positive experience.

Corndel is committed to safeguarding and safer recruitment practices and will undertake pre-employment checks on the successful candidate, including Standard DBS Disclosure

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