VP of Product

About the company

Apolitical is a global learning network for government. Our mission is to make government work better for people and the planet. We equip policymakers with the knowledge, skills and community they need to solve the world’s hardest challenges. Our platform is used by more than 100,000 public servants and policymakers in 170 countries, with members ranging from mayors, ministers, and heads of civil services to millennials pioneering digital innovations. Apolitical is backed by mission-driven investors around the world and by prestigious European Union innovation funding. Apolitical’s decision-making and team culture is guided by The Apolitical Leadership Principles and The Apolitical Charter.

About the role

With a rapidly growing need for online knowledge sharing and learning in governments around the world, Apolitical is hiring a VP of Product in order to accelerate our work to help public servants more effectively tackle the world’s biggest challenges — from pandemics and climate change to equality, ethical AI and cyber security.

Reporting directly to the CEO, you will define and drive the product strategy of the company at the highest level. Joining at a time of critical growth, you will steer the response to increasingly complex and company-defining social and technical challenges.   

As a hands-on visionary leader capable of inspiring your colleagues and network, you will be passionate about the problem you are solving and about how to deploy technology to do this. With the ability to move at pace on multiple tasks and take projects from design to execution and evaluation, you will use your knowledge to grow and develop a cross-functional team to build and execute growth and product development, driven always by data and a deep appreciation for user needs and experience.

Your Role

• Steer and refine the vision for the product – for now a freemium knowledge sharing network and online course platform, over time, a slate of tools and products that transform government effectiveness
• Follow the wider knowledge-sharing and social tech markets, working with the executive team to develop the future product roadmap and monetisation strategy
• Decide how to turn big long-term ambition into a concrete roadmap of features and content
• Creatively solve challenges, drawing on industry best practice whilst still charting a unique course
• Communicate the path to diverse groups inside and outside the company, getting their buy-in and tapping into their insights
• Make complex trade-offs with the resources available – you must be end-user-led, but also account for customers, investors, executives and competitors 
• Grow and develop an interdisciplinary team, from product managers, designers and user researchers to content creators and instructional designers
• Be driven by qualitative and quantitative data – obsessively monitor KPIs and user research findings to improve engagement and retention

Requirements

• Demonstrable experience as VP/Head/Director of Product where you have directly implemented product solutions and have enhanced the lives of users
• Proven ability building and leading lead high performing product teams, inspiring and empowering them to work towards common goals
• Experience in managing complex projects with user engagement at the core, remaining agile in an ever-changing environment
• Capable of coming up with creative ways of engaging a unique user base  
• Open to productive, intellectually stimulating debate and a strong critical thinker 
• Curiosity, creativity and flexibility; be ready to take initiative and get your hands dirty
• An enthusiastic self-starter who can manage projects autonomously, with the ability to toggle between attending to detail and steering according big picture context and company vision
• Stakeholder management abilities with strong business acumen and ability to work cross-functionally and report back to multiple leaders across the business 
• Strong left and right brain; known for creativity but also for analytical thinking and rigorous testing, measurement and iteration to drive continuous improvement 

This is a unique, career-defining opportunity for a creative product leader to shape and build a pioneering company with global reach and impact – putting amazing ideas and connections at the fingertips of public servants in 170+countries, and helping to improve the world we live in. 

For a confidential conversation, please connect with [email protected]

Apolitical is an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate and will take affirmative action measures to ensure against discrimination in employment, recruitment, advertisements for employment, compensation, termination, upgrading, promotions, and other conditions of employment against any employee or job applicant on the bases of race, colour, gender, national origin, age, religion, creed, disability, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.