Advanced Specialist, Commercial Portfolio Manager at Pearson · Hoboken

Commercial Portfolio Manager 

Overview 

Pearson is seeking an experienced Commercial Portfolio Manager to lead a portfolio of higher education courseware products, including digital platforms, eTexts, and print solutions. This role combines commercial ownership, portfolio strategy, customer-centric decision-making, and market foresight to support sustainable growth, strong learner outcomes, and long-term market relevance in a rapidly evolving education landscape. 

Reporting to the Director of Commercial Portfolio Management, the Commercial Portfolio Manager serves as the voice of the market and customer, translating market and customer insights into disciplined, data-driven investment decisions, portfolio strategy, and cross-functional execution that balance educational impact with financial performance. 

The role is intentionally balanced between external market engagement (approximately 45–50%) and portfolio management and execution activities (approximately 50%), ensuring close alignment between customer needs, market realities, and commercial outcomes. 

Key Responsibilities 

Portfolio Strategy, Planning & Growth Ownership 

• Own the commercial performance of a defined portfolio, using data-driven investment decisions to support profitability, market share, and return on investment. 

• Lead long-term portfolio planning, balancing near-term performance with long-term growth through disciplined prioritization, lifecycle management, and performance measurement. 

• Develop and execute portfolio strategies informed by customer needs, market dynamics, competitive positioning, and business objectives, including launching new offerings, piloting innovative models, and sunsetting underperforming products. 

• Maintain title- or product-level P&L ownership, building and managing business cases with clear ROI assumptions and adjusting investments based on performance. 

Customer and Market Insights 

• Represent the voice of the customer and market through ongoing engagement with instructors, students, sales partners, authors, and discipline thought leaders. 

• Conduct qualitative and quantitative market research through virtual and in-person faculty interviews, campus visits, conferences, product demonstrations, focus groups, advisory boards, and field engagement with sales. 

• Lead 360° market analysis by synthesizing customer insights, competitive intelligence, and market data to identify growth opportunities, emerging risks, and portfolio implications. 

• Track and assess trends such as digital adoption, platform competition, OER/low-cost alternatives, learning efficacy expectations, and GenAI-enabled experiences, translating findings into actionable portfolio recommendations. 

Data-Driven Decision Making & Business Acumen 

• Apply business acumen, analytics, and financial modeling to guide portfolio decisions, optimize investment allocation, and manage profitability. 

• Use data to evaluate options, test assumptions, solve complex problems, and recommend practical, value-oriented solutions. 

• Define and monitor KPIs to assess portfolio health, learner outcomes, and commercial performance, adjusting strategies and tactics as needed. 

Go-to-Market Strategy & Cross-Functional Execution 

• Shape and support integrated go-to-market strategies in partnership with Sales, Marketing, Product Management, Content Strategy, UX, Efficacy & Learning Research, Demand Planning, and Customer Support. 

• Partner with Sales on enablement, pipeline focus, high-impact customer interactions, and adoption-driving activities. 

• Communicate portfolio strategy, market insights, and recommendations clearly and effectively to a range of stakeholders, including senior leaders. 

• Provide guidance during development and production when scope, schedule, or budget risks arise, ensuring alignment with approved business cases and portfolio priorities. 

Innovation, AI & Future-Ready Portfolio Leadership 

• Incorporate emerging technologies, digital platforms, and generative AI into portfolio thinking to inform strategy, improve analysis, and support decision-making. 

• Partner with product and technology teams to evaluate, pilot, and scale innovative offerings and business models that support future portfolio needs. 

• Adjust plans and priorities in response to market shifts, organizational change, or new technologies. 

Relationship Management 

• Build and maintain productive relationships with authors, subject-matter experts, institutions, thought leaders, and external partners to support portfolio differentiation and value creation. 

• Manage contracts in partnership with legal, including author agreements, royalties, and partnership terms. 

• Support and mentor team members, contributing to a collaborative, learning-oriented, and improvement-focused culture. 

What Success Looks Like 

• A well-balanced portfolio that delivers measurable financial results, strong ROI, and positive learner outcomes. 

• Portfolio strategies that are informed by market insight and responsive to competitive and technological change. 

• Consistent, meaningful customer engagement informs decisions and strengthens market alignment. 

• Effective cross-functional collaboration that translates strategy into high-quality, market-ready products. 

Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience. 

• Experience in commercial portfolio, product, or business management, including digital and platform-based products. 

• Strong business acumen and data-driven decision-making skills, including financial analysis, performance measurement, and ROI-based investment planning. 

• Demonstrated ability to conduct market analysis and customer research and translate insights into portfolio and go-to-market actions. 

• Experience contributing to or leading go-to-market strategies in partnership with Sales and Marketing. 

• Ability to operate effectively in ambiguous, fast-changing environments and adapt plans as needed. 

• Working knowledge of digital learning technologies and emerging AI capabilities, with the ability to assess portfolio and commercial impact. 

• Strong communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills. 

• Experience managing author, SME, institutional, or external partner relationships, including contract and negotiation oversight. 

• Higher education or education-market experience strongly preferred; prior college sales or field-facing experience a plus. 

• Willingness and ability to travel approximately 10–25% of the time.