Product Manager: Plants for Health

Full-Time Royal Botanic Gardens, Richmond Salary: £50,000 - £56,000 per annum (pro rata), depending on skills and experience Closes: 2022-03-18

Full time, Fixed Term (FTA) – Up to 4 years 

This role is based at Kew with the option of regular home working, subject to operational requirements.

Kew seeks an energetic and experienced Product Manager to lead its exciting new initiative “Plants for Health”, developing innovative digital products and information services to meet the needs of diverse audiences in public health and research.

Plants for Health is global in scope. It will deploy Kew’s authoritative botanical and mycological data and expertise to enhance the safety and efficacy with which plant and fungus -derived health products are developed, manufactured, regulated and used. It will facilitate information exchange across regions and disciplines, enabling distinct but related industries to share information effectively for the first time. The project builds upon “Medicinal Plant Names Services (MPNS, www.kew.org/mpns)”: which has become the default global reference for herbal medicines and plant-derived drugs. MPNS is employed in drug regulation, industry, and natural products research.  Plants for Health will expand to address the information needs of a significantly wider set of audiences working with nutritional supplements, beverages, allergens, toxins, and cosmetics.

We work with a diverse and complex network of stakeholders and users and collaborate particularly closely with seven international agencies representing different health domains committed to partnering Kew to implement Plants for Health: including the World Health Organisation, The US Food and Drugs Administration & The World Intellectual Property Organisation.

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew) is a leading plant science institute, UNESCO World Heritage Site, and major visitor attraction. Our mission is to understand and protect plants and fungi for the well-being of people and the future of all life on Earth.

We are working to end the unprecedented extinction crisis and to help create a world where nature is protected, valued by all and managed sustainably. We will achieve these goals by drawing on our leading scientific research, unrivalled collections of plants and fungi, global network of partners, inspirational gardens at Kew and Wakehurst, and our 260 years of history.

Join us on our journey as protectors of the world’s plants and fungi.

The Product Manager will lead the project and work with our institutional partners and userbase, to derive a clear understanding of their needs and our role.  The postholder will expand this user network and guide development of our information services to ensure their efficacy, impact and longevity through developing a value proposition and sustainability plan to sustain the initiative beyond the 4-year development phase.

The role requires an energetic person capable of communicating effectively and enthusiastically with a wide range of stakeholders and audiences externally, whilst leading, mentoring and motivating the project team.The post-holder will have previous experience of delivering information products, ideally involving a complex stakeholder landscapes and complex information requirements. The individual should have experience of working across the full product lifecycle, of devising communications strategies and of business modelling for sustainability.

An understanding and experience of working in a non-commercial or scientific environment or familiarity with natural product research and the “botanics” industry would be advantageous.

Our fantastic benefits package includes opportunities for continuous learning, a generous annual leave entitlement, flexible working to help you maintain a healthy work-life balance, an Employee Assistance Programme and other wellbeing support such as cycle to work scheme and discounted gym membership. We also offer a competitive pension, an employee discount scheme and free entry into a wide range of national museums and galleries, as well access to our own beautiful gardens at Kew and Wakehurst.

If you are interested in this position, please visit our website for more information and to apply.

Closing Date: 18/03/2022

We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from all sections of the community. We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.

No agencies please.

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