Pearson’s Higher Education business is seeking a strategic, results-driven Senior Director of Production, Publishing, and Content Standards to lead the functional Centres of Excellence (CoEs) that power our courseware development at scale. This leader will play a pivotal role in driving the operational excellence, quality, and future-readiness of our content, ensuring it meets Pearson’s highest standards for accessibility, consistency, and AI-readiness.
Reporting to the Vice President of Content Strategy and Digital Delivery, this role is accountable for transforming and optimizing how we produce, publish, and maintain content; establishing the infrastructure, standards, tools, and workflows that enable our delivery teams (Pods) to operate with greater speed, efficiency, and excellence. Their leadership will power the seamless use of AI-driven solutions in areas such as metadata management, quality assurance, media production, and custom content delivery, allowing Pearson to accelerate time-to-market, improve product quality, and unlock new revenue and efficiency opportunities
This is not a just delivery function, but a strategic enablement role; and a critical leadership role for an operational innovator who thrives on driving change, scaling operational excellence, and empowering teams to deliver world-class educational products.

EXPERIENCE, SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE:

• Proven senior leadership experience in content production, publishing operations, or content supply chain management within education, media, or digital publishing sectors.
• Deep expertise in content standards, quality assurance, and digital publishing, with a strong track record of driving operational excellence at scale.
• Experience leading large, complex teams and vendor networks, with a focus on transformation, continuous improvement, and scaling operations.
• Demonstrated ability to embed accessibility, quality, and compliance standards into end-to-end workflows.
• Strong understanding of digital content ecosystems, including metadata management, version control, and multichannel distribution (e.g., retail partners like VitalSource, Amazon).
• Hands-on experience driving automation, workflow optimization, and adopting AI-powered tools in content production or publishing environments.
• Commercially minded, with experience enabling revenue growth through operational excellence, custom publishing, or innovative content solutions.
• Exceptional leadership, stakeholder management, and change management skills, with the ability to influence at executive levels and drive alignment across global, matrixed teams.

THIS ROLE OVERSEES THE FOLLOWING CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE:

Content Standards & Accessibility: Implementation and continuous evolution of Pearson’s Global Content Standards, including the Quality Standards Framework (effective July). Provides consultancy, frameworks, tools, audits, and training that ensure all content meets Pearson’s quality, consistency, and accessibility requirements. This function is critical to embedding scalable, repeatable standards that drive excellence in every product.
Quality Assurance (QA): End-to-end QA function for courseware, including accessibility QA. Ensures that delivery teams are fully equipped with the right QA processes, tools, and expert resources to guarantee flawless execution.
Digital Publishing & Live Operations: All digital publishing workflows, live content operations, and ongoing in-market content updates, ensuring content is published seamlessly, maintained to the highest standards, and continuously improved in-market. This CoE also includes accountability for the operational management of US HE’s channel distribution partners (e.g., VitalSource, Amazon, and other retailers or aggregators), ensuring content is delivered accurately, on time, and fully aligned with platform specifications.
Media Production & Graphic Design: Drives the transformation of media production and design services. Establishes scalable, standardized approaches that balance creative excellence with operational efficiency. Leads the development of a comprehensive graphic design strategy aligned with Pearson’s brand, UX, and learning design principles.
Custom Publishing & Collections: Leads the growth of custom publishing as a strategic differentiator, delivering tailored solutions that drive incremental revenue, protect core revenue, and enhance customer value.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead and evolve the Centres of Excellence (CoEs) for Production, Publishing, Quality Assurance, Media, and Content Standards to enable efficient, high-quality, AI-ready, and scalable content delivery.
• Drive the implementation, governance, and continuous improvement of Pearson’s Global Content Standards, including accessibility requirements and ensuring content is structured, tagged, and produced in ways that support AI-powered solutions and workflows.
• Own the end-to-end Quality Assurance function, embedding robust QA processes, including AI-assisted quality checks and accessibility validation while ensuring delivery teams are resourced with the right expertise.
• Oversee all digital publishing operations, live content management, and version control, ensuring seamless execution, accuracy, and continuous content improvement, while advancing automation, AI-driven metadata management, and smart publishing tools.
• Manage operations for channel distribution partners (e.g., VitalSource, Amazon, and others), ensuring content delivery, metadata accuracy, and platform compliance are optimized using AI-driven tools where possible to improve scale, speed, and accuracy.
• Lead the transformation of media production and graphic design services by developing standardized frameworks and scalable processes, while exploring AI-enabled tools (e.g., generative media, automated design components) to enhance efficiency and creative output.
• Develop and drive the growth of Custom Publishing and Collections as a key revenue driver and VIP customer differentiator, leveraging AI to support rapid content assembly, personalization, and automation at scale.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Content Strategy, Product, Technology, and Commercial teams to ensure operational processes and content delivery models are AI-compatible and support Pearson’s broader AI-driven transformation.
• Drive operational innovation, automation, and efficiency improvements by adopting AI-powered solutions for content management, QA, publishing, and media production while maintaining high standards of quality, accessibility, and customer satisfaction.
• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of senior managers and subject matter experts, fostering a culture of excellence, continuous improvement, and readiness for AI-driven workflows and capabilities.