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And because we are a part of the academic community and guided in everything we do by our mission, we re-invest in our people, our publishing, and the world-leading research institution of which we are part.
About the Role
We're looking for a strategic and commercially minded Senior Strategic Analyst to lead the discovery, assessment, and definition of digital platform enhancements and AI-enabled product opportunities. Working across a portfolio of high-profile initiatives, you will develop robust business cases, gather and validate requirements, and provide evidence-based recommendations that balance customer needs, commercial growth, technical feasibility, and competitive advantage. You will play a key role in shaping innovative solutions, including conversational AI experiences and agentic workflows, that enhance customer value and support long-term business strategy.
Partnering with Product Managers, technical teams, subject matter experts, and external suppliers, you will lead complex discovery and analysis activities from concept through to implementation handover. Acting as the business owner for roadmap features, you will ensure alignment throughout the development lifecycle, manage scope impacts, contribute to platform strategy, and oversee User Acceptance Testing to ensure solutions meet agreed requirements and quality standards. You'll also provide expert guidance on product capabilities, technical options, and emerging technologies to support informed decision-making across the business.
The successful candidate will bring experience in business analysis, digital products, and technology-led change, with a strong understanding of AI tools and their practical application in both customer-facing products and internal operations. You will be comfortable managing initiatives with significant strategic, financial, or reputational impact, influencing stakeholders at all levels, and translating complex insights into clear recommendations. This is an exciting opportunity to shape the future of our digital platforms, become a recognised AI subject matter expert, and contribute directly to the growth and success of our products and services.
We operate a hybrid working policy that requires a minimum of 2 days per week in the Oxford office.
About You
Essential:
Familiarity with leading generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini), with the ability to explain how they work and practical use cases that can be achieved.
Experience leading stakeholder teams through features builds.
Excellent communication skills – both verbal and written, with high attention to detail.
Excellent stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to quickly build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders.
A good understanding of technical language and testing principles.
Desirable:
Technical fluency related to AI and the components that are integral to AI solutions/features, e.g., vector databases, chunks, top-k.
Business analysis experience, having worked in an environment driving business or technical change in complex projects or programmes.
A strong business background, preferably in publishing.
Benefits
We care about work/life balance here at OUP. With this in mind we offer 25 days’ holiday that rises with service, plus bank holidays and Christmas closure (3-days) and a 35-hour working week. We are open to discussing flexibility in respect to working patterns, dependent on role. We also have a great variety of active employee networks and societies.
We help make your money go further by contributing to your pension up to 12%, offering loans and savings schemes through our partnership with Salary Finance, in addition to travel to work schemes and access to a wide range of local discounts.
This role comes with the added benefit of a discretionary annual payment.
Please see our Rewards and Recognition page for more information.
Queries
Please contact
[email protected] with any queries relating to this role.
We are committed to supporting diversity in our workforce, and ensuring an inclusive environment where all individuals can thrive. We seek to employ a workforce representative of the markets that we serve and encourage applications from all.