Assistant Manager, Product Strategy

Assistant Manager, Product Strategy

Brother International Europe Ltd

📍Audenshaw, Manchester (Hybrid - 2 days on site per week)

📝 A note from the Hiring Manager:

This role sits at the centre of a lot of what makes the Product Strategy team successful. It requires someone with real technical credibility, who takes ownership without needing to be asked, who makes decisions others can rely on, and who genuinely enjoys helping a team succeed as much as succeeding personally.

You’ll be managing a specialist team across product, technical enablement, and presales. That means owning priorities, developing people, and being trusted to make the calls that matter. It also means being confident enough to say, “I don’t know yet” and structured enough to do something about it. Technical credibility matters here. Our European offices genuinely depend on us, and this role is often the point where complex issues get resolved properly.

In my own experience, the “At your side” culture at Brother is real. Your voice is respected, ownership is welcomed, and high performing people are recognised. You’ll be leading a small, experienced Product Strategy team that works closely together, challenges each other honestly, and values openness and doing things properly. This role will require travel, and you will be encouraged to enjoy the locations and local culture, with support from colleagues across Europe and beyond.

If a leadership role is on your horizon, and you enjoy developing others and being trusted with real responsibility, in a company and team that genuinely cares about its people, that’s the opportunity on offer.

🏢 About Brother

Brother is a global brand, delivering products and services to customers worldwide with manufacturing and sales facilities in over 40 countries and regions.

Since being established in 1908 as a sewing machine repair business, the Brother Group has grown to be at the forefront of innovation in its history of more than 110 years. Underlying all activities is our “At your side” spirit, which always places our customers first.

We do this with a customer-first attitude and commitment to the circular economy, ensuring minimal impact on the environment through our “At your side 2030” vision and environmentally conscious approach.

🌍 About BIE

Brother International Europe is the European Headquarters for the Brother Group and supports 20 sales offices across the region.

Our teams provide expertise across product, logistics, environmental strategy, IT, finance and operations. As an Investors in People organisation, BIE are committed to the growth and development of our people, reflected in how roles are designed and supported.

🌀 About the Role

As an Assistant Manager, Product Strategy, you will support the definition and execution of Brother’s European product strategy while leading a team responsible for product expertise, technical enablement and pre-sales support.

You'll work closely with the Product Strategy Manager to ensure the team delivers high-quality support to European sales offices, maintains strong technical capability, and contributes to the successful launch and adoption of Brother products and solutions.

This role combines leadership, technical expertise, stakeholder management, and strategic thinking. You'll act as a senior escalation point for complex technical and commercial enquiries, while ensuring the team remains focused, engaged, and aligned to departmental priorities.

Occasional European travel will form part of the role, providing opportunities to collaborate with colleagues across our regional offices.

⭐ Key Skills

• Leadership & Mentoring
• Product & Technical Knowledge
• Pre-Sales Application Support
• Training & Development
• Decision Making & Problem Solving
• Product & Service Development
• Client Focus
• Collaborating & Teamwork
• Communication & Stakeholder Management

📌 Role Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Product Strategy team, providing clear direction, prioritisation and day-to-day support to deliver business objectives.
• Manage team performance through regular feedback, objective setting and development planning.
• Coordinate activities across product, training and pre-sales workstreams to ensure delivery against departmental objectives.
• Provide technical leadership across hardware, firmware, networking, security and solution integration topics.
• Act as a senior escalation point for technical and commercial enquiries from European sales offices.
• Drive the quality, consistency and effectiveness of technical training and enablement activities.
• Review and guide team outputs to ensure high standards of technical accuracy, clear communication and consistent delivery.
• Partner with the Product Strategy Manager to align team priorities with wider business and product strategy objectives.
• Build effective relationships with Brother Industries Ltd and third-party partners to support European initiatives.
• Identify opportunities to improve processes, ways of working and team capability.

👤 About you

Essential

• Recognised technical qualification or equivalent relevant experience
• Experience operating as a trusted technical subject matter expert
• Experience leading, developing and managing individuals and teams
• Strong ability to prioritise work, manage competing demands and deliver results
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts clearly to different audiences
• Strong judgement and problem-solving skills when dealing with complex situations

Desirable

• Experience within a pre-sales, product strategy, product management, or technical enablement function.
• Experience delivering technical training or capability development programmes.
• Experience working across multiple countries, regions, or stakeholder groups.
• Knowledge of print, document management, workflow, or related technology solutions.

🎁 What’s on Offer

As well as a competitive salary, we offer a range of benefits designed to support your wellbeing, development and work-life balance:

• Hybrid & Flexible Working options
• 25 days holiday + bank holidays (plus option to buy 5 extra)
• Industry-leading pension (up to 10% company contribution)
• Life Assurance & health cash plan
• Training & career development opportunities
• Free parking, EAP, social events, environmental days & more

If you're looking for an opportunity to combine technical expertise, people leadership and strategic influence within a collaborative international organisation, we'd love to hear from you.

📩 Apply now through LinkedIn or email your CV to recruitment@brother.co.uk.