Product Strategy & Operations Manager

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Product Strategy & Operations Manager

Company: NEWRY GLOBAL MEDIA

Location: Madrid, Spain

Job Type: FULL_TIME

Category: Product Operations / Strategy & Operations

Date Posted: 2026-09-23

Experience Level: 5-10 Years

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive product initiative tracking, analysis, and validation across the entire app portfolio, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and continuous improvement of product performance.

• Independently assess the validity of product experiments by scrutinizing key statistical parameters such as sample size, duration, metric lag, variable isolation, stopping rules, and metric selection.

• Develop and present actionable, data-driven recommendations to senior leadership, identifying patterns of success and failure within the product portfolio, and flagging initiatives for potential discontinuation.

• Partner with the MMP Analytics Manager and Product Managers to ensure all analyses are grounded in verified data and to escalate measurement gaps that impede effective assessment of product initiatives.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is a critical function within a product-led organization, focusing on the operational rigor and strategic validation of product development. It bridges the gap between product management, data analytics, and executive leadership, demanding a blend of analytical prowess, strategic thinking, and strong communication skills. The emphasis on independent validation and challenging weak reads suggests a culture that values data integrity and objective decision-making.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Maintain a comprehensive, up-to-date view of all product initiatives across the portfolio, detailing owners, hypotheses, current status, and expected impact, ensuring a single source of truth for leadership.

• Proactively identify and surface portfolio initiative stalls, dependencies, and potential blockers, escalating them to relevant stakeholders to prevent significant delays and mitigate risks.

• Lead and manage the review cadence with product leadership, presenting key findings, progress updates, and strategic recommendations derived from portfolio tracking and experiment validation.

• Conduct rigorous statistical analysis of experiment results, independently verifying conclusions drawn by Product Managers by examining power, duration, variable isolation, stopping rules, and metric selection.

• Establish and uphold the company's standard for what constitutes a valid experiment result, ensuring consistency and reliability in product development decision-making.

• Analyze trends and patterns across the entire product portfolio to identify recurring successes, consistent failures, and areas of misallocated effort, translating these insights into strategic guidance.

• Produce clear, concise written recommendations for leadership that are actionable and require minimal rewriting, enabling swift and informed decision-making.

• Strategically flag product initiatives that are not meeting objectives or demonstrating sufficient ROI for potential termination, thereby optimizing resource allocation.

• Collaborate closely with the MMP Analytics Manager and Product Managers to ensure the integrity of data used for analysis and to address any measurement gaps that hinder the assessment of product initiatives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a proactive, analytical, and critical role. The emphasis on "surfacing stalls," "challenging weak reads," and "flagging initiatives that should be stopped" indicates a need for an individual comfortable with data-driven accountability and potentially difficult conversations. The "measurement partnership" responsibility underscores the collaborative nature required to ensure data quality across different teams.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in a quantitative field such as Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Economics, or a related discipline. A Master's degree or equivalent practical experience is highly advantageous.

Experience: A minimum of 5-10 years of progressive experience in product operations, strategy, analytics, or a related analytical role within a technology or subscription-based company.

Required Skills:

• Proven ability to independently judge the validity of experiment results, including understanding concepts like statistical power, appropriate duration, variable isolation, stopping rules, and metric selection.

• Strong analytical and quantitative skills, with the ability to derive insights and arrive at conclusions without direct analyst intermediation, and to identify when an answer is incorrect.

• Deep understanding of cohort analysis, discrepancies between data sources, sample size limitations, and the relationship between metric lag and observed changes.

• Strategic thinking capacity to analyze and operate at a portfolio level, rather than focusing solely on individual projects.

• Exceptional written communication skills, capable of producing clear, concise, and actionable recommendations for executive leadership.

• Comfort and confidence in presenting objective findings and potentially unpopular recommendations to stakeholders at all levels. Preferred Skills:

• Domain knowledge in subscription services or mobile applications, including familiarity with retention curves, Lifetime Value (LTV) analysis, and trial mechanics.

• Consulting background, demonstrating structured problem-solving, executive presence, and experience with portfolio-level strategic habits.

• Prior experience working within a product organization, understanding product development lifecycles and PM workflows.

• Proficiency in Python or equivalent programming languages for advanced data analysis beyond basic reporting.

• Experience in building and implementing tracking systems from scratch, rather than solely inheriting existing frameworks.

📝 Enhancement Note: The requirements emphasize a high degree of self-sufficiency and critical thinking. The ability to "get to an answer without an analyst intermediating" and to "knows when the answer is wrong" points to a need for a candidate who is not just proficient in using tools but also deeply understands the underlying statistical principles and potential pitfalls in data analysis. The "comfortable being unpopular" requirement signals a need for strong conviction in data-backed decisions.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Demonstrate a track record of successfully tracking and managing multiple product initiatives simultaneously, showcasing how you ensured visibility and progress.

• Provide case studies of experiment validation, detailing your methodology for assessing results and your process for challenging conclusions when necessary.

• Showcase examples of data-driven recommendations provided to leadership that led to tangible strategic shifts or resource reallocations.

• Illustrate how you have identified and mitigated risks associated with product initiatives, such as stalls, dependencies, or blockers.

• Present examples of how you have established or improved standards for data integrity and experiment validity within a product context. Process Documentation:

• Detail your approach to establishing and maintaining a single, current view of a product portfolio, including the systems and methodologies used.

• Explain your process for defining and measuring the impact of product hypotheses and initiatives.

• Describe how you facilitate review cadences with leadership, including presentation formats and key discussion points.

• Outline your methodology for identifying patterns and trends across a portfolio of product initiatives and translating them into actionable insights.

📝 Enhancement Note: For a role focused on strategy and operations, a portfolio is crucial for demonstrating practical application of skills. Applicants should curate examples that specifically highlight their analytical rigor in experiment validation, their strategic portfolio-level thinking, and their ability to translate data into impactful recommendations for leadership. The emphasis on "building a tracking system" in preferred skills suggests that experience in designing and implementing operational processes will be highly valued.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: Based on industry benchmarks for Product Strategy & Operations Manager roles in Madrid with 5-10 years of experience, the estimated annual salary range is €60,000 - €85,000. This range can vary based on the candidate's specific qualifications, interview performance, and the company's internal compensation structure.

Benefits:

• High autonomy and genuine ownership over your work and strategic contributions.

• Opportunity to be based in the vibrant city of Madrid.

• Direct access to senior leadership, providing significant influence on company strategy and decision-making.

• Comprehensive health insurance and benefits package (details to be confirmed).

• Opportunities for professional development and continuous learning in a dynamic environment.

• Potential for performance-based bonuses and equity options (details to be confirmed).

Working Hours: A standard full-time work week of approximately 40 hours, with flexibility potentially available depending on project needs and team collaboration schedules.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is derived from analyzing compensation data for similar roles in Madrid, Spain, considering the specified experience level (5-10 years) and the nature of the role (Product Strategy & Operations Manager). Factors such as company size, industry specialization (subscription/mobile apps), and the emphasis on executive access and autonomy suggest a competitive compensation package. Benefits are extrapolated from typical offerings for such roles in major European tech hubs, with specific mention of high autonomy and senior leadership access as highlighted in the provided text.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Digital Media / Technology (specifically App Portfolio Management). NEWRY GLOBAL MEDIA operates in a fast-paced digital environment where product innovation and data-driven decision-making are paramount. The company's focus on an "app portfolio" suggests a strategy centered around multiple digital products or services, likely within a subscription or ad-supported model.

Company Size: NEWRY GLOBAL MEDIA is likely a growing medium-sized company, possibly in the range of 50-250 employees, given the "join.com" listing and the emphasis on direct access to senior leadership. This size offers a balance of established processes and the agility to implement new strategies quickly.

Founded: While the founding date is not specified, the existence of a structured product portfolio and a need for dedicated strategy and operations roles indicates a company that has moved beyond its startup phase and is focused on scaling and optimizing its product offerings.

Team Structure:

• The Product Operations function likely exists as a centralized or embedded team supporting multiple Product Managers. This role will report into a senior product leader or potentially a Head of Product Operations.

• There will be close collaboration with Product Managers, Data Analysts (MMP Analytics Manager), Engineering teams, and potentially Marketing and Growth teams.

• The structure encourages cross-functional communication to ensure product initiatives are tracked, validated, and aligned with overall business goals. Methodology:

• Data-driven decision-making is central, with a strong emphasis on quantitative analysis and statistical rigor for experiment validation.

• A portfolio-centric approach to product management, focusing on the aggregate performance and strategic alignment of all product initiatives.

• Agile methodologies are likely employed for product development, with a focus on continuous iteration and rapid validation of hypotheses.

• A culture that values directness, objective assessment, and the ability to challenge assumptions based on data.

Company Website: https://www.newry.es/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company context suggests a dynamic, data-centric environment where operational efficiency and strategic validation are key to success. The role is positioned to have significant influence, working closely with leadership to steer the product portfolio. The "comfortable being unpopular" requirement hints at a culture that prioritizes objective truth over consensus.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role is positioned at a mid-to-senior level, likely equivalent to a Senior Product Operations Manager or a specialized Operations Manager within a product team. It requires a blend of analytical depth and strategic oversight, managing a critical function that directly impacts product success and business strategy. The scope extends beyond project-level execution to portfolio-wide analysis and strategic recommendation.

Reporting Structure: The role reports directly to senior leadership, indicated by "direct access to senior leadership and meaningful influence on company strategy." This implies a high degree of visibility and responsibility, likely reporting to a Head of Product, VP of Product, or a Chief Product Officer.

Operations Impact: The impact of this role is significant and directly tied to the company's revenue and growth. By ensuring product initiatives are on track and that shipped products are effective, this role optimizes resource allocation, accelerates time-to-market for successful features, and minimizes investment in underperforming areas. It directly contributes to the ROI of product development efforts and informs strategic investment decisions.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization: Deepen expertise in specific areas of product analytics, experiment design, or subscription/mobile app domain knowledge.

• Leadership: Transition into a management role, leading a team of analysts or operations specialists within the product organization.

• Strategic Influence: Grow to become a key advisor to executive leadership on product strategy, portfolio allocation, and market opportunities.

• Cross-functional Mobility: Move into broader Product Management roles, or into strategic roles within Growth, Marketing, or Business Operations, leveraging a strong understanding of product performance.

📝 Enhancement Note: The role offers a unique opportunity for growth by providing direct exposure to high-level strategic discussions and decision-making. The emphasis on independent validation and challenging assumptions can be a significant development opportunity for ambitious professionals seeking to hone their analytical and communication skills in a high-stakes environment.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is based in Madrid, Spain, and is specified as "On-site" with "remote_derived": false. This suggests a traditional office environment where in-person collaboration is expected.

Office Location(s): Madrid, Spain. Specific details about the office location (e.g., central business district, specific neighborhood) are not provided but can be assumed to be in a professional business area within the city.

Workspace Context:

• The workspace will likely be collaborative, encouraging interaction with Product Managers, analysts, and other team members.

• Expect access to standard office technology and infrastructure, along with the necessary tools for data analysis and reporting.

• The environment is expected to be dynamic and fast-paced, reflecting the digital media and app portfolio industry.

• Opportunities for direct interaction with senior leadership are a key feature, suggesting an open and communicative culture.

Work Schedule: The standard working hours are approximately 40 hours per week, typical for a full-time role. While primarily on-site, there may be some flexibility based on project demands, but the core expectation is presence in the Madrid office.

📝 Enhancement Note: The on-site requirement in Madrid is a key factor for candidates. The description implies a professional, collaborative office setting where direct engagement with colleagues and leadership is valued. This environment is conducive to the rapid iteration and communication required for product strategy and operations.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your resume and portfolio to assess alignment with the core requirements, particularly regarding analytical capabilities and strategic thinking.

• Technical/Analytical Interview: This stage will likely involve deep dives into your experience with experiment validation, statistical analysis, and portfolio management. Expect questions about how you approach common analytical challenges and how you ensure data integrity.

• Case Study/Problem-Solving Session: You may be presented with a hypothetical product scenario or data set and asked to analyze it, identify key insights, and formulate recommendations, simulating the core responsibilities of the role. This is where your portfolio examples will be critical.

• Leadership/Behavioral Interview: This will focus on your ability to communicate effectively, influence stakeholders, handle conflict, and operate independently. Questions about your experience being "comfortable being unpopular" and your approach to influencing senior leadership will be prominent.

• Final Round: Potentially with very senior leadership to assess strategic alignment and cultural fit.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Quantify Impact: For each project or initiative showcased, clearly articulate the problem, your approach, the results (with metrics), and the business impact (e.g., revenue increase, cost reduction, efficiency gain).

• Demonstrate Rigor: Include examples of how you validated experiments, identified flaws in analysis, or established new standards for data integrity.

• Showcase Strategic Thinking: Highlight instances where you analyzed a portfolio of initiatives, identified overarching trends, and provided strategic recommendations to leadership.

• Highlight Communication: Ensure your portfolio clearly shows your ability to communicate complex analytical findings to non-technical stakeholders, ideally with examples of written recommendations or presentations.

• Tailor to the Role: Emphasize experiences relevant to subscription models, mobile apps, and product development lifecycles if you have them.

Challenge Preparation:

• Statistical Fundamentals: Refresh your knowledge on A/B testing principles, common statistical fallacies, and metric selection best practices.

• Portfolio Analysis: Practice thinking about how you would assess the health and performance of a diverse portfolio of product initiatives.

• Recommendation Framing: Prepare to articulate your recommendations concisely and persuasively, anticipating potential objections and preparing data-backed counterarguments.

• Data Integrity: Be ready to discuss how you identify and address issues with data accuracy, measurement gaps, and analytical biases.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to rigorously test both the technical analytical skills and the strategic, influential capabilities required for this role. The portfolio is not just a resume supplement but a critical tool for demonstrating practical experience and problem-solving abilities.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• Data Analysis & Visualization: Proficiency with tools like SQL for data extraction and manipulation, and visualization platforms such as Tableau, Power BI, or Looker for creating dashboards and reports.

• Spreadsheet Software: Advanced skills in Excel or Google Sheets for detailed analysis, modeling, and data manipulation.

• Product Analytics Platforms: Experience with tools like Amplitude, Mixpanel, or similar platforms for in-app user behavior analysis, event tracking, and cohort analysis.

• Experimentation Platforms: Familiarity with A/B testing tools (e.g., Optimizely, VWO, internal tools) for designing, launching, and analyzing experiments.

Analytics & Reporting:

• SQL: Essential for querying databases to extract and analyze data.

• Business Intelligence (BI) Tools: For creating dashboards and reports to track key product metrics and initiative progress.

• Statistical Software: While Python is a preferred skill, familiarity with statistical analysis within spreadsheets or BI tools is necessary.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Systems (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot): Understanding how product initiatives might tie into customer journeys and CRM data, though direct management might not be required.

• Project Management Tools (e.g., Jira, Asana, Trello): For tracking product initiatives, dependencies, and status updates.

📝 Enhancement Note: While specific tools aren't listed, the responsibilities clearly indicate a need for strong SQL, data analysis, visualization, and product analytics platform skills. The mention of Python as a "good to have" suggests that candidates with advanced scripting capabilities will be highly regarded, particularly for custom analysis or automation.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Data Integrity: A paramount value, ensuring that all analyses and decisions are based on accurate, verified data and robust statistical methods.

• Objectivity & Rigor: A commitment to unbiased assessment of product performance and experiment results, even when findings are challenging.

• Strategic Alignment: Ensuring all product efforts contribute demonstrably to overarching business goals and strategic objectives.

• Proactive Ownership: Taking initiative to identify potential issues, drive solutions, and own the outcomes of product initiatives.

• Clear Communication: Valuing concise, actionable communication that enables efficient decision-making by leadership.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-functional Partnership: Working closely with Product Managers, Analysts, and Engineers, fostering a collaborative environment to achieve shared product goals.

• Data-Driven Dialogue: Engaging in constructive debates grounded in data and analysis to ensure the best product decisions are made.

• Influence and Advocacy: Effectively communicating insights and recommendations to stakeholders at all levels, advocating for data-backed strategies.

• Process Improvement Focus: Continuously seeking ways to optimize workflows, enhance data quality, and improve the efficiency of the product development and validation cycle.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture appears to be one that values intellectual honesty, analytical rigor, and direct communication. The "comfortable being unpopular" aspect suggests a willingness to engage in challenging discussions for the sake of optimal business outcomes, underpinned by a strong belief in data-driven insights.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Maintaining Data Accuracy: Ensuring consistent data quality and integrity across various product initiatives and analytics platforms, especially when dealing with multiple data sources.

• Challenging Assumptions: Effectively communicating and defending findings that contradict established hypotheses or stakeholder beliefs, requiring strong influence and persuasion skills.

• Portfolio Complexity: Managing the sheer volume and diversity of initiatives within a product portfolio, requiring robust tracking and analysis systems.

• Rapidly Evolving Landscape: Keeping pace with the fast-changing digital media and app market, requiring continuous learning and adaptation of analytical approaches.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Advanced Analytics & Statistics: Deepen expertise in statistical modeling, experimental design, and advanced data analysis techniques.

• Domain Specialization: Develop deeper knowledge in subscription models, mobile app metrics (LTV, churn, retention), and user acquisition strategies.

• Strategic Leadership: Gain experience in influencing executive-level strategy and decision-making, potentially leading to broader strategic roles.

• Tool Proficiency: Become an expert in cutting-edge product analytics and experimentation tools.

• Mentorship: Opportunity to be mentored by senior leaders and to mentor junior analysts or operations staff.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role presents significant challenges related to data integrity and influencing stakeholders, which are also key areas for professional growth. Successfully navigating these challenges will build critical skills in strategic communication, advanced analytics, and leadership.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to challenge a Product Manager's conclusion about an experiment's success. What was your process, and what was the outcome?" (Focus on your methodology for validation, how you presented your findings, and the impact.)

• "How would you approach building a 'single, current view' of a product portfolio for executive leadership, given disparate data sources and varying initiative statuses?" (Highlight your systems thinking, data aggregation strategies, and visualization approaches.)

• "What are the key metrics you would track to assess the overall health and performance of a mobile app portfolio, and why?" (Demonstrate your understanding of portfolio-level metrics beyond individual feature performance.)

• "Imagine a key initiative is stalled due to a dependency. What steps would you take to identify the root cause and drive resolution?" (Showcase your problem-solving, communication, and proactive approach to risk mitigation.) Company & Culture Questions:

• "Based on the job description, what do you perceive as the biggest operational challenge for NEWRY GLOBAL MEDIA's product team?" (Demonstrate your understanding of the role's purpose and potential hurdles.)

• "How do you stay objective and 'comfortable being unpopular' when presenting data that contradicts popular opinion or leadership preferences?" (Focus on your commitment to data integrity and your communication strategies.)

• "How would you collaborate with the MMP Analytics Manager and Product Managers to ensure data accuracy and address measurement gaps?" (Highlight your partnership and communication skills.) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Structure Your Narrative: For each case study, use a clear problem-solution-result framework.

• Quantify Everything: Use specific numbers and metrics to demonstrate impact. Show the "before and after" clearly.

• Focus on Your Role: Clearly articulate your specific contributions and the methodologies you employed.

• Be Prepared for Deep Dives: Anticipate detailed questions about your process, the data, and your decision-making.

• Visual Aids: Use clean, professional slides or documents to present your portfolio items, focusing on clarity and impact.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview preparation should focus on demonstrating a deep understanding of experimental design, statistical validity, portfolio-level thinking, and executive communication. Candidates should be ready to defend their analytical rigor and influence decisions with data.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Product Strategy & Operations Manager position:

• Submit your application through the provided link on join.com.

• Tailor Your Resume: Ensure your resume explicitly highlights experience in product operations, strategy, data analysis, experiment validation, and portfolio management. Use keywords from the job description and emphasize quantifiable achievements.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 of your strongest case studies that best demonstrate your ability to track initiatives, validate experiments, and provide actionable recommendations to leadership. Focus on impact and your specific role.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice articulating your experience and portfolio examples concisely, focusing on the "why," "how," and "what was the impact." Be ready to discuss your approach to critical analysis and challenging assumptions.

• Research NEWRY GLOBAL MEDIA: Understand their business model, app portfolio (if publicly visible), and any recent news or product launches to tailor your responses and demonstrate genuine interest.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.