Neil is available for hire
Hire NeilNeil Mcilroy
Verified Expert in Product Management
Product Manager
Location
Portsmouth, United Kingdom
Toptal Member Since
June 25, 2020
Neil has over 12 years’ extensive and diverse experience in digital product leadership and strategy within industry, leading B2C, B2B, and SaaS products in customer-focused businesses. He has worked with leading digital brands that exceed ten million visits per month and generate over £100 million annual revenue.
Project Highlights
Workray - Aggregated Job Seeking Activity
Secured £1.5 million seed funding from Stepstone and commitment to a 2-year business plan with European GTM. Won ‘Best Newcomer’ and shortlisted for ‘Best Innovation’ at NORAs 2018 alongside products such as Google For Jobs, ZipRecruiter, and Hunted.
Expertise
Work Experience
Senior Product Manager
2021 - PRESENT
Spotify
- Successfully launched the new Apple Watch Spotify app, adding new features and increasing engagement in the previous quarter.
- Supported the launch of a new lyrics feature in the Spotify TV app and on Cast devices, increasing weekly active use.
- Led the strategy for the introduction of a new audio format across the Spotify experience, including desktops, cars, tablets, TV, and more.
Director of Product Management
2017 - 2020
Feefo
- Launched and matured the first AI products that have become the fastest-growing products over the first 12 months in service and now have the highest MRR of all add-on.
- Launched a successful redesign of the Feefo Hub, used by over 4,000 clients and 50,000 paying users daily, to view and respond to consumer feedback and build reports from the analytics suite.
- Assisted the leadership team in preparing and presenting the business strategy to commercial strategic consultants, Pragma, who were advising Vespa capital in the successful MBO.
- Managed the relationship with Forrester Research, leveraging analyst relations to maximize exposure to enterprise brands and utilizing research to develop Feefos' strategy into the customer experience management (CEM) market.
- Established and matured product processes from inception to launch. The main focus areas included project rationale, customer feedback, GTM, pricing, competitor intelligence, communications, vision, and a strategic roadmap.
- Defined a new process and transition to agile delivery, recruiting three product managers, a product analyst, and two UX designers who led four scrum teams in the UK and Minsk.
- Refined the current value proposition and sales story around three key pillars of the product for successful impact in the market via marketing collateral, business website, sales and customer success teams.
- Presented our AI products at Wembley for the CXA awards, winning Silver for ‘Best use of Feedback & Insight’ in a category with enterprise brands including BT, Vodafone, and O2.
Co-founder and Head of Product
2015 - 2017
Workray (Founded by Stepstone)
- Won the ‘StepStone Innovation Scheme’ in 2015. Secured seed funding from the group with a commitment to a 2-year business plan to see the rollout of the product across Europe.
- Won the ‘Best Newcomer’ award and shortlisted for ‘Best Innovation’ at the National Online Recruitment Awards 2018 alongside recognized established products.
- Grew the team from three to 12, ensuring ongoing investment providing a clear vision for the product to the team, stakeholders, and peers. Established office space, team recruitment, budget approval, and go-to-market strategy for Workray.
- Presented the vision for Workray at the annual StepStone company ‘Kick Off’ conference in Berlin to over 1,500 StepStone employees from over 40 countries worldwide.
- Produced rationale for the business case using tools such as the Business Model Canvas to communicate the plan for success, value proposition, and commercial benefits–highlighting ROI, budget, and execution.
- Took start-up venture from ideation to MVP, on to be a crucial part of the companies’ strategy for addressing needs of the B2C market in the UK.
Head of Product B2C
2015 - 2017
Totaljobs
- Led the product and technology strategy for StepStone UK that consistently delivers multi-million profit and growth for StepStone, a collective of brands that offer the largest B2C job-seeking destination in Europe.
- Increased business KPI 41% YoY (25% targeted), resulting in increased client retention, winning new business, and securing 11% revenue growth YoY.
- Headed up and mentored a product team with a mix of product managers, owners, and analysts responsible for leading 20+ agile delivery teams and maximizing a +£20 million per year traffic budget.
- Defined the product roadmap and led the technology team in delivering successful outcomes; 4% YoY visits and 37% YoY conversion (20% targeted) in a highly competitive market place.
- Established and grew a product team to nine people within six months while encouraging a lean startup approach to the delivery of new product enhancement at Jobsite, subsequently moving to lead a team of 15+ product managers within StepStone UK.
Product Manager
2014 - 2015
Jobsite UK Worldwide Limited
- Planned and implemented the digital strategy for several B2C websites, including Jobsite and a network of over 40 niche and partner sites. Delivered considerable revenue growth by understanding the differing requirements of each marketplace.
- Increased key KPI 53% YoY (40% targeted), allowing us to start closing the gap on the competition by delivering significant product change in a 12-month period, against a backdrop of three years of continued KPI decline.
- Led Jobsite’s position as a key innovator within the StepStone group with the first mobile responsive job site in the UK and winning ‘Product Initiative of the Year’ at the annual company conference.
- Secured autonomy and ongoing support from the executive team to the product and technology strategy with consistent and significant improvement to the product across several key KPIs YoY.
- Increased from one to three agile scrum teams, determined the product roadmap, and identified how we could achieve our commercial goals through product enhancement.
Product Owner
2013 - 2014
Jobsite
- Became the first product owner at Jobsite, advocating a ‘product’ and agile approach across the business with key stakeholders. Worked closely with an agile scrum team to improve the candidate experience on-site.
- Supported the technology team in their transition from Waterfall to Agile delivery and communicated the benefits of this approach to product enhancement, fundamentally shifting the culture at Jobsite.
- Experienced working with agile development teams, delivering complex initiatives through iterative development cycles, utilizing metrics and analytical skills to make informed decisions, and adapt approach.
- Owned the delivery of the B2C product roadmap with director-level stakeholders. Defined KPI measures around product development and understood the relative value in the prioritization of backlog items.
- Experienced working with agile development teams, delivering complex initiatives through iterative development cycles, utilizing metrics and analytical skills to make informed decisions, and adapt approach.
User Experience Architect
2011 - 2013
Jobsite
- Created intuitive and persuasive user interfaces (UI) in a user-centered design approach (UCD). Developed sites with over 7 million visits per month (Jobsite in 2011) which are part of DMG Media (Daily Mail Group).
- Applied psychological theory, user research, and usage data to enhance the user experience across all Jobsite businesses and a variety of channels such as web and mobile.
- Analyzed data and conducted user research including usability testing, card sorts, interviews, and surveys for qualitative/quantitative assessment to improve the user experience of new and existing sites.
- Facilitated discussion with diverse teams to a conclusion and rationalize design decisions to stakeholders and peers while articulating clearly in all matters of user experience.
- Utilized strong conceptual design skills and familiarity with high-level deliverables (scenarios, personas, flow diagrams, and sitemaps), and low-level interaction design best practices to ensure they exceeded expectations.
Senior UX Designer
2008 - 2011
Auto Trader UK
- Led the design, user experience, and front-end development of several high-traffic and successful web businesses both in the UK and internationally that have a combined value of £1.35 billion (2008).
- Acted as lead designer overseeing three designers' work in a £1.4 million project to rebuild and redesign market-leading commercial vehicle sites including Van, Plant, Farm, and Truck Trader.
- Communicated and coordinated with the team to ensure the visual design delivered the desired message and functioned successfully for varying technical and performance specifications.
- Collaborated closely alongside industry leaders such as Concep, Omniture, Endeca, and Fortune Cookie, a logical thinker who can plan and strategize with the utmost efficiency.
Project History
Workray - Aggregated Job Seeking Activity
https://home.workray.com/en/Secured £1.5 million seed funding from Stepstone and commitment to a 2-year business plan with European GTM. Won ‘Best Newcomer’ and shortlisted for ‘Best Innovation’ at NORAs 2018 alongside products such as Google For Jobs, ZipRecruiter, and Hunted.
Stepstone was struggling to innovate their current business model. Performance was very good, and KPIs were often exceeded, but new disruptive models were entering the market. An innovation scheme and ‘bounty’ with a £50,000 reward were created, open to anyone in the business. The competition would be stiff among a large group of global brands.
Our idea won from over 500+ applicants. We then delivered x3 the investment into the project to receive a £50,000 personal reward.
We articulated the problem, product vision, and value proposition, including a business plan citing the number of resources required, against key features and outcome deliverables. Next, we went through budget approval, determined the office location, and completed recruitment. We produced a GTM to be rolled out across the group and consumers and presented this in Dusseldorf to the global CEO and panel of CEO/CPOs from group brands. We introduced Workray on stage to 1,500 people from 40 countries at the Estrel Congress Center in Berlin. In three months, we exceeded KPIs to find product-market fit and mitigated the key risks we had identified in our pitch.
Our idea won from over 500+ applicants. We then delivered x3 the investment into the project to receive a £50,000 personal reward.
We articulated the problem, product vision, and value proposition, including a business plan citing the number of resources required, against key features and outcome deliverables. Next, we went through budget approval, determined the office location, and completed recruitment. We produced a GTM to be rolled out across the group and consumers and presented this in Dusseldorf to the global CEO and panel of CEO/CPOs from group brands. We introduced Workray on stage to 1,500 people from 40 countries at the Estrel Congress Center in Berlin. In three months, we exceeded KPIs to find product-market fit and mitigated the key risks we had identified in our pitch.
Education
2003 - 2006
Degree in Fine Art
Fine Art Degree University of Chichester - United Kingdom
Certifications
JANUARY 2015 - PRESENT
Leading Product Management
Tarigo Product Management (CPD Accredited)
JANUARY 2014 - PRESENT
Product Leadership
Roman Pichler
JANUARY 2013 - PRESENT
Scrum Alliance Certified Scrum Product Owner
Scrum Alliance
JANUARY 2012 - PRESENT
Agile Project Management with DSDM Atern & Scrum
Agil8
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