We're looking for a Technical Project Manager to work on the micro:bit. This is a rare opportunity to develop a product designed for education and social impact, without compromising on scale and reach. Through our collaboration with Arm, Microsoft, the BBC, UNICEF, Google and many others, over the last 10 years more than 12 million micro:bit devices have been distributed globally, used by more than 70 million children around the world.
Join us as we lay the foundations for our next decade of impact.
We need someone who is confident with the detail of hardware development, the complexities of global compliance as well as communicating risk, timelines and resourcing needs to organisational leadership. It is important you already have an understanding of hardware and technical language, so that you can work effectively with the engineering, product and operations teams as soon as you arrive.
You'll take micro:bit hardware and its supporting software through every stage of development — from early feasibility work through prototyping, testing and certification, to mass production — working alongside a small, sharp team and reporting to our Programme Manager.
We're a small foundation with a global footprint, and we've built that reach by working directly with engineering teams across the technology ecosystem. One of the core ways that the Foundation supports impact and scale is through stable, dependable supply of the micro:bit at the lowest possible cost. This role is to expand our capacity in this area.
Because the team is still small you will have significant autonomy to shape the processes and tools we use. Your input will be instrumental to our ability to deliver the hardware.
This is a role for someone with both technical capability and excellent project management experience, we would like you to have:
If you're missing one or two of these but everything else aligns with your experience, apply anyway — use your covering letter to tell us where you'd need support.
The Micro:bit Educational Foundation is a UK-based not-for-profit with the goal to inspire every child to create their best digital future (https://microbit.org/about/).
There are now more than 12 million micro:bits in use around the world, and we estimate that more than 74 million children have learned to code with the BBC micro:bit. Last year we deployed micro:bits into more than 90% of UK primary schools in a project with Nominet and the BBC.
One of the greatest benefits of working here is knowing that your work contributes to something positive and constructive, with beneficial social outcomes. We are a small organisation with a large audience and reach, and we thrive on creative problem solving — which gives each person the chance to have enormous impact while ensuring the days are diverse and the challenges complex.
Our past experience developing hardware is that some aspects of planning, testing and co-ordination are significantly easier with an office/lab base and regular face-to-face contact. We also know how valuable it can be to have protected, uninterrupted time and a role that sits sustainably in your wider life. We expect the successful candidate to travel to, and work from, our Oxford office regularly. However, we're not fixed on a specific number of office days or hours - if you're excited about the role and can make the travel work, we want to hear from you. Occasional travel to component suppliers or production sites in the UK and potentially internationally may be required.
This is an 18-month fixed-term contract, with the possibility of extension or a permanent role. This position is full-time, though we'd consider four days a week on a pro-rata basis, which would be aligned with several members of the technology and product teams.
£55,000–£63,500 FTE, depending on experience.
Once a probationary period is complete, contractual benefits include options to join group private medical and group life insurance plan, EAP plan, flexibility in working hours, flexible annual leave policy (taking at minimum 25 days a year not including national holidays and Foundation closures) and competitive pension contributions.
Please send us a copy of your CV and a covering letter explaining your suitability for the role. The covering letter is the first thing we read and applications without one won’t be progressed.
Due to the urgency of this role, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We will be conducting initial zoom interviews as a first stage, and face to face interviews at our Oxford office for candidates who progress to second round interviews.
We monitor our performance on hiring diversity, using a questionnaire at the end of the application process. This is viewed by the operations team only; the aggregated data is shared with the wider team. The questionnaire is optional and you have the choice to not answer any question but is hugely valuable for us to understand our performance in this area. You'll automatically be directed to this upon submitting your application.
At the Foundation, trust is one of our core values, and we want to keep the application process fair for everyone. While AI can be a great tool, we ask that you let us know if you've used it to assist with your application. AI isn't off-limits, but keep in mind that overly AI-generated responses may lack the specificity needed to effectively address the key criteria outlined in the job description and might not fully showcase your unique skills and experiences.
Applicants must have the right to live and work in the UK.
We are enabling children around the world to get creative with technology and invent in school, in clubs and at home! The micro:bit is a handheld, fully programmable computer given to every Year 7 child across the UK - and now being used around the world. It’s 70 times smaller and 18 times faster than the original BBC Micro computers used in schools in the early 1980s. Started by the BBC and a great team of partners, the Micro:bit Educational Foundation is a non-profit organisation.
