Manager of Initiatives and Innovation

Overview

Pay rate: $107,000 to $118,000, depending on experience

This is a remote position.

The Manager of Initiatives & Innovation is a key contributor within the Business Intelligence & Initiatives team, responsible for supporting the organization's early-stage product discovery, ideation, and innovation efforts. Working closely with the Director of Initiatives & Innovation, this role supports the analysis of the desirability, feasibility, and viability of new products, services, and business opportunities while helping develop compelling business cases. This position blends innovative thinking, business model and financial analysis, and a consultative approach to transform emerging ideas into actionable opportunities that support the strategic goals of the organization.

In addition to these responsibilities, the Manager supports strategic initiatives through the facilitation of workshops, design sprints, and cross-functional working sessions. Partnering with internal and external stakeholders, the role helps foster collaboration, generate solutions, and drive alignment around complex business challenges. Through these efforts, the Manager supports the exploration of new opportunities and contributes to the advancement of organizational priorities.

Responsibilities

Essential Job Functions

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position. The individual employed in this position will be required to:

• Develop and refine business cases for new products & initiatives by evaluating desirability, feasibility, viability, and identifying organizational impact.
• Propose and evaluate product business models by assessing revenue drivers, cost structures, and operational considerations in collaboration with stakeholders across the organization.
• Lead or support ideation, design sprints, workshops, and collaborative sessions to explore new product concepts and define solutions.
• Work with finance to assess financial viability through revenue projections, scenario analysis, and key assumption testing.
• Identify inefficiencies in innovation and initiative work and lead process improvement efforts.
• Analyze market trends, customer needs, and competitive landscapes to shape opportunity direction.
• Serve as a liaison between business, operational and technology teams to move ideas and solutions forward effectively and efficiently.
• Support business intelligence activities as needed including strategic research, product and industry analysis and other competitive research.

Competencies

• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills, with the ability to effectively facilitate group discussions, brainstorming sessions, workshops, and stakeholder engagements.
• Embraces a forward-thinking mindset, contributing to a culture of continuous improvement and creativity.
• Excellent time management, prioritization, attention to detail, analytical and organization skills
• Able to motivate, solve problems, deal with ambiguity and effectively prioritize business needs.
• Excellent leadership and teamwork abilities, highly adaptable to new information, situations, or challenges.
• Stays current on market and technology trends affecting product innovation and development.
• A proven track record of results in a complex environment where multi-tasking and excellent judgment and decision-making skills are required.

Qualifications

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's Degree Required.
• Minimum of 4 years of business experience in new product development, product management/marketing, or equivalent skills required.
• Experience in the education, assessment, or legal industry preferred.
• Experience in project or program management, leading cross-functional teams, and using a product development process preferred.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office

Additional Information
Supervisory Responsibilities
This role does not have people management

Position Type

The LSAC standard business hours are Monday-Friday, 8:30 m. - 4:45 p.m. ET. While these are the standard office hours for LSAC, as an exempt employee, the employee will be expected to work the hours necessary to satisfactorily complete their assignments in a responsible and professional manner.

Work Environment

This job operates in a remote and professional office environment. Whether remote or in-office, this role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.
Travel Requirements

Occasional travel is expected for this position.

Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee must regularly write, read, and communicate effectively
Additional Information:
Please note that this job description may not contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Job responsibilities may change at any time with or without notice.