Position summaryReporting to the Sr. Vice President, Product Management and
Publishing, the Vice President of Product Management is a key member of senior
leadership. This position is responsible for providing leadership and
management for Product Management in the creation of multi-year, integrated, and
enterprise level product and solution vision and strategies (NWEA's product
portfolio). This position requires a strong and current understanding of the
educational ecosystem and related markets. Additionally, this position is
responsible for transforming organizational strategies into product and
business planning requirements, artifacts and initiatives used by the
enterprise to tactically execute and deliver compelling products and services
into a complex and multi-faceted marketplace. Working across the organization,
the Vice President of Product Management ensures that the product vision and
results align with the organizational mission and meets internal and external
goals for revenue generation, profitability, and partner satisfaction.
The VP and Product Management team will be product evangelists
(internally & externally). This includes responsibility for collaborating
with others, communicating and clarifying strategies, articulating roadmaps and
priorities, and creating the necessary artifacts and deliverables that move the
vision and strategies from concept to reality within the organization. This
position and the group of directors managed by this role will translate partner
needs and innovative ideas into great products, solutions and services while
managing complex product and business decisions and related trade-offs at the
enterprise level.
This position provides leadership for a team of highly
skilled product management leaders and their staff and enables the team to be
effective collaborators across the organization. The Product Management team designs,
develops and manages product/services/business line strategy and plan and
execute the product lifecycle including the definition of market and product
opportunities, market requirements, product roadmap and release, market and
competitive positioning, feature definition, and feature development
priorities. This position works closely with, Marketing, Product Engineering,
Research, Publishing, Professional Learning, and Partner Accounts on
go-to-market strategy and execution including release readiness.
The ideal candidate is a leader of leaders and brings a
background in educational assessment that demonstrates vision, leadership,
collaboration, and an entrepreneurial spirit in the educational assessment
arena.
Current Areas of Emphasis (2017-2018) - Clearly, consistently, and frequently articulate and
evolve the product vision, strategy, and related roadmap(s) across the
organization, demonstrating solution flexibility and configurability
across multiple products and markets. - Engage stakeholders to drive alignment on clear,
actionable product and business strategies and priorities to deliver
optimal results for partners and the business. Recommend and champion the
most effective use of product investment funds. - Anticipate, coordinate, and leverage emergent
technologies, functionalities, and capabilities as they evolve and are
delivered (internally and in the market). - In partnership with enterprise architects, Product
Management leadership, and key internal stakeholders, proactively evolve
and increase clarity for solutions design to ensure successful epic
definition and all levels of necessary requirements elicitation.
Responsibilities Product Strategy:- Lead the creation of product portfolio
vision and strategy in support of NWEA's vision. Drive and facilitate the
planning process to provide focus and alignment on critical strategies and
resultant products and services that delight our partners. Aggressively
identify opportunities for improvement, and incorporate new business and
product features on an ongoing basis. - Evangelize and socialize product or
services strategy, vision and value proposition with internal and external
stakeholders. - Work closely with our alliance partners
to ensure that the common services and offerings we jointly provide remain
aligned and are delivered to the market without interruption.
Business and Planning:- Provide leadership, mentoring, and management
to assigned directors and staff dedicated to the growth of the organization,
product management process, and metrics that demonstrate improved performance. - Lead the team to proactively meet with
partners (customers) and prospects to assess needs, identify opportunities, and
build relationships for dynamic product enhancement dialogue. - Regularly interact with product user groups, industry
leaders, and the learning community to stay abreast of industry changes and to
influence policy. - Identify opportunities to optimize
product line profitability through value-based pricing, production efficiency
recommendations, and competitive and market intelligence to improve partner
retention rates and partner satisfaction. - Work with staff to routinely review and
report out P&L at product, bundle, and portfolio levels for all products
and services. - Identify and build cross-functional team
collaboration experiences on a real-time and strategic basis within NWEA. - Attend key industry conferences, capture
strategic takeaways and socialize this information within the Product
Management team.
Execution- Develop and direct a high-performance
product management team of directors and their staff charged with optimizing
the organization's portfolio of products and services. - Drive toward clarity of purpose and role
for all functions and activity
QualificationsSkills and Abilities- Ability to lead and drive toward NWEA's
vision and in support of NWEA's mission by developing world class products and
refinements to existing products without being confined to traditional
market-driven analysis - Ability to effectively lead high
performing teams and create an environment in which talent is nurtured and
developed - Ability to lead in a dynamic, fast
changing environment is essential, while demonstrating strong drive for results
and execution - Exceptional skills in partnering with
clients and staff and in developing and maintaining long term supportive and
collaborative relationships - Ability to establish priorities and
results within the team and within the cross-functional teams at NWEA while
concurrently managing unrelated, multiple, and complex technical requirements
on a timely basis - Ability to make timely decisions and
produce results through the effective implementation of products, programs, and
scalable processes - Capable of establishing a business case
for all products, processes, metrics, and margins that justify resource
requirements and anticipated results - Strong written and oral communication is
a must as is tremendous creativity, flexibility, and comfort leading through
ambiguity - Consistent, proactive, and healthy
cross-functional communication skills that set a leadership standard that
motivates the team and all business relationships - Demonstrated ability to drive results
and to work effectively across multiple groups - Strong ability to influence, persuade
and negotiate in support of the product roadmap and organizational initiatives - Ability to identify, maximize, and
leverage internal and external resources to meet objectives - Sound business judgment and knowledge of
financial issues impacting product profitability including the ability to read
a financial statement, manage the P&L of the product line, and deliver
forecasted margins and market performance - Solid understanding of technology
including Business Intelligence and analytics - Ability to travel as required, up to 25%
- Must be able to perform the physical and
intellectual requirements of the role, with or without accommodation
Education and Experience- Bachelor's degree in education, technical,
or business discipline or equivalent experience; advanced degree (e.g., MBA,
Ph.D.), or equivalent experience preferred - Minimum ten years' experience in product
management, product development, product marketing or related discipline
associated within the education industry, with at least five years in progressive
product management leadership - Solid knowledge of/experience with the
Product Lifecycle Management processes including product requirements
definition, product business plan development, new product introduction, etc. - Domain knowledge and demonstrated
understanding of the assessment and related services marketplace as well as the
educational marketplace in general - Experience with all aspects of go-to-market
planning and launch - Demonstrated success in developing and
launching complex technology products and software offered in a SaaS model - Certified and Proficient with Pragmatic
or 280 group Product Management frameworks or similar - Investment and budget optimization and
P&L management associated with new and existing products and
professional staff
Additional InformationBenefitsNWEA's generous benefits package includes: 100% employer paid medical, dental and vision insurance premiums for eligible employees; company-paid public transportation, indoor bicycle racks, and free on-site parking; convenient location near public transportation near the Pearl District in downtown Portland; additional monthly compensation in the form of Benefit pay; and a 15% annual employer contribution toward our 403b retirement plan. In addition, NWEA's culture promotes work-life balance. Accordingly, we offer 4 weeks' PTO in the first year, 5 weeks' PTO after the first-year anniversary, and 6 weeks'
PTO after the second-year anniversary and in subsequent years. Our employees also enjoy flexible work schedules.
Interested in this job? Please apply directly on out website at: https://nwea.hodesiq.com/jobs/default.aspx?JobID=5500568
