SVP Product Management

Job Title:

SVP, Product Management

Title Reporting To:

Senior Vice President, Product, Content, and Services

Division / Department:

NWEA - Product, Content, Services

ROLE SUMMARY AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Describes the main purpose and significance of the role i.e. why it exists. This section differentiates the role from the Manager's job, from the jobs that report to it and from other jobs reporting to the manager in the same grade/level.

The Senior Vice President, Product Management is a key member of senior leadership. This position is responsible for providing leadership and management for Product Management, Product Experience Research & Analysis, 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 NWEA Division and HMH organization, this position ensures that the product vision and results align with the organizational mission and strategic plan and meets internal and external goals for billings, profitability, and partner satisfaction.

This position provides leadership for a team of highly skilled Product Management and User Experience leaders and their staff and enables the team to be effective collaborators across the organization. The Product Strategy team designs, develops and manages product/services/business line strategy and plan and executes 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 Sales, Marketing, Technology Solutions Group, Research, Content, Learning Sciences, and Learning & Improvement Services on go-to-market strategy and execution including release readiness.

PRIMARY ACCOUNTABILITIES

% TIME

1

Function as a member of the leadership team to anticipate and respond to potential opportunities and threats for the organization relevant to the conditions of the market and industry.

10%

2

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.
• 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, establishing confidence and excitement while balancing pragmatism.
• Via collaboration, ensure internal subject matter experts are leveraged in support of product strategy and product requirement development throughout the PDLC.
• 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.
• Actively pursues human-centered design leveraging UX/Usability insights to improve NWEA's products and services.

30%

3

Business and Planning

• Provide leadership, mentoring, and management to assigned staff and leaders of staff dedicated to the growth of the organization, product management process, and metrics that demonstrate improved performance, resulting in high functioning team that expertly manages cross-functional relationships and dynamics.
• 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 interacts 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.

30%

4

Execution

• Develop and direct a high-performance product management and product strategy leaders and their staff charged with optimizing the organization's portfolio of products and services, consciously shaping team tone and brand of team
• Drive toward clarity of purpose and role for all functions and activity.
• Perform other duties as assigned to ensure the success of the team and the entire organization.

20%

5

Effectively communicate with NWEA Senior Leadership Team and HMH Executive team on long range plans and strategies, disseminating information and providing direction as needed; bring critical information about strategic planning and future needs and expectations to NWEA's Senior Leadership Team.

10%

TOTAL

%

SCOPE & MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

Provides quantitative and qualitative information related to the position. Indicate N/A if not applicable.

Supervisory responsibility

Number of reports

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

Required

Preferred

Skills

Skills 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 build and 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

(See Job Level Exp Matrix - cut and paste relevant paragraph here)

• 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

Other requirements

(licenses, certifications, specialized training, physical or mental abilities required)

• Ability to perform the physical and intellectual requirements of the role, with or without accommodation