IT Product Manager

Position Summary

A Product Manager owns a product or application as the champion and subject matter expert. The Product Manager develops and coordinates the product backlog, or the prioritized list of requirements for future product development. The Product Manager is responsible for innovation, launches, and maintenance of applications and products under their jurisdiction. He/she must possess the ability for big-picture vision and planning, but also be technical and detail oriented at the task level to provide guidance to all organizational teams involved with the product. The Product Manager must always be available to the technical teams to answer any questions team members have regarding the business owner’s view of how they’re implementing a product feature. The Product Manager represents the product and the organization, and as such, holds themselves to exemplary professionalism with excellent problem resolution and communication skills.

Essential Functions:

• Champion and subject matter expert in the assigned products and applications.
• Responsible for innovation and end-to-end launch and maintenance of products.
• Leads the planning and implementation of projects.
• Collaborates with business leaders to develop roadmaps and drive products from concept to launch in a fast-paced environment.
• Collaborates with product vendors, matching product capability with business owner needs.  
• Leads discovery, sets scope, estimates, and business case development for new engagements.
• Reviews business needs, identifies priorities, and works with the PMO team to outline deliverables, milestones, and identifies opportunities and risks.
• Assists leadership to define, research, and prioritize improvement initiatives, ensuring alignment with organizational strategies.
• Ensures projects all have clear design, build, run, maintain, support and security considerations met.
• Coordinates projects, while collaboratively working with the PMO.
• Develops, owns, and executes product roadmap.
• Translates product roadmap features into well-defined product requirements including features, user stories, tasks and acceptance criteria.  
• Creates and maintains detailed documentation of products.
• Works with IT Leadership and PMO to manage product budget where appropriate.
• Provides direction and support to product and project team.
• Provides leadership with updates, metrics, and reports.
• Schedules and carries out UAT with business owners.
• Works in an Agile or Agile hybrid environment using best practices.
• Leads the product functional design.
• Works collaboratively with development and QA teams.
• Coordinates resolution of escalated issues.
• Works with the release management team to coordinate releases and tests features post-release.
• Reasonable and consistent attendance to fulfill requirements of the position.
• SDLC life-cycle knowledge and how to design, develop and implement software solutions.
• Knowledge in overseeing the design, development, and implementation of software and hardware solutions, systems, or products.
• Agile experience
• Waterfall knowledge
• Ability to write detailed requirements. Agile, and BRD/FSDs
• Proficient in running meetings with various teams.
• Skill in analytical and problem-solving techniques.
• Skill in exercising independent judgment and taking action on it.
• Ability to effectively prioritze and execute tasks while under pressure.
• Ability to demonstrate consistent precision and accuracy.
• Ability to propose alternative solutions based on analysis.
• Ability to communicate and build/maintain relationships with internal and external partners to ensure the delivered services meet the needs of the stakeholders, including the ability to provide status at the executive level.
• Ability to communicate requirements across organizational teams.
• Ability to understand how report results effect business decisions.
• Proven collaboration, facilitation, and negotiation skills.
• Ability to continuously provide a high level of quality while working at high-paced velocity.
• Excellent customer service skills, includind active listening and clear professional communication.
• Experience working in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.
• Must be self-motivated as well as creative and efficient.
• Detail-oriented
• Excellent time management skills.
• Effective interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills.
• Proficient at running meetings with team members on premise and remote using confernecing tools.
• Proficient with Microsoft Word, Excel, Visio and other applications in the Microsoft Office suite.
• Proficient with Microsoft Word and other applications in the Microsoft Office suit.
• Other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities: N/A

Requirements:

Education & Experience:

• Minimum of three to five (3-5) years working experience in business analysis required
• Extensive experience in process improvement and project management
• Comprehensive analytical, conceptual, and problem-solving experience
• Proven ability to motivate self and others is necessary. Maintaining confidentiality, treating others with respect and upholding organizational values is key.
• Previous experience serving as a project lead is preferred.
• Experience with project analysis, estimating, business case development and financial analysis is crucial.
• Microsoft SQL Server database experience needed.
• Experience in higher education preferred.
• Experience working in a technology-driven enterprise preferred.
• All skills, abilities and education will be considered for minimum qualifications.

Competencies/Technical/Functional Skills: Ability to participate as an active team member of the team and organization and work toward a common goal. Contributes fully to the team effort and plays an integral part in the smooth running of teams without necessarily taking the lead.

• Accepts personal accountability, proactively seeks resolution for personal limitations head-on; and supports honesty and respect towards others, the company and oneself.
• Actively seeks to influence, build effective relationships and gain alignment with peers, functional partners and/or external partners to accomplish business objectives.  
• Develops new insights into situations; questions conventional approaches; encourages new ideas and innovations; designs and implements new or cutting-edge programs/processes.  Ability to generate and/or recognize imaginative or creative solutions that generate successful outcomes.
• Working knowledge, principles and practices of office management/systems within a higher education environment, preferred. Demonstrates an understanding of underlying organizational issues.
• Intermediate use of computers and Microsoft Office Suite Applications such as Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook.
• Work independently and foster a cooperative spirit within a large and/or small team of diverse cultures, while working in a fast-paced environment with multiple projects, deadlines and frequently changing priorities.
• Ability to drive towards achieving measurable and challenging goals to support organizational success. Demonstrates the ability to focus on achieving results consistent with the organization’s objectives. As a leader, develops goals based on the organization’s vision, mission, strategic goals, and objectives.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to effectively communicate with a wide range of individuals of constituencies in a diverse community.
• Work independently and foster a cooperative spirit within a large and/or small team of diverse cultures, while working in a fast-paced environment with multiple deadlines and frequently changing priorities.

Travel: Up to 25%

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Candidate receiving offers will be offered a salary/pay rate commensurate with experience that vary based on a candidate’s qualifications, skills, and competencies.  Absent exceptional circumstances, candidates will be offered a salary within this range for this position. The minimum salary will be offered based on the minimum exemption threshold based on state of residency. Base pay is one component of National University’s total rewards package, as we are dedicated to supporting the needs of the “whole you” with our holistic approach to employee benefits by offering comprehensive well-being benefits for you and your family.  For full details about our benefit plan offerings, please visit benefits.nu.edu. For Part-time benefits, please click here.

Compensation Range:

National University is committed to maintaining a high-quality, diverse workforce representative of the populations we serve. National University employs more than 5,000 faculty and staff and serves over 41,000 students. We are united in our mission to meet the global education demands of the 21st Century and are dedicated to creating a supportive academic and work environment that allows students, faculty and staff to develop their interests and talents while experiencing a sense of community and a commitment to diversity. With programs available both online and at our many campus locations, National University is a leader in creating innovative solutions to education and meeting the needs of our diverse student population, including adult learners and working professionals.

National University offers an opportunity to work in an innovative environment that supports diversity.

National University (NU) is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant per applicable federal, state and local laws. At NU, a diverse mix of highly talented, innovative and creative people come together to make the impact of a lifetime for each of our student learners. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment, education, and admission at National University. We are focused on equality and believe deeply in diversity of race, color, ancestry, age, family care status, veteran status, marital status, creed, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, national origin, and other legally protected group status.