Location: Remote
Who We Are
NWEA® is a division of HMH that supports students and educators through research, assessment solutions, policy and advocacy services, professional learning and school improvement services that fight for equity, drive classroom impact and push for systemic change in our educational communities. For nearly 50 years, NWEA has developed innovative pre-K–12 assessments, including their flagship interim assessment, MAP® Growth™ and their reading fluency and comprehension assessment, MAP® Reading Fluency™. For more information, visit NWEA.org to learn more.
What you will do
The Director of Technical Product Management is a strategic leader within the NWEA division of HMH leading a team of Technical Product Managers to ensure successful product roadmap planning and delivery. This role drives the Product team’s definition and discovery workflow, ensuring problems are well-defined, solutions are based in user-centered research practices and product requirements are met. This position collaborates across the organization influencing Product and Technology leaders to ensure NWEA product delivery expectations are clear, aligned with corporate strategy, support business objectives and meet goals for commercial success and user satisfaction.
Responsibilities
Team Leadership:
- Lead, hire, mentor, and inspire the technical product management team to ensure NWEA's business objectives are achieved through the successful delivery of key product initiatives.
- Guide the team in collaborating with Product and Technology stakeholders to assess needs, identify opportunities, conduct research, analyze data, and build relationships to deliver effective product solutions.
- Foster a strong culture of results, quality, curiosity, and accountability.
- Drive clarity of purpose and roles across all functions and activities.
- Cultivate a collaborative and innovative culture, encouraging cross-functional teams to work together towards shared goals.
Product Roadmap Delivery:
- Drive organizational accountability for delivering the NWEA product roadmap by providing a clear and comprehensive plan for all stakeholders and maintaining overall ownership of product initiatives.
- Work with and influence senior leaders across NWEA Product, HMH Product, and Technology groups to establish, monitor, and revise product delivery plans through annual, quarterly, and monthly planning processes.
- Ensure NWEA's top product priorities are clearly defined, effectively addressed, and delivered in alignment with success metrics for business outcomes, customer satisfaction, and platform cohesion.
Provide Cross Functional Collaboration & Communication:
- Advocate for and communicate the product strategy, vision, and value proposition to both internal and external stakeholders.
- Enhance collaboration and communication across product teams, technology teams, and various internal stakeholder groups.
- Develop and maintain complex relationships with stakeholders to align expectations, negotiate trade-offs, and balance competing constraints to maximize progress towards product objectives.
- Implement improvements and innovative solutions to enable teams to deliver product value more effectively, efficiently, and successfully.
- Cultivate a culture of collaboration and innovation, encouraging cross-functional teams to work together towards shared goals.
Understand the Market Needs & Gather Feedback:
- Gain deep knowledge and empathy for user needs by engaging with current and prospective customers through on-site observations, interviews, and research sessions.
- Assess technology trends and analyze current and emerging competitive products to guide product direction and influence technology strategy.
- Evaluate research findings, customer feedback, and product usage data to assess the outcomes of product releases and shape the future product roadmap.
What you’ll need
- Bachelor's degree with 7-10 years of relevant experience.
- Alternatives: High School with 15 years, Associate degree with 14 years, Master's with 9 years, or PhD/Law degree with 7 years.
- Knowledge and experience in defining product requirements, developing business plans, and introducing new products.
- Proven success in launching complex tech products and managing teams.
- Skilled in Agile, Pragmatic, or 280 group Product Management frameworks.
- Experience in refining and rationalizing product portfolios based on strategy and market opportunities.
- Ability to prioritize, drive results, and manage multiple complex projects across teams.
- Ability to apply educational needs for NWEA products beyond basic features and functions.
- Experience in creating business cases to justify resources and predict results.
- Ability to anticipate and make timely decisions that result in effective products, programs, scalable processes, and business outcomes.
- Experience in interpreting financial statements and managing P&L for multiple product portfolios.
- Skilled in building long-term relationships with customers, colleagues, and industry experts.
- Clear and compelling communication skills with a track record of negotiating favorable outcomes.
- Domain knowledge and demonstrated understanding of the area of emphasis and the educational marketplace. Experience with complex large-scale testing/assessment solutions a plus.
- Strong commitment to fostering an inclusive and accessible environment and the dedication to execute, articulate, and advocate for these principles in daily work procedures.
Salary range: 130k – 155 k annually.
Application Deadline:
The application window for this position is anticipated to close March 9, 2025. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible. The posting may be available after this date but is not guaranteed.
HMH is fully committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and to attracting, retaining, developing and promoting the most qualified employees without regard to race, gender, color, religion, sexual orientation, family status, marital status, pregnancy, gender identity, ethnic/national origin, ancestry, age, disability, military status, genetic predisposition, citizenship status, status as a disabled veteran, recently separated veteran, Armed Forces service medal veteran, other covered veteran, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. We are dedicated to providing a work environment free from discrimination and harassment, and where employees are treated with respect and dignity. We actively participate in E-Verify.
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