Senior Manager, Product Management

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
 

Grade: Management Technical 714

Pay Range: $148,100.00 - $244,400.00

Job Description

The Senior Manager for the Portfolio is responsible for bringing the portfolio vision to life and delivering business value through the shared execution of product roadmaps in their portfolio. They are responsible for leading a team of product managers and working closely with business and technology leaders to develop, communicate and deliver portfolio outcomes and KPIs.

 

At Western Governors University we are building the technology to redefine how individuals can gain the knowledge and skills required to achieve their goals and objectives. We leverage technology to create an exemplary student experience for on-line, competency-based education which is independent of time and place. If you are passionate about education, and want to be part of an innovative, high-tech university, that serves students in a unique way, this job is for you. Join us if you want to be part of something very special.

Position Summary

The Senior Manager of Product is responsible for bringing the product vision to life and delivering business value through the shared execution of product roadmaps in their domain. They are responsible for leading a team of product managers and working closely with business and technology leaders to develop, communicate and deliver outcomes and KPIs.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

• Lead a team of product managers to execute on the vision/roadmaps for the portfolio, ensuring delivery goals and quality goals are met
• Collaborate with senior leaders on product strategy and the long-term roadmap for the platform and the portfolio
• Hire, develop and inspire each individual to do their best work and foster team collaboration and enforce best practices
• Collaborate with key stakeholders, product managers, engineering directors and other leaders on portfolio prioritization, balancing stakeholder initiative level priorities with portfolio health needs to maximize value and minimize risk
• Lead portfolio prioritization to contribute to PI planning quarterly- includes balancing intra-portfolio priorities with dependencies from other portfolios to plan the quarter
• Lead bi-weekly product Steering Committees with key stakeholders to provide transparency and elevate key decisions and issues to “steer” the portfolio in the best direction possible
• Actively work to resolve blockers and risks for the product, and lead teams to validate assumptions and analyze and communicate tradeoffs to guide portfolio decisions
• Be the domain expert on the product, including the user experience, risks, assumptions, technology used, integrations and dependencies. Knowledgeable on how the associated products are used in the industry and understand the latest relevant technologies, vendors, innovations, and forward-thinking trends
• Collaborate with engineering and business leaders on buy/build decisions, the selection and sourcing of WGU software and provide leadership to the RFI and RFP vendor selection process
• Utilize customer feedback, market research and industry data to inform product technology strategy
• Lead in the development and launch of products and services for students and staff-facing solution
• Maintain and build relationships with business owners, stakeholders, team members and key vendors
• Accountable for ensuring portfolio KPIs and service levels meet defined goals and measure of success targets and use data to inform/defend prioritization decisions
• Shared accountability with engineering for portfolio health and product quality and leading team in product stabilization, performance, and proactive monitoring and improvements
• Participate in product management leadership and associated consultation and decision-making

Knowledge, Skill and Abilities

• Expertise in setting strategic direction and synthesizing multiple initiatives and products together to deliver on outcomes
• Demonstrated experience working in the Agile Scrum framework with complex products and multiple teams
• Comfortable with ambiguity and prepared to act with incomplete information
• Excellent communication and people skills
• Thrives working collaboratively as part of a team in a fast-paced environment
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to effectively influence, persuade and negotiate with multiple levels including executive leadership
• Understanding of technical concepts and ability to communicate them to non-technical audiences
• Analytical and quantitative skills to use data and metrics to back up assumptions, surface recommendations and drive decisions. Ability to clearly communicate these data insights to others

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• 7+ years of demonstrated experience working as a software Product Manager
• 5+ years of experience as a people leader
• Requirements for specific software experience will vary based on available product positions
• Experience directly leading and managing a team

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree
• Experience in Education technology, higher education, or related market
• Certified in change management
• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) or other equivalent certification (e.g. Pragmatic Marketing)

Position & Application Details

Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.