Head of Product, Learning Platform

Job Description

SUMMARY: The Senior Director of Product Management is primarily responsible for setting and driving the direction for a line of products in partnership with the Business leaders.  This individual will be the senior leader to partner with the business leaders who oversee the K-12 Learning Products and Platforms including the Managed Schools and Learning Solutions lines of business.  This leader is very senior and must foster partnerships with business leaders, customers, Marketing, and application engineering to deliver innovative products which balance the need to deliver value to the company \with what customers want and what’s technically and operationally possible. Typically, it is their responsibility to develop strategies and business plans to strengthen relationships, address issues and concerns, and perform corrective measures when necessary. Product Management role is the link between the business and the customer at a strategic level.  They need to understand the business requirements of the customer and is provide services that meet these needs. They will need to understand the voice of the customer through internal business interactions as well as external, customer direct interactions including calls, correspondence, and face to face customer meetings.  This leader will also provide industry advice or consultation. At the most fundamental level, this leader must define and understand the customers, market, profitability and set a long-term roadmap for all products in their portfolio.  Finally, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage staff in the joint effort to reach target business metrics (sales, new enrollments, revenue, margin, etc.) and improve the client base.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties.

• Manage a portfolio of products and the associated product roadmaps in various stages;
• Establish a customer focus for product management and capture ongoing voice of the customer;.
• Lead and manage customer forums;
• Partner with Marketing, business, engineering and operations teams to drive the Go-to- Market process product releases;
• Collaborate with the other product management leadership to implement a standard product management framework and product lifecycle process;
• Define the “what” for Stride products under the Learning Platforms line of business for K-12 schools;
• Partner with Product Marketing to define “how” products are taken to market, sold and commercialized;
• Partner with Technology to define “how” products are built to satisfy the “what”;
• Ensure alignment to Business and Architecture roadmaps;

• Build business partnerships, driving value to satisfy purpose;
• Partner with the different business leaders both inside and outside the organization to collaborate and ensure meaningful results from our strategic initiatives;
• Optimize organizational factors, such as brand, technology, innovation, and human to amplify fit-for-purpose impact;
• Proactively sense and anticipate changes affecting strategy in the environmental landscape including organizational improvements, technological advancements, and evolving organization and business needs;
• Own the strategic relationship between the line of business partners to stimulate, surface, and shape demand;
• Oversee demand and priority with focus on delivery of Stride’s Value Drivers and Transformational programs;
• Develop deep domain knowledge of your business partner's line of business and build cross-functional relationships for the convergence of value;
• Establish value management and product success measures as a strategic organizational capability;
• Establish a communication methodology for effective and efficient organizational communication;
• Partner with individuals, teams, throughout Stride to drive value and meaningful results;
• Continually improve the value framework to drive organizational awareness and education;
• Partner with leaders to identify opportunities to evaluate, sequence, and shape initiatives for strategic value;
• Focus on value over solutions, emphasize value when developing ideas, evaluating risk, and evolving needs;
• Innovate using knowledge and awareness of industry trends to identify new opportunities;
• Implement innovation techniques such as Hack-a-Thons and innovation labs;
• Elaborate the strategic plans for business partners to communicate their strategic capabilities monitoring initiative progress to ensure expectations are aligned with results and ultimately value;
• Ensure that allies in strategic purpose are knowledgeable about objectives; engage as a project/program major partner including evaluating development efforts and progress against strategic plans and value creation objectives;
• Advocate as a champion of change for your business partners strategic plans;
• Validate the business partners purpose supports the desired results. This can be achieved through

business case development, financial awareness, managing expectations, the identification of opportunities to grow value or a combination;

• Align each initiative to the organizational strategy to validate expected results;
• Strategize with partners to develop future roadmaps and explore new opportunities;

• Enhance existing and prospective relationships through product evaluation, cross-sell and exploration of other company resources.

MINIMUM REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:   

• Eight (8) years of experience in Product Management
• Fifteen (15) years of experience in an operational, management, or delivery roles
• Ten (10) years of upper management experience and leadership skills

Certificates and Licenses: Pragmatic Product Management Certified or equivalent

OTHER REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: 

• Outstanding knowledge of modern tech stack of cloud applications.
• Extensive firsthand experience with design, development, and implementation of IT systems.
• Demonstrated knowledge of budgeting, financial planning, and business operations.
• Analytical mind and great critical thinking skills.
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal abilities and history of success collaborating with executives across an organization.
• Strong leadership and team building skills.
• Direct experience driving continuous improvements in process and operational efficiencies through designing and driving standards across cross functional teams.
• Work towards results with a passion for technology and continuous delivery.
• Ability to quickly drill down to solve problems and take ownership of the resolution.
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically.
• Ability to partner cross functionally to drive complex strategic projects
• Excellent management skills with the ability to work to deadlines and successfully lead multiple initiatives.
• Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Visio); Web proficiency.
• Ability to travel 10% of the time
• Ability to clear required background check

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:  

• BS/BA in computer science or relevant field. MS/MA is a big plus; MBA Preferred

WORK ENVIRONMENT:  The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• This is a home-based position.

• Compensation & Benefits: Stride, Inc. considers a person’s education, experience, and qualifications, as well as the position’s work location, expected quality and quantity of work, required travel (if any), external market and internal value when determining a new employee’s salary level. Salaries will differ based on these factors, the position’s level and expected contribution, and the employee’s benefits elections. Offers will typically be in the bottom half of the range.

• We anticipate this position will pay a salary of $102,088.13 to $190,000.00. This salary is not guaranteed, as an individual’s compensation can vary based on several factors. These factors include, but are not limited to, geographic location, experience, training, education, and local market conditions. Eligible employees may receive a bonus. Stride offers a robust benefits package for eligible employees that can include health benefits, retirement contributions, and paid time off.

• The above job is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions, and perform any other related duties, as assigned by their supervisor.  All employment is “at-will” as governed by the law of the state where the employee works.  It is further understood that the “at-will” nature of employment is one aspect of employment that cannot be changed except in writing and signed by an authorized officer. 

The above job is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions, and perform any other related duties, as assigned by their supervisor. All employment is “at-will” as governed by the law of the state where the employee works. It is further understood that the “at-will” nature of employment is one aspect of employment that cannot be changed except in writing and signed by an authorized officer.

Job Type

The above job is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions, and perform any other related duties, as assigned by their supervisor. All employment is “at-will” as governed by the law of the state where the employee works.  It is further understood that the “at-will” nature of employment is one aspect of employment that cannot be changed except in writing and signed by an authorized officer.

If you are a job seeker with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to apply for one of our jobs, you can request the appropriate accommodation by contacting stridecareers@k12.com.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

Stride, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants receive consideration for employment based on merit without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by federal, state, or local law. Stride, Inc. complies with all legally required affirmative action obligations. Applicants will not be discriminated against because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant.