Entry Level Product Strategy Jobs (NOW HIRING)

PURPOSE OF POSITION: 

Responsible for maximizing the success of the company's product offerings, by defining product strategy, planning and executing product development, and managing product lifecycle.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AT ALL LEVELS:

• Accountability  - Take ownership of assigned products and accept responsibility for success or failure.
• Define Product Strategy - Market and technology research and trend analysis, idea intake and evaluation, product roadmaps, cross-portfolio collaboration, lifecycle planning, feasibility analysis and business case development, capital planning, network architecture planning collaboration, and collaboration with market segment owners to align market and product strategy.
• Plan and Execute Product Development - Project success, risk mitigation and contingency planning, product requirements documentation, and go-to-market activities coordination.
• Manage Product Lifecycle - Product margin and EBITDA optimization, product performance evaluation and life stage management, product performance scorecard reporting, advanced technical support escalation, product operations and quality management, and product knowledgebase content maintenance.

May be Assigned to any of the following Product Portfolio Focus Areas  (see Addendum for additional details): 

• Internet
• Video
• Wireless
• Enterprise Data & Voice
• Managed Services & IT
• Security & Datacenter
• Platforms & Capabilities
• Online Content                                                         
• Cloud and Managed Services
  • Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively across the organization to achieve a positive outcome. 
  • Ability to foster inter-departmental harmony by promoting cross-departmental collaboration.
  • Ability to effectively influence cross functional teams without formal authority.
  • Ability to accurately communicate information virtually (i.e., Teams), over the phone, and in-person in a clear and concise manner to a range of audiences.
  • Ability to accurately read, write, and respond to business correspondence such as emails, chat messages, policies, procedures, reports.
  • Ability to articulate design and technical information in presentation format in front of internal and external customers. 
  • Demonstrated ability to project confidence and poise in presenting hypotheses, conclusions, and recommendations to executive leadership.
  • Familiar with common product development methodologies such as Agile, Scrum, and Waterfall.
  • Subject matter expertise in technical, financial, and marketing principles relevant to assigned responsibilities.
  • Maintains an understanding of relevant product trends, technical platforms, and legal, regulatory, and security considerations relevant to assigned responsibilities.
  • Maintains an understanding of market segmentation, trends, and demands.
  • Maintains a deep understanding of organizational core competencies and awareness of their impact on product launches and lifecycle optimization.
  • Ability to distill core components of complex problems into succinct and easily understood conclusions.
  • Ability to analyze problems and technical situations leading to optimal solutions.
  • Ability to function autonomously, assuming a great amount of responsibility, and demonstrate leadership on assigned projects with minimal direction.

COMPETENCIES:

• ACCOUNTABILITY- Takes ownership for actions, decisions, and results; openly accepts feedback and demonstrates a willingness to improve.
• BASIC PRINCIPLES - Interacts with people in a way that builds mutual trust, confidence, and respect; adheres to GCI's Code of Conduct for Employees - the Basic Principles.
• COLLABORATION - Works effectively with others to accomplish common goals and objectives; maintains positive relationships even under difficult circumstances.
• COMMUNICATION- Conveys thoughts and expresses ideas appropriately and professionally.
• COMPLIANCE - Follows internal controls; protects confidential information; abides by GCI's Code of Business Conduct & Ethics.
• CUSTOMER FOCUS - Demonstrates commitment to service excellence; gives high priority to customer satisfaction.
• RELIABILITY - Consistently follows through on assigned tasks as expected; demonstrates timely attendance at meetings, training, and other work obligations.
• RESULTS - Uses a combination of job knowledge, initiative, sound decision making, innovation, adaptability, and problem solving.
• SAFETY & SECURITY - Supports a safe work environment by following all workplace safety rules and guidelines; complies with applicable Security policies and procedures.
• TECHNICAL PROFICIENCY - Proficient computer skills and MS Office knowledge (e.g., Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel) to complete job duties effectively.

Position Title: Product Manager I

Additional Job Requirements:

This is an entry level position within the discipline demonstrating working knowledge and proficiency in areas of responsibility. Performs moderate tasks and job duties, receiving general instruction on routine work and more detailed instruction on new assignments. May have ownership of some product lines, including accountability for the ultimate success or failure of those products. Works under close supervision with some latitude for independent judgment. Supports higher level Product Managers in implementing moderate to more complex projects.

Essential Duties: 

70% 

Product Lifecycle Management

• Ensure quality management targets are attained by tracking adherence to appropriate metrics. 
• Provide visibility to financial health of product lines by preparing reports of sales, marketing, and financial performance. 
• Identify opportunities to optimize profit margin and EBIDTA. 
• Analyze data to interpret and determine trends. 
• Provide support to operational teams for advanced troubleshooting. 
• Publish product performance scorecards containing relevant financial and operational performance metrics for executive audiences. 
• Contribute to the ongoing evaluation of portfolio products and optimization of products with respect to their lifecycle stage (launch, growth, harvest, retire, etc.). 
• Negotiate contract terms and maintain vendor relationships.
• Provide executive decision-makers with the reporting insights needed to drive organizational success.
• Optimize product success across each stage of the product lifecycle by identifying under-performing areas and creating plans for improvement.

20% 

Product Development 

• Assist with analysis and contribute subject matter expertise to product development efforts led by more senior product managers. 
• Support Product Management staff with the documentation and distribution of product information and the requirements necessary to ensure success of the groups required to sell, deliver, and support products.

10% 

Product Strategy 

• Conduct disciplined market analysis to gather supporting data, identify trends, and craft actionable conclusions. 
• Support portfolio leadership in the definition of 5-year high level product roadmaps and associated capital plan and operating forecast.
• Conduct financial analysis and assist in the development of business cases to drive revenue attainment. 
• Integrate both financial and strategic analysis into a synthesized set of hypotheses and conclusions. 
• Draw actionable insights from market validation channels by collaborating with functional groups to solicit feedback from customer-facing teams and customers themselves.

Minimum Qualifications:

Required: *A combination of relevant work experience and/or education sufficient to perform the duties of the job may substitute to meet the total years required on a year-for-year basis

• High School diploma or equivalent.
• Bachelor Degree in Business, Accounting, Industrial Management, Engineering or related field. *
• Minimum of one (1) year of relevant experience in Product Management, Product Development, Technology Sales or Marketing, IT Development/Operations, Software Development, Technology Engineering, Financial Analysis, or Data Analytics. *

Preferred: 

• Relevant industry certifications, such as those from Pragmatic Marketing or The 280 Group.
• Telecommunications experience.  
• Other relevant telecom industry or job specific certifications. 

Required at ALL Levels

DRIVING REQUIREMENTS: 

• This position may require access to reliable transportation for occasional travel between retail store locations, offices, worksites, or other locations as needed.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS and WORKING CONDITIONS:  

• Work is primarily sedentary, requiring daily routine computer usage.
• Ability to work shifts as assigned, work in standard office/home office setting, and operate standard office equipment.
• Ability to accurately communicate information and ideas to others effectively.
• Physical agility and effort sufficient to perform job duties safely and effectively.
• Ability to make valid judgments and decisions.   
• Available to work additional time on weekends, holidays, before or after normal work hours when necessary. 
• Must work well in a team environment and be able to work with a diverse group of people and customers.
• Virtual workers must comply with remote work policies and agreements.

The company and its subsidiaries operate in a 24/7 environment providing critical services to Alaskans and may need to respond to public health and safety matters or other business emergencies. Due to business needs employees may be contacted outside of the core business hours to respond to the immediate emergency. As such, you will be requested to provide emergency after hours contact numbers, to include your home and cell phone numbers if you have those services. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: At GCI, we foster a culture of inclusivity by nurturing an environment where the varied perspectives of our employees, customers, and fellow Alaskans are celebrated. We add value to our community as we grow and empower a diverse workforce that provides equitable opportunity for every Trailblazer. EEO: GCI is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, veteran status, or any other status or classification protected under applicable state or federal law.  DISCLAIMER:  The above information on this description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification.  It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job. All employees of GCI work in support of the GCI Mission Statement and Declaration of Principles which are located on the GCI Career page and Employee portal.

Focus Areas:

Internet

Experience in:

• Cable modem broadband technologies
• Consumer and Business broadband delivery to remote locations (Satellite, microwave, etc.)
• Connected home and/or SMB technologies 
• Rural internet technologies
• Wi-Fi services (LAN and public Wi-Fi hotspots)

Video

Experience in:

• Linear video services
• Video on Demand (VOD)
• Over the Top (OTT) applications and IP delivery of video services
• Wireless delivery of video services
• Video programming and content

Wireless

Experience in:

• 4G LTE, VoWi-Fi, VoLTE, IMS, RCS
• Common smartphone platforms (Android, iOS, etc.)
• Wireless device management and testing
• IoT, M2M
• Public Wi-Fi

Enterprise Data & Voice

Experience in:

• Legacy circuit-switched voice services
• Unified Communications (UC) services
• SIP and other IP voice technologies
• Current and emerging data transport technologies
• Software Defined Networking (SDN) & Network Function Virtualization (NFV)

Managed Services & IT

Experience in:

• Enterprise IT infrastructure
• Managed IT services
• Enterprise applications (ERP, CRM, SQL Databases, etc.)

Security & Datacenter

Experience in:

• Industry security requirements
• Enterprise data security
• Cloud data security
• Hosted & Virtualized colocation
• Hyperscaled (Azure, AWS, GCP) Cloud Solutions

Platforms & Capabilities

Experience in:

• Internet of Things (IoT) Platforms
• Hosted Data Analytics
• Hard...