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NWEA is a research-based, not-for-profit organization that supports students and educators worldwide by creating assessment solutions that precisely measure growth and proficiency-and provide insights to help tailor instruction. For 40 years, NWEA has developed innovative Pre-K-12 assessments, including our flagship interim assessment, MAP Growth; our progress monitoring and skills mastery tool, MAP Skills; and the OECD Test for Schools (based on PISA). Educators trust our professional learning offerings to accelerate student learning and our research to support assessment validity and data interpretation. Our tools are trusted by educators in 140 countries and more than half the schools in the U.S.

Position summary

Reporting to the Sr. Vice President, Product Management and
Publishing, the Vice President of Product Management is a key member of senior
leadership. This position is responsible for providing leadership and
management for Product Management in the creation of multi-year, integrated, and
enterprise level product and solution vision and strategies (NWEA's product
portfolio). This position requires a strong and current understanding of the
educational ecosystem and related markets. Additionally, this position is
responsible for transforming organizational strategies into product and
business planning requirements, artifacts and initiatives used by the
enterprise to tactically execute and deliver compelling products and services
into a complex and multi-faceted marketplace. Working across the organization,
the Vice President of Product Management ensures that the product vision and
results align with the organizational mission and meets internal and external
goals for revenue generation, profitability, and partner satisfaction.

The VP and Product Management team will be product evangelists
(internally & externally). This includes responsibility for collaborating
with others, communicating and clarifying strategies, articulating roadmaps and
priorities, and creating the necessary artifacts and deliverables that move the
vision and strategies from concept to reality within the organization. This
position and the group of directors managed by this role will translate partner
needs and innovative ideas into great products, solutions and services while
managing complex product and business decisions and related trade-offs at the
enterprise level.

This position provides leadership for a team of highly
skilled product management leaders and their staff and enables the team to be
effective collaborators across the organization. The Product Management team designs,
develops and manages product/services/business line strategy and plan and
execute the product lifecycle including the definition of market and product
opportunities, market requirements, product roadmap and release, market and
competitive positioning, feature definition, and feature development
priorities. This position works closely with, Marketing, Product Engineering,
Research, Publishing, Professional Learning, and Partner Accounts on
go-to-market strategy and execution including release readiness. 

The ideal candidate is a leader of leaders and brings a
background in educational assessment that demonstrates vision, leadership,
collaboration, and an entrepreneurial spirit in the educational assessment
arena.

• Clearly, consistently, and frequently articulate and
       evolve the product vision, strategy, and related roadmap(s) across the
       organization, demonstrating solution flexibility and configurability
       across multiple products and markets. 
• Engage stakeholders to drive alignment on clear,
       actionable product and business strategies and priorities to deliver
       optimal results for partners and the business. Recommend and champion the
       most effective use of product investment funds. 
• Anticipate, coordinate, and leverage emergent
       technologies, functionalities, and capabilities as they evolve and are
       delivered (internally and in the market). 
• In partnership with enterprise architects, Product
       Management leadership, and key internal stakeholders, proactively evolve
       and increase clarity for solutions design to ensure successful epic
       definition and all levels of necessary requirements elicitation.
  

Responsibilities

• Lead the creation of product portfolio
  vision and strategy in support of NWEA's vision. Drive and facilitate the
  planning process to provide focus and alignment on critical strategies and
  resultant products and services that delight our partners. Aggressively
  identify opportunities for improvement, and incorporate new business and
  product features on an ongoing basis.

• Evangelize and socialize product or
  services strategy, vision and value proposition with internal and external
  stakeholders.

• Work closely with our alliance partners
  to ensure that the common services and offerings we jointly provide remain
  aligned and are delivered to the market without interruption.
  

• Provide leadership, mentoring, and management
  to assigned directors and staff dedicated to the growth of the organization,
  product management process, and metrics that demonstrate improved performance.

• Lead the team to proactively meet with
  partners (customers) and prospects to assess needs, identify opportunities, and
  build relationships for dynamic product enhancement dialogue.

• Regularly interact with product user groups, industry
  leaders, and the learning community to stay abreast of industry changes and to
  influence policy.

• Identify opportunities to optimize
  product line profitability through value-based pricing, production efficiency
  recommendations, and competitive and market intelligence to improve partner
  retention rates and partner satisfaction.

• Work with staff to routinely review and
  report out P&L at product, bundle, and portfolio levels for all products
  and services.

• Identify and build cross-functional team
  collaboration experiences on a real-time and strategic basis within NWEA.

• Attend key industry conferences, capture
  strategic takeaways and socialize this information within the Product
  Management team.
  

• Develop and direct a high-performance
  product management team of directors and their staff charged with optimizing
  the organization's portfolio of products and services.

• Drive toward clarity of purpose and role
  for all functions and activity
  

Skills and Abilities

• Ability to lead and drive toward NWEA's
  vision and in support of NWEA's mission by developing world class products and
  refinements to existing products without being confined to traditional
  market-driven analysis

• Ability to effectively lead high
  performing teams and create an environment in which talent is nurtured and
  developed

• Ability to lead in a dynamic, fast
  changing environment is essential, while demonstrating strong drive for results
  and execution

• Exceptional skills in partnering with
  clients and staff and in developing and maintaining long term supportive and
  collaborative relationships

• Ability to establish priorities and
  results within the team and within the cross-functional teams at NWEA while
  concurrently managing unrelated, multiple, and complex technical requirements
  on a timely basis

• Ability to make timely decisions and
  produce results through the effective implementation of products, programs, and
  scalable processes

• Capable of establishing a business case
  for all products, processes, metrics, and margins that justify resource
  requirements and anticipated results

• Strong written and oral communication is
  a must as is tremendous creativity, flexibility, and comfort leading through
  ambiguity

• Consistent, proactive, and healthy
  cross-functional communication skills that set a leadership standard that
  motivates the team and all business relationships

• Demonstrated ability to drive results
  and to work effectively across multiple groups

• Strong ability to influence, persuade
  and negotiate in support of the product roadmap and organizational initiatives

• Ability to identify, maximize, and
  leverage internal and external resources to meet objectives

• Sound business judgment and knowledge of
  financial issues impacting product profitability including the ability to read
  a financial statement, manage the P&L of the product line, and deliver
  forecasted margins and market performance

• Solid understanding of technology
  including Business Intelligence and analytics

• Ability to travel as required, up to 25%
  

• Must be able to perform the physical and
  intellectual requirements of the role, with or without accommodation
  

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in education, technical,
  or business discipline or equivalent experience; advanced degree (e.g., MBA,
  Ph.D.), or equivalent experience preferred

• Minimum ten years' experience in product
  management, product development, product marketing or related discipline
  associated within the education industry, with at least five years in progressive
  product management leadership

• Solid knowledge of/experience with the
  Product Lifecycle Management processes including product requirements
  definition, product business plan development, new product introduction, etc.

• Domain knowledge and demonstrated
  understanding of the assessment and related services marketplace as well as the
  educational marketplace in general

• Experience with all aspects of go-to-market
  planning and launch 

• Demonstrated success in developing and
  launching complex technology products and software offered in a SaaS model

• Certified and Proficient with Pragmatic
  or 280 group Product Management frameworks or similar

• Investment and budget optimization and
  P&L management associated with new and existing products and
  professional staff

Benefits

NWEA's generous benefits package includes: 100% employer paid medical, dental and vision insurance premiums for eligible employees; company-paid public transportation, indoor bicycle racks, and free on-site parking; convenient location near public transportation near the Pearl District in downtown Portland; additional monthly compensation in the form of Benefit pay; and a 15% annual employer contribution toward our 403b retirement plan. In addition, NWEA's culture promotes work-life balance. Accordingly, we offer 4 weeks' PTO in the first year, 5 weeks' PTO after the first-year anniversary, and 6 weeks'
PTO after the second-year anniversary and in subsequent years. Our employees also enjoy flexible work schedules.

Interested in this job? 

Please apply directly on out website at: 
https://nwea.hodesiq.com/jobs/default.aspx?JobID=5500568

NWEA endeavors to make www.nwea.org accessible to all users.  If you would like to contact us regarding the accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please call
us at (503) 624-1951 and let us know the nature of your request, your location and your contact information.  This is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.

NWEA is an equal opportunity employer.  Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.  For our EEO Policy Statement, please visit our website. If you'd like more information on your EEO rights under the law, please visit thefollowing EEOC website.