Remote Product Manager

Summary

Join our team as a Product Manager at Great Minds, where you will develop and execute product strategy for knowledge-building instructional materials. This role requires collaboration with cross-functional teams to drive customer feedback, market analysis, and innovation.

Requirements

• At least 3 years of experience working in education publishing with a track record of success in product development, digital product management, curriculum development and/or project management, preferably in the K-12 education market
• Experience in K-12 edtech, proficient in practices such as Agile and human-centered design
• Experience in an editorial or media environment with an understanding of the challenges unique to the transformation of print materials to a digital format
• Deep respect for and alignment to the philosophy, instructional design, and pedagogy of Great Minds’ knowledge-building vision
• Ability to navigate the Great Minds climate, where leadership often drives product vision and roadmap decisions
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, including customers, sales team, content development teams, software engineers, and senior leadership that require a sophisticated level of sensitivity and excellent judgment
• Strong analytical thinking and decision-making skills to anticipate challenges, issues, or opportunities
• Ability to work on cross functional teams with a collaborative approach, equally comfortable talking content development with writers, tech with developers, user experience with designers, copy and positioning with product marketers, and numbers with finance and marketing
• Strong business acumen, with the ability to think about ROI, strategic pricing, and the potential value of ideas to help the team prioritize where and how to spend limited resources
• Ability to synthesize market, customer, and cross-organizational needs for teams, particularly teams new to product mindset, digital development, and revenue-driven decision-making
• Propensity to understand and know the market and competitors to strategize and think ahead for future opportunities that meet the Great Minds vision
• Capacity to receive and then apply external and internal content feedback from advisors, senior leadership, consultants, and colleagues
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills in an all-remote working environment, demonstrating an ability to adapt to a variety of individual communication styles and needs
• Strong organizational habits necessary for successful goal setting, project management, collective decision-making, deadline execution, and record keeping
• Fluency in the use of applications and collaboration tools such as Atlassian JIRA/Confluence, MS Office 365 and Google suite
• Ability to remain flexible in an ambiguous, fast-paced entrepreneurial environment
• Passion for and commitment to the importance of high-quality, knowledge-rich curriculum
• Receptivity to feedback with a focus on reflective practice
• Willingness to embrace a mindset that is receptive to the perspectives of others
• Commitment to high standards and continuous improvement
• Proficiency at both working independently and collaborating as part of a team
• Highly collaborative with the ability to consistently exhibit diplomacy, tact, and integrity
• Willingness to bring a proactive problem-solving orientation to every task
• Appreciation for the challenges and victories faced everyday by classroom teachers
• Commitment to collective authorship
• Deep belief that every child is capable of greatness
• Bachelor's degree

Responsibilities

• Work in partnership with the Senior Manager, Product to develop a product aligned to the Great Minds knowledge building approach
• Oversee the product management process for a product, including market research, competitor analysis, planning, positioning, requirements and roadmap development, and product launch
• Collaborate with the Content & Editorial team to execute the strategy related to state adoptions, pricing bundles, sampling, and open territory/large-district opportunities for a product
• Work with the Senior Manager, Product to determine the go to market strategy and product pricing for a product
• Conceptualize and quantify product vision, including research, market mapping, competitive analysis, market opportunity, and strategic development
• Develop and maintain a thorough understanding of both customer and business requirements, while partnering with the content area leaders and product operations to leverage overall product management best practices
• Synthesize data, observations, and other research into insights to help advise product strategy
• Define product components, configurations, and pricing (both print and digital) that addresses market needs and optimizes adoption and implementation
• Conduct user testing interviews; coordinate and recruit for pilots to identify problems and validate improvements
• Research the competitive product landscape and education market
• Gather information about buyer and user needs through interviews and customer visits as well as product analytic tools
• Facilitate purposeful feedback gathering initiatives with internal and external customers to inform product priorities
• Raise issues, risks, and dependencies when appropriate with relevant parties, while collaborating to resolve them
• Proactively connect and work with key partners on cross functional teams, including content and editorial, finance, marketing, sales, design, legal, and operations, to ensure alignment of product vision and execution
• Leverage data/analytics to make decisions, driving a process of continual customer feedback
• Monitor the Return on Investment (ROI) and Profit & Loss (P&L) for a product line and raise risks and remedies to the Senior Manager, Product
• Support the development of market share, revenue, pricing, and P&L recommendations for leadership team approval
• Support the required market analysis, and innovation necessary to meet market opportunities and needs
• Provide oversight and ensure alignment between the instructional philosophy, content development and Great Minds’ digital platform in the delivery of features and customer experience
• Support financial analysis and drive business case development for data-driven decisions on investment priorities
• Foster a healthy, strong team culture that values humility, feedback, and alignment to Great Minds mission, including knowledge-building and high-quality instructional materials