IT Product Manager

📋 Description

• • As an IT Product Manager at the National University System, you will be the central figure responsible for championing and expertly managing specific products and applications. This pivotal role involves developing and meticulously coordinating the product backlog, which is the prioritized list of requirements essential for future product development. You will be instrumental in innovating, launching, and maintaining the applications and products under your purview, leveraging a strategic, big-picture vision alongside detailed, task-level technical skills to guide all organizational teams involved with the product. Your consistent availability to technical teams will ensure they have clear guidance on the business owner's perspective for implementing product features. Furthermore, as a representative of both the product and the organization, you will uphold exemplary professionalism, demonstrating excellent problem-resolution and communication skills.
• • Your day-to-day responsibilities will encompass a wide range of critical activities. You will serve as the primary subject matter expert for your assigned products, building and nurturing strong relationships with business leaders through regular, proactive communication. A key aspect of your role will be staying abreast of vendor product updates and roadmaps, proactively sharing upcoming features and their potential impact with business leaders. You will collaborate closely with product vendors to ensure product capabilities align precisely with business owner needs. A significant part of your work will involve partnering with business leaders to develop comprehensive roadmaps and drive products from their initial concept through to successful launch in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. You will own and meticulously execute the product roadmap, overseeing the entire lifecycle from innovation to end-to-end launch and ongoing maintenance.
• • You will lead the planning and implementation of projects, initiating discovery phases, defining scope, estimating resources, and developing robust business cases for new engagements. This includes reviewing business needs, identifying priorities, and working closely with the Project Management Office (PMO) team to outline deliverables, key milestones, and identify potential opportunities and risks. You will also assist leadership in defining, researching, and prioritizing improvement initiatives, ensuring they are strategically aligned with the organization's overarching goals. A critical responsibility is ensuring that all projects incorporate clear considerations for design, build, run, maintain, support, and security.
• • In collaboration with business leaders, you will set clear, measurable success metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for projects, and you will provide leadership with regular updates, metrics, and reports throughout the entire Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). You will coordinate projects effectively while maintaining a collaborative working relationship with the PMO. Translating product roadmap features into well-defined product requirements, including detailed features, user stories, tasks, and acceptance criteria, will be a core function. You will also create and maintain comprehensive documentation for your products and, where appropriate, work with IT Leadership and the PMO to manage product budgets. Providing direction and support to product and project teams, scheduling and conducting User Acceptance Testing (UAT) with business owners, and operating within an Agile or Agile hybrid environment using best practices are also key duties. You will lead the product functional design, work collaboratively with development and Quality Assurance (QA) teams, coordinate the resolution of escalated issues, and work with the release management team to coordinate releases and test features post-release.
• • The team you will be joining is part of the National University System, a dynamic educational institution dedicated to meeting global education demands. This role is crucial in ensuring the technological products and applications that support the university's mission are innovative, efficient, and aligned with strategic objectives. You will be part of a collaborative environment that values innovation and a commitment to student success.
• • In this role, you will have the opportunity to deepen your expertise in product management within the higher education sector. You can expect to gain valuable experience in leading product lifecycles, influencing strategic decisions, and working with cutting-edge technologies. You will achieve tangible results by successfully launching and maintaining critical applications, contributing directly to the university's operational excellence and its mission to provide accessible, high-quality education. This position offers a platform for professional growth, allowing you to hone your leadership, communication, and technical skills in a supportive and forward-thinking organization.