Senior IT Product Manager - Learning Ecosystem (Information Technology)
The Training and Development industry is constantly evolving. Customers demand new and engaging approaches to learning, supervisors want to compress training time without losing effectiveness, learners desire mobility and flexibility, and new well-funded ed-tech companies are emerging which provides opportunity for innovation. Management Concepts is striving to remain relevant amidst all the change and continue to adapt, innovate, and thrive. As a leading training and solutions provider to the Federal government and its learners, we believe that every customer deserves an excellent experience which starts with our people and includes our technology. The heart of our Learning Ecosystem is our LMS which is our main learner and facilitator interface and therefore critical to drive engagement and loyalty. Our LMS which typically supports ILT/VILT learners and instructors is supported by a Learning Experience Platform (LXP) for cohort and blended learning. There are several other systems in the Learning Ecosystem that support the overall objective of serving our learners from enrollment to invoicing to delivery and assessment of the learning. We are currently restructuring our Learning Ecosystem to simplify the experience for all involved.
As the Senior IT Product Manager for our Learning Ecosystem, you relish the idea of creating and executing our Learning Ecosystem product strategy and roadmap, identifying new opportunities including integrations with other IT products, and communicating product vision to stakeholders. You enjoy working closely with cross-functional teams, including developers, designers, infrastructure engineers, and administrators to manage the product lifecycle from inception to replacement. You are driven to ensure products are relevant and impactful to our learners and to deliver Learning Ecosystem projects on-time and within budget that meet quality standards and exceed user expectations. At your core, you are a change leader who is driven to create value and who is bold and innovative.
As our ideal candidate you are:
• A problem solver. You enjoy a challenge and will run with it. You can develop a detailed understanding of business processes and current-state implementations by analyzing business applications and their usage. You are passionate about using your analytical skills to find solutions to business issues and optimize business processes.
• An organizer and facilitator. You understand the software development lifecycle (SDLC) and can apply formal processes to develop, monitor, and execute project plans and ensure that deliverables are completed on time and budget and meet business expectations.
• A great communicator. You have excellent communication and presentation skills, including technical writing skills. You have confidence in organizing and hosting meetings with business stakeholders to drive decisions and buy-in.
• A team player. You know how to leverage the smart people you work with. You know that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts on high-performing teams. You help others by providing guidance and direction where needed, acting as the bridge between the business and your team.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
• Partner with the business to create and implement a Learning Ecosystem strategy designed to enhance customer, learner, and facilitator (we use 400+ independent facilitators to conduct our courses) experiences resulting in increased engagement, loyalty, and retention.
• Based on the Learning Ecosystem strategy, work with cross-functional teams to define and execute a product roadmap that is aligned with business goals and staffing capacity. Ensure both the strategy and roadmap are communicated, understood, and supported. Gather feedback and resolve any gaps.
• Build and lead a team, to include technical business analysts, software developers and PMs, focused on delivering world-class learning ecosystem capabilities that scale.
• Conduct market and user research and analysis to identify new opportunities for product development or replacement.
• Maintain a deep understanding of the Learning Ecosystem competitive landscape, industry trends and best practices as well as emerging technologies and their potential impact on MC's business model and/or roadmap.
• Apply technical expertise to identify opportunities for improvement and make recommendations to senior management for improved learner experience, simplification and automation of business process, DevOps and governance.
• Work closely with business analysts, technical analysts, software developers, cloud administrators and project managers to create detailed product specifications.
• Manage the product development process, including sprint planning, development, testing, deployment, maintenance, change control and governance.
• Ensure that all products are delivered on time, within budget, and meet quality standards and are maintained, perform well and are available during business hours.
• Develop and track key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of the Learning Ecosystem.
• Contribute to the vision for learner data, analytics, and ML/AI programs to understand and improve the learner experience.
• Manage data integrity and cleanliness within the Learning Ecosystem, ensuring accuracy and completeness of learner information.
• Manage overall operational stability of the Learning Ecosystem; drive continued focus on learner experience, operational excellence, and cost optimization.
• Direct the administration of the Learning Ecosystem, including user setup, permissions, and security.
• Partner with the Technology Operations team to ensure smooth operations of the Learning ecosystem including data security/CMMC/GDPR, code deployments, data backups and disaster recovery procedures.
• Manage 3rd party vendor relationships, performance, and effectiveness related to LMS software/Learning ecosystem, services, and support.
• Participate in the development and management of the Learning Ecosystem budget.
JOB SKILLS:
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, information technology, business, marketing, or related field.
• Experience in IT product management is a plus.
• Strong team-building skills and experience managing IT teams.
• 5+ years' experience with Learning Management Systems and/or Learning Experience Platforms.
• Proven ability to develop, manage, and communicate strategy and roadmaps and to convey complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of learning ecosystem products with preferred experience where these products support customers rather than employees.
• Experience with Marketing, CRM, eCommerce, LXP and invoicing functions associated with a training business providing ILT/VILT/Blended training is a plus.
• Proven track record of successfully launching software products preferably in an enterprise environment.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to use data to drive decisions.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and work collaboratively to achieve common goals.
• Experience overseeing change control/governance processes leveraging agile/lean concepts including managing competing priorities and streamlining them to achieve desired outcomes.
• Strong knowledge of the software development lifecycle and DevOps in a cloud environment.
• Preferred experience with SaaS, building API-driven architectures, and iPaaS.
• Experience with Agile methodologies and project management/roadmap tools such as Aha!, JIRA or Asana.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
