Product Management Director

Job Summary

The Product Management Director is an inspirational leader who will join the Express family in delivering innovative technology solutions spanning enterprise mobile and web front, middle, and back office. The ideal candidate is a highly organized individual, with a good technical understanding of web and mobile applications and has strong experience in leading teams on internal/external facing products and projects and interacting with stakeholders, design, and technical team members to get things done. This includes eliciting and documenting requirements, discovering and documenting workflows, leading the product strategy, prioritizing needs and wants, evaluating and assessing risks, planning, tracking, and managing assigned projects. The successful candidate must be able to identify issues proactively, resolve conflicts, escalate if necessary, and work across the organization. This person will be instrumental in working closely with cross-functional teams, communicating the needs and priorities, and working with key stakeholders to ensure expectations are managed, and our products are delivered to satisfaction.

Essential Job Functions & Responsibilities:

Product Management:

• Driving the product strategy, and requirements and defining them to the software development team.
• Manages both large and small technology projects that support our product portfolio; capable of managing multiple work streams in parallel; collaborates with business partners to find solutions to business challenges
• Delivers end-to-end solutions by drawing from a strong background across multiple disciplines including development, architecture, testing, business analysis, and project management knowledge.
• Understands and validates the details of deliverables as provided by EPMO project resources; identifies, analyzes, and closes gaps.
• Participates in product planning support activities such as scoping proposed solutions, resources, and risk analysis.
• Participates in significant engagements through the understanding of product vision, budget, scope, and requirements.
• Working cross-functionally with senior leadership, legal, marketing, finance, sales, EU, and other teams.
• Engages with and influences stakeholder groups at a senior management level to implement the identified solution, prioritize requirements and ensure that the necessary infrastructure and resources are in place to support business requirements.
• Responsible for customer experience, functionality, and end deliverables.

Product Schedules:

• Creates and reviews product delivery schedules, requirements, specifications, budgets and status reports.
• Ensures that proper resources are in place to provide effective and quality product implementation.
• Holds team accountable for product deliverables; ensures team members have readiness and resources to deliver to plan.
• Removes obstacles, creates clarity, and balances priorities to lead to timely decision-making.

Documentation:

• Able to write clear requirements and/or specifications.
• Manages the delivery of some or all the following: Business cases, scope and requirements documents, use-case documentation, timelines, work breakdown structures, test plans, and rollout communications.
• Creates and reviews requirements and functional/ technical specifications.

Risk Management:

• Identifies product risks and develops risk mitigation plans.
• Identifies product issues and manages issues to closure.

Scope Management:

• Engages with clients to prioritize change, conduct impact assessments, and push back on change requests as necessary.
• Keeps teams focused on defined targeted timelines and defined project plans.
• Creates change/scope management plans.

Product Portfolio Governance:

• Leads product review meetings effectively.
• Manages agendas, meeting notes, status reports, proposals, communications, and presentation materials.
• Facilitates lessons learned review sessions and provides/implements process improvements.

Communication:

• Performs kick-off meetings, sends out weekly status, completes lessons learned, etc.
• Drives product engagement, adoption rates, stakeholder communication, and status.
• Evangelizes product vision.
• Communicates effectively with a multicultural and diverse team.
• Resolve and/or escalate issues in a timely fashion.
• Understand how to communicate difficult/sensitive information tactfully.

Specialized Job Skills & Technical Knowledge

• Possesses in-depth knowledge of process/systems/data flow analysis.
• Expert knowledge of the product lifecycle (software development, content, release management, etc.).
• Expert in Microsoft Word, Excel, Visio, and PowerPoint.
• Has a passion for solving problems using modern technology.
• Evaluate existing product management processes and drive continuous improvement practices; develop clear, efficient, and repeatable processes.

Leadership:

• Inspires coworkers to attain goals and pursue excellence.
• Sets an example for or mentors others within IT Services.
• Identifies opportunities for improvement and makes constructive suggestions for change.
• Remains at the forefront of emerging IT industry best practices.
• Brings groups to consensus on issues concerning product portfolio.
• Remains poised in situations of disagreement, stress or ambiguity.
• Encourages a positive working environment across disciplines and teams, resulting in stronger alignment and project coordination.

Teamwork:

• Collaborates across teams/organizations/disciplines in an effective, timely, and proactive manner.
• Participates in lessons learned reviews; identifies core issues and proposes solutions to address root causes.
• Evokes creative and innovative thinking from product team members.

Customer Success Management:

• Builds strong relationships with Express leadership; is treated as a trusted business partner by the Express family.
• Sets and manages client expectations; aware of potential issues that require proactive communications.
• Develop positive relationships with client personnel
• Communicates effectively with clients to identify needs and develop business solutions
• Continually seeks opportunities to increase customer satisfaction and deepen client relationships
• Identifies opportunities for improvement and makes constructive suggestions for change

Decision Making

Decisions in this role are critical to the growth of the digital landscape of the organization, requiring judgment in the application of a wide range of established rules and procedures, but within the limits of standard practices. Analysis tasks are new and difficult requiring considerable judgment to apply functional background material and complex principles in developing approaches and techniques for problem solving.

Education and Experience

We’re looking for well-rounded individuals with a technical background with product and project management experience.

• Deep technical experience in either open-source technologies or enterprise-grade frameworks.
• University degree (or equivalent), advanced degree preferred.
• 5+ years of Information Technology experience
• 5+ years working with custom web and mobile solutions
• 3+ years of employee management and customer service experience
• 3+ years of product management experience
• Experience working with offshore development and test resources is highly desirable
• Proven track record of success in leadership positions
• Must possess strong interpersonal skills, a passion for excellence, and a “can-do” attitude
• Must be energetic, highly organized, and efficient
• Ability to multi-task, self-direct, and manage deadlines
• Strong analytical skills