American Student Assistance
Senior Vice President, Chief Product Officer
American Student Assistance, Boston, Massachusetts, us, 02298
If you are a seasoned product development pro with a flare for managing product lifecycles and building engaging digital experiences for GenZ, read on. You may have just found your next move. American Student Assistance (ASA.org), a non-profit organization changing the way kids learn about careers and plan for their futures, has an immediate opening on the product development team. SVP/Chief Product Officer will report to the President and CEO of ASA. The Senior Vice President/Chief Product Officer will play a pivotal role in shaping ASA’s roadmap for our free suite of digital-first, self-directing career readiness experiences (Future Network, Futurescape, Next Voice). You will also lead ASA’s program/product vision, design, and execution of new programs & product solutions including a multi-pronged approach to support Gen Z learners in making navigation decisions for postsecondary education.
This role is ideal for an innovative and strategic leader who is energized by the Gen Z career readiness and postsecondary education navigation landscape and has experience in the secondary/postsecondary education arena. Part strategic thinker and part orchestrator with the proven ability to execute with fidelity, the successful candidate will be an expert in end-to-end product management lifecycle including product development, go to market and audience acquisition strategies, product maintenance/management, and digital marketing. Overall, you will be establishing the product strategy and roadmap to develop plans for new products, features, or updates to existing products, coordinating with other members of senior management to ensure that the company’s products are aligned with its business goals, evaluating the performance of existing products to identify areas for improvement or removal.
Responsibilities:
Manage a suite of free award-winning, self-directed career readiness education digital experiences for middle and high school-aged learners. These include Future Network, Futurescape, and Next Voice. Responsibilities include:
Developing a go-forward maintenance plan including decision to continue to outsource support or bring in-house, contract and vendor management, plan for continual content and UX experience refresh.
Continuous iteration of current suite of products to increase reach and engagement through data analysis and customer awareness. Managing ongoing marketing campaigns and digital advertising (audience acquisition) to ensure ASA meets its direct to learn impact goals.
Managing product development/marketing related budgets.
Supervising product development, product marketing, and product maintenance teams.
Serving as an ASA spokesperson at industry events and for media interviews.
Build, manage and inspire a world-class team of product development and product marketing resources and lead R&D/reach a MVP, steer the development of a high-profile tech solution to engage Gen Z at scale, and spearhead the go-to-market, audience acquisition and product launch strategies.
Lead Product Vision & Strategy:
Use design thinking methodologies to support development of innovative solutions that address challenges and opportunities present in the Gen Z market.
Work closely with internal and external partners to define and prioritize product features based on user feedback and business objectives.
Build and monitor key performance indicators and analytics to measure the success of the prototype and identify areas for further optimization.
Inform comprehensive market research efforts to identify landscape, user needs, preferences, and market trends with the Gen Z demographic.
Lead Platform Product Development:
Research: Help consolidate inputs to understand learner and employer motivations, competitive landscape, incentives, and demand.
Design, Prototyping, Testing: Co-lead an effort to develop a live wireframe prototype ensuring features and benefits align with learner and employer preferences. Create detailed specifications, define features, and outline the product’s purpose. Test functionality, aesthetics, and usability. Iteratively refine the design based on feedback and requirements. Test product prototypes. Evaluate performance, durability, safety, and user experience. Address any issues or improvements identified during testing.
Development: Lead the development of a build/buy/partner strategy determining optimal mix. Analyze the competitive landscape and make recommendations; lead conversations with partners. Manage an RFP process for a product development house and subsequent contracting process to engage vendors. Supervise the product development stages including user experience (UX) design, user interface (UI) design, and technical architecture planning. Collaborate closely with the development team, addressing any roadblocks and ensuring timely progress.
Lead the Go-to-Market, Audience Acquisition and co-lead the Marketing Communications Strategy:
Create marketing strategies and develop promotional materials to build awareness. Create a visual identity and a messaging platform for all new products. Build a web presence.
Co-create a communication plan for internal stakeholders as well as a public product launch. Plan should include a go-to-market strategy (public relations, social media, digital advertising, etc.) and an audience acquisition strategy to drive unique users to the platform.
Provide national thought leadership on issues related to domains of expertise, including through speaking engagements at high-profile events, op-eds, publications, and social media; represent ASA on the national stage.
A Successful Candidate:
Is an innovative, subject matter expert in the career exploration, career experimental and career navigation landscape with experiences in K-20 education and have demonstrated experiences in product management, product marketing/audience acquisition, vendor/partner relationship development & management, and project management.
Is experienced in launching mobile products and in live operations; possesses a strong product background including proficiency in product mobile development management principles, methodologies, and best practices.
Has strong empathy and understanding of the customer and decision makers and strives to create products that are of service to the customer and their needs.
Has a strong proficiency in conducting market research, which includes leveraging competitive analysis, and customer interviews to gather insights and inform product decisions.
Demonstrates proven ability to leverage digital marketing and communications to create awareness and drive audience acquisition.
Is well versed in making data-driven decisions and in leveraging KPIs and metrics to measure product success and drive business growth, particularly of new product models.
Skills:
Superior communication skills are mandatory. Must be able to communicate both verbally and in writing with all levels of management including senior leaders.
Strong business acumen, strategic thinking and decision-making skills.
Proven track record with successful product innovation and iteration; leveraging data collection, data analysis of large data-sets to drive insights and decision making.
Strong interpersonal skills: Ability to quickly establish a good rapport with all contacts.
Excellent organizational ability: Must be detail-oriented, process-driven, able to prioritize own work, set and meet deadlines, and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
#J-18808-Ljbffr
This role is ideal for an innovative and strategic leader who is energized by the Gen Z career readiness and postsecondary education navigation landscape and has experience in the secondary/postsecondary education arena. Part strategic thinker and part orchestrator with the proven ability to execute with fidelity, the successful candidate will be an expert in end-to-end product management lifecycle including product development, go to market and audience acquisition strategies, product maintenance/management, and digital marketing. Overall, you will be establishing the product strategy and roadmap to develop plans for new products, features, or updates to existing products, coordinating with other members of senior management to ensure that the company’s products are aligned with its business goals, evaluating the performance of existing products to identify areas for improvement or removal.
Responsibilities:
Manage a suite of free award-winning, self-directed career readiness education digital experiences for middle and high school-aged learners. These include Future Network, Futurescape, and Next Voice. Responsibilities include:
Developing a go-forward maintenance plan including decision to continue to outsource support or bring in-house, contract and vendor management, plan for continual content and UX experience refresh.
Continuous iteration of current suite of products to increase reach and engagement through data analysis and customer awareness. Managing ongoing marketing campaigns and digital advertising (audience acquisition) to ensure ASA meets its direct to learn impact goals.
Managing product development/marketing related budgets.
Supervising product development, product marketing, and product maintenance teams.
Serving as an ASA spokesperson at industry events and for media interviews.
Build, manage and inspire a world-class team of product development and product marketing resources and lead R&D/reach a MVP, steer the development of a high-profile tech solution to engage Gen Z at scale, and spearhead the go-to-market, audience acquisition and product launch strategies.
Lead Product Vision & Strategy:
Use design thinking methodologies to support development of innovative solutions that address challenges and opportunities present in the Gen Z market.
Work closely with internal and external partners to define and prioritize product features based on user feedback and business objectives.
Build and monitor key performance indicators and analytics to measure the success of the prototype and identify areas for further optimization.
Inform comprehensive market research efforts to identify landscape, user needs, preferences, and market trends with the Gen Z demographic.
Lead Platform Product Development:
Research: Help consolidate inputs to understand learner and employer motivations, competitive landscape, incentives, and demand.
Design, Prototyping, Testing: Co-lead an effort to develop a live wireframe prototype ensuring features and benefits align with learner and employer preferences. Create detailed specifications, define features, and outline the product’s purpose. Test functionality, aesthetics, and usability. Iteratively refine the design based on feedback and requirements. Test product prototypes. Evaluate performance, durability, safety, and user experience. Address any issues or improvements identified during testing.
Development: Lead the development of a build/buy/partner strategy determining optimal mix. Analyze the competitive landscape and make recommendations; lead conversations with partners. Manage an RFP process for a product development house and subsequent contracting process to engage vendors. Supervise the product development stages including user experience (UX) design, user interface (UI) design, and technical architecture planning. Collaborate closely with the development team, addressing any roadblocks and ensuring timely progress.
Lead the Go-to-Market, Audience Acquisition and co-lead the Marketing Communications Strategy:
Create marketing strategies and develop promotional materials to build awareness. Create a visual identity and a messaging platform for all new products. Build a web presence.
Co-create a communication plan for internal stakeholders as well as a public product launch. Plan should include a go-to-market strategy (public relations, social media, digital advertising, etc.) and an audience acquisition strategy to drive unique users to the platform.
Provide national thought leadership on issues related to domains of expertise, including through speaking engagements at high-profile events, op-eds, publications, and social media; represent ASA on the national stage.
A Successful Candidate:
Is an innovative, subject matter expert in the career exploration, career experimental and career navigation landscape with experiences in K-20 education and have demonstrated experiences in product management, product marketing/audience acquisition, vendor/partner relationship development & management, and project management.
Is experienced in launching mobile products and in live operations; possesses a strong product background including proficiency in product mobile development management principles, methodologies, and best practices.
Has strong empathy and understanding of the customer and decision makers and strives to create products that are of service to the customer and their needs.
Has a strong proficiency in conducting market research, which includes leveraging competitive analysis, and customer interviews to gather insights and inform product decisions.
Demonstrates proven ability to leverage digital marketing and communications to create awareness and drive audience acquisition.
Is well versed in making data-driven decisions and in leveraging KPIs and metrics to measure product success and drive business growth, particularly of new product models.
Skills:
Superior communication skills are mandatory. Must be able to communicate both verbally and in writing with all levels of management including senior leaders.
Strong business acumen, strategic thinking and decision-making skills.
Proven track record with successful product innovation and iteration; leveraging data collection, data analysis of large data-sets to drive insights and decision making.
Strong interpersonal skills: Ability to quickly establish a good rapport with all contacts.
Excellent organizational ability: Must be detail-oriented, process-driven, able to prioritize own work, set and meet deadlines, and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
#J-18808-Ljbffr