Summary of This Role
Provides direction to product development and the overall process of the product and services function. Builds products and services from existing ideas and helps to develop new ideas based on industry experience and contact with customers and prospects. Increases profitability of existing products and services to developing new solutions which advance business objectives and client needs. Builds strong working relationships with marketing, sales, support staff, product development and vendors plus senior management and key customers.
What Part Will You Play?
- Defines the approach and manages the process from product development to product launch, ensuring execution is in line with project plan for the most complex and unique product initiatives. In cases in which the product has a distinct PNL, the product manager has responsibility for managing a product's PNL to ensure profitability for product initiatives. For the international segment, typical annual revenues for the most complex product initiatives would be approximately $500k or more.
- For assigned products, owns, manages, and communicates a product roadmap, including collaborating with industry analysts to form competitive analysis and with delivery, sales, and relationship management teams to determine prioritization, development and ongoing costs of delivery, and market positioning to determine strategic priorities based on investment themes.
- For assigned products, develops and leads the "go to market packaging". Collaborates with product marketing to develop product marketing strategies based on established product objectives, costs, and value proposition. Reviews research with product marketing to quantify value proposition for inputs to pricing analysis and marketing collateral. Defines pricing strategies for new and existing products considering competitive pricing models, internal costs, value proposition metrics (e.g., savings to clients, process costs, etc.), and market acceptance and adoption rates. Participates in defining alternative models complete with benefits, and present final pricing recommendations to executive management for adoption.
- Develops comprehensive business cases requiring extensive analytical skills to develop complex data and unique concepts for new product functionality to serve as inputs to decision-making, prioritization, pricing, and client value proposition.
- For assigned product initiatives, leads collaboration with company business leaders, sales, IT, legal and strategic marketing and relationship management teams to define product goals, objectives, market positioning, and pricing strategies for each assigned product. Acts independently and uses a wide range of latitude in determining methods and procedures for managing product strategy.
- Ensures a structured, repeatable process is followed for conducting market research to include industry publications, analyst research, experiential research, client surveys, etc. Distills data from the process, develops and ensures maintenance of strategic planning approach for summarizing and communicating the results of aggregate research that will lead to the development of the strategic product roadmap.
- Leads and oversees the facilitation of product concepts and requirements workshops with clients and internal development teams in pursuit of product requirements, objectives, and architecture decisions. Ensures workshop results are documented in a format suitable for consumption by all audiences, including interactive review and feedback from clients and internal parties. Ensures questions are answered thoroughly, provides points of clarification as needed and ensures any necessary follow-up action items are completed in a timely and accurate manner.
- Leads and oversees the collaboration with product delivery and technology architecture to validate detailed design, particularly to ensure that product objectives and key requirements are met and aligned with the market needs and business unit strategy. Provides design direction, testing support, and general assistance to delivery team, as needed, during the execution phase of product development consisting of the most complex and unique scopes.
What Are We Looking For in This Role?
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree
- Relevant Experience or Degree in: Business or Computer Science; Combination of relevant training and/ or experience in lieu of degree
- Typically Minimum 10+ Years Relevant Exp
- Experience in similar business product services and/or external customer/market experience
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's Degree
- MBA
- Prefer experience in a software development environment or in a professional services role. Prefer software or IT background (i.e., degree or experience). Prefer direct experience with doing software development, testing and/or business analysis. Prefer experience with Agile software products and delivery methodology.
What Are Our Desired Skills and Capabilities?
- Skills / Knowledge - Having broad yet in-depth expertise and unique knowledge, uses skills to set and ensure success of company objectives and principles and to achieve goals in creative and effective ways within environments and situations that are complex and difficult. Having ownership of a function, major account or matrix management responsibilities, uses knowledge to ensure success, strengthen relationships, expand the business through key initiatives, and lead matrix teams on complex projects. Barriers to entry such as technical committee and senior management review exist at this level.
- Job Complexity - Works on issue that impact design/selling success or address future concepts, products, or technologies. Creates formal networks with key decision makers and serves as external spokesperson for the organization with key accounts, agencies, partners, vendors, and sales prospects.
- Supervision - Exercises wide latitude in determining objectives and approaches to critical assignments.
