Nelnet Business Services (NBS), a division of Nelnet, Inc., provides payment technology and education services to more than 1,200 higher education institutions, nearly 12,000 K-12 schools, and millions of individual students, families, and supporters across the globe. Our culture of service enables us to form long-lasting and trusted partnerships, while our focus on creativity and innovative solutions empowers our customer communities to thrive.
The SGO Product Management function leads the development, execution, and ongoing management of the product SGO Compass North Star vision, strategy, roadmap in collaboration with business development, engineering, product marketing and other cross functional departments. This role ensures that products align with FACTS’ organizational strategy, meet market and stakeholder needs, deliver measurable student outcomes, and achieve sustainable financial performance.
This Product Manager reports to the Managing Director, Product SGO with extensive collaboration and leadership on the SGO product strategy, Compass core solution ecosystem roadmap development, prioritization and execution, and leads the delivery of the Donor’s product module within the ecosystem. This role drives complex initiatives by translating market, client, and institutional needs into scalable platform solutions while influencing cross-functional alignment. The position is responsible for delivering measurable outcomes and advancing the business’ competitive position with key clients.
The Product Manager will engage in market and K12 research, competitive intelligence, product strategy, requirements development, prioritization, stakeholder engagement with business development, operations, engineering, and product marketing, and go-to-market planning.
JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Own and execute the end-to-end product strategy and roadmap for the engagement with SGOs, foundations, individuals and institutional donors, payment partners, and other stakeholders, to validate problems and define solutions.
- Lead discovery efforts, including client engagement and research, to validate problems and define solutions.
- Translate insights into prioritized product requirements for balancing scalability including donation conversions, contribution volume, donor retention, payment success rates, cost per transaction, and funds available for scholarship awards.
- Define, track, and optimize key product metrics to drive business outcomes and continuous improvement.
- Partner with engineering to deliver complex modernization and platform initiatives through iterative releases, including opportunities to improve donor engagement, fraud detection, operational efficiency, and fundraising intelligence.
- Drive strategic initiatives such as AI-enabled capabilities within the product ecosystem.
- Ensure compliance with payment, security, and regulatory requirements, including donor onboarding, SGO implementation, training, and launch communications.
- Lead go-to-market readiness and ensure clear value of delivery and adoption across stakeholders.
- Influence cross-product roadmap alignment to create cohesive client and end-user experiences, donor insights, market intelligence, and measurable product performance.
- Represent the voice of the customer in executive discussions using data-driven recommendations.
SGO Compass – Product Strategy, Roadmap and Management
- Evaluate market conditions, K-12 educational trends, donor behaviors, fundraising needs, federal and state scholarship tax-credit programs, customer needs, competitive intelligence, and emerging opportunities to inform product strategy, differentiation, and innovation.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams across the SGO team, FACTS Division, Nelnet Business Services, and other Nelnet business functions to translate organizational strategy into actionable product initiatives and measurable outcomes.
- Lead Donor and Giving product roadmap development and prioritization, ensuring products are equitable and aligned with FACTS’ mission, vision, North Star goal, and strategic plan.
- Facilitate a continuous product management culture that incorporates stakeholder perspectives, explains prioritization and implementation decisions, and supports alignment, engagement, and adoption throughout the product life cycle, including coordination across Giving, Fund Mangement, SGO Administration, and Disbursement.
- Drive continuous, measurable improvements in product effectiveness and efficiency by balancing new features with partner needs, student outcomes, compliance risks, revenue generation, donor experience, SGO fundraising needs, contribution conversion, payment processing costs, regulatory compliance, financial risks, revenue growth, and student outcomes, and available development resources.
- Own the product life cycle for the Donor and other designated parts of the roadmap assigned to this role, including growth, maturity, and decline, while maintaining appropriate P&L performance in partnership with key cross-functional stakeholders and other relevant teams.
- Establish stakeholder feedback loops to understand the needs and experiences of partners, staff, and students; evaluate product performance and outcomes; and identify opportunities for improvement.
- Collaborate, develop and execute go-to-market strategies, in partnership with product marketing, for SGO Compass and other assigned products, including pilot initiatives that test promising opportunities aligned with FACTS’ strategic priorities and establish scalable models for future implementation, donor adoption, SGO fundraising readiness, and expansion info additional giving models and markets.
- Gather, define, and document product requirements to support the design, development, testing, and launch of reliable, scalable, and well-designed product features, including donor registration, identity and eligibility verification, contribution processing, payment settlement, reconciliation, refunds, donor acknowledgement, tax-credit documentation, and integration with SGO fund management capabilities.
- Evaluate pilot results and product performance data, translating findings into actionable recommendations and presentations for internal and external audiences.
- Oversee the product backlog, prioritizing future features according to business value, strategic alignment, stakeholder needs, feasibility, and expected student outcomes, regulatory obligations, fundraising impact, donor experience, financial performance, and expected student outcomes.
- Develop key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure progress against strategic priorities and product implementation goals, including total contribution volume, active donors, donor acquisition and retention, average contribution value, contribution conversion rates, payment success rates, transaction processing costs, reconciliation accuracy, and SGO fundraising performance.
- Partner with Marketing to develop internal and external communications highlighting product innovations, new product development, industry trends, and student outcomes while supporting lead development, stakeholder engagement, product adoption, and organizational learning.
- Build and strengthen a product culture and operations capabilities through repeatable processes, governance practices, documentation standards, and change management approaches across FACTS.
- Model and uphold FACTS’ core values.
Annual compensation range for this role is $120,000-$140,000 depending on experience.
This position offers a hybrid work option. Nelnet values flexibility and understands the importance of work-life integration. Our hybrid work environment allows associates living within 30 miles of an office location to work remotely for part of the week, while also fostering collaboration and team connection through in-office presence three days per week.
Please note that we are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position. To be considered, candidates must already be authorized to work in the United States without the need for current or future sponsorship.
EDUCATION:
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, IT, or a related field.
- Additional education or professional training in financial technology, payments, or nonprofit management, or digital commerce is desirable.
- Advanced degree preferred.
- Product management certification preferred.
EXPERIENCE:
- Minimum 6-8 years of product management experience.
- Experience with Donor and giving products associated with scholarships, philanthropic or social impact
- Experience building and managing provider or merchant networks.
- Experience with fraud prevention specific to donations and giving.
- Proven track record of defining, developing, launching, and managing successful products in an Agile environment, supported by effective market research, data-driven product decisions, and human-centered design principles.
- Experience leading organizational change, communicating change effectively, and supporting stakeholder alignment and adoption.
COMPETENCIES/SKILLS:
- Excellent strategic thinking and product strategy skills.
- Ability to successfully manage product roadmaps.
- Strong data-driven decision-making.
- Ability to influence others cross-functionally.
- Skill in customer-centric discovery and developing insights.
- Proven ability to define product strategy and deliver measurable outcomes.
- Familiarity with treasury management principles, including funding, settlement, and liquidity.
- Familiarity with card issuing programs, including issuing bank and program manager relationships.
- Strong risk management background.
- Demonstrated ability to translate organizational strategic goals into actionable product strategies, roadmaps, priorities, and innovation initiatives.
- Demonstrated ability to build effective cross-functional partnerships and collaborate across an organization to achieve shared objectives.
- Strong written, verbal, analytical, and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate effectively across a broad spectrum of stakeholders.
- A commitment to improving student outcomes and expanding K12 opportunities for underserved and underrepresented students.
- Ability to travel for business meetings, partner engagements, and other customer-facing activities.
Our benefits package includes medical, dental, vision, HSA and FSA, generous earned time off, 401K/student loan repayment, life insurance & AD&D insurance, employee assistance program, employee stock purchase program, tuition reimbursement, performance-based incentive pay, short- and long-term disability, and a robust wellness program. Click here to learn more about our benefits: Benefits & Perks - Nelnet Inc
Nelnet is committed to providing a welcoming and respectful workplace where all associates have the opportunity to succeed. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we ensure that all qualified applicants are considered for employment. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion/creed, national origin, gender, sex, marital status, age, disability, use of a guide dog or service animal, sexual orientation, military/veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law. We value the unique contributions of every team member and believe that a positive work environment benefits everyone.
Qualified individuals with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations in order to apply or compete for positions at Nelnet may request such accommodations by contacting Corporate Recruiting at 402-486-5725 or corporaterecruiting@nelnet.net.
Nelnet is a Drug Free and Tobacco Free Workplace.
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