Senior Vice President of Product Management

Role Description

The Senior Vice President of Product Management will lead the strategic planning, development, and execution of Waterford.org’s innovative educational products. This role ensures all products and services maximize impact on learners, align with the organization’s mission, and maintain operational excellence. The SVP will drive a culture of innovation, collaboration, and data-driven decision-making to advance Waterford.org’s mission of access to education for all children.

Duties/Responsibilities

• Strategic Vision and Leadership:
  • Establish and execute the strategic direction of Waterford.org’s product development, ensuring alignment with the organization’s mission to increase learning outcomes for all children.
  • Develop long-term strategies that balance innovation, scalability, cost-effectiveness, and impact on learning outcomes.
• User-Centered Product Development:
  • Partner with educators, families, internal teams, and external partners to identify and assess product requirements.
  • Translate user insights into actionable strategies that drive meaningful outcomes for learners.
• Product Lifecycle Management:
  • Lead the end-to-end product lifecycle, from ideation and prototyping to implementation and evaluation.
  • Ensure delivery of high-quality, user-centered, and scalable solutions that meet the diverse needs of learners and communities.
• Data-Informed Decision-Making:
  • Define and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to measure educational outcomes.
  • Use data insights and user feedback to continuously improve products.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration:
  • Foster collaboration across departments, including technology, research, marketing, and growth teams, to ensure cohesive product development.
  • Facilitate communication and alignment between internal teams and external partners.
• Innovation and Industry Leadership:
  • Stay ahead of EdTech trends and advancements to maintain Waterford.org’s leadership in educational innovation.
  • Champion the use of emerging technologies and practices to enhance learning outcomes.
  • AI fluency – Ideally shipped or is shipping LLM-powered features responsibly in an education context (safety, age-appropriateness, evaluation).
• Mission and Compliance Alignment:
  • Ensure all products comply with legal, industry, and organizational standards while advancing the nonprofit’s mission and values.
• Performance Reporting:
  • Communicate department, product, and project performance to senior leadership through periodic status reports and presentations.
• Budget Management:
  • Develop, implement, and oversee budgets for product development to ensure efficient allocation of resources.
• Additional Responsibilities:
  • Perform other duties as required to advance the mission and strategic goals of Waterford.org.

Qualifications

• Strong commitment to advancing excellence in education and familiarity with nonprofit operations.
• Proven ability to lead innovation in educational technology.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a proven ability to improve business processes and practices to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
• Demonstrated ability to leverage data and user feedback to inform product development and improve learner outcomes.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex ideas to diverse audiences.
• Excellent interpersonal and negotiation skills, with a proven ability to foster collaboration and build trust with stakeholders.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Proficient in financial tools and methodologies required to make estimates, business forecasts, and strategic decisions.
• Experience working with Agile or Lean methodologies is a plus.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Education, Business, Technology, or related experience required; Master’s degree in a relevant field preferred.
• Coursework or certifications in educational technology, design thinking, or social impact strategy are a plus.
• 10+ years of experience in product management or a related leadership role, preferably in the education or nonprofit sectors.
• Hired and grew a Product Management team; established product ops, research, and roadmap rituals.
• Experience managing large, cross-functional teams and driving mission-driven outcomes.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) or similar certification is highly desirable.

Benefits

• Fully paid primary premiums for health insurance, dental insurance, basic life insurance, and disability insurance.
• One-time HSA contribution for new hires.
• Retirement contributions matched up to 5% by the organization.
• Generous vacation, sick, and holiday offering.