Senior Product Manager, NAEP/NRC Public and Private Platforms

RTI International (RTI) is both a global research institute and a leading international development organization based out of North Carolina. At RTI, you will find work you believe in, tackling some of the most complex global challenges of our time. Our mission is to impact the wellbeing of 1 billion people by 2030 through science-based solutions in climate, education, health, and equity. Our staff promote meaningful change around the world helping people live healthier, more productive, and more independent lives.

If you are looking for an opportunity to make a real difference, RTI is the place for you. Join us in our commitment to teamwork, belonging, and the passion to change the world.

RTI International is one of the world's leading research institutes, dedicated to improving the human condition by turning knowledge into practice. The Communications Practice Area has an immediate opening for a Senior Product Manager specializing in NAEP and NRC technology production and content strategy, who will play a pivotal role in driving the vision and strategy throughout the product development lifecycle of the public and private technologies to ensure exceptional customer experiences for the wide range of digital products, including websites, web tools, dashboards, and applications. The Senior Product Manager will have extensive knowledge of educational assessments, reporting, and data systems and is responsible for managing product roadmaps, championing human-centered design, ensuring digital accessibility, and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams at every stage to prioritize NAEP and NRC end users' and clients' needs. The Senior Product Manager will guide the creation of new NAEP and NRC products and enhancements, as well as new features for existing products.

This position is open to individuals interested in working remotely or working from our headquarters in Research Triangle Park, NC. This is a one year term position with the possibility for extension.

• Work collaboratively across the organization and with NAEP and NRC clients to help drive and define product vision and strategy, ensuring alignment with user needs and business objectives.
• Create product roadmaps for NAEP and NRC digital products.
• Work closely with the NAEP and NRC product team to determine and implement new features and functionality, clearly defining the definition of done and adjusting the product roadmap where needed.
• Work with a multidisciplinary team (e.g., UX, content, research, design, and development) using human-centered design principles and design thinking approaches, while promoting innovation and creative thinking among the team.
• Create alignment between the product team (comprised of UI/UX designers, UX researchers, developers, content strategists, and subject matter experts) and stakeholders.
• Ensure that NAEP and NRC products are maintained, updated, and eventually retired when necessary.
• Participate in or conduct formative research (e.g., audits, interviews, focus groups, and surveys) to understand NAEP and NRC user needs. Help keep NAEP and NRC user needs in the forefront of all work and advocate for the user.
• Leverage NAEP and NRC performance analytics to make data informed product decisions.
• Conduct K-12 education technology market research and competitive analysis to understand industry trends, using this data to inform NAEP and NRC product decisions and strategy.
• Champion human-centered design principles and accessibility throughout the product development process.
• Work with legal and compliance teams to ensure NAEP and NRC digital products adhere to relevant compliance standards (i.e., Federal website standards, Section 508 compliance).
• Expertly guide product teams through the end-to-end product lifecycle, from ideation and design to development, launch, and post-launch support.
• Work with project management staff to create work plans that outline the timeline, processes, team roles and responsibilities, and project milestones for NAEP and NRC product development.
• Effectively communicate internal and external timelines to the project team and stakeholders using work plans and project management software (e.g., JIRA, Asana, Trello, Smartsheet).
• Provide clear, concise, and accurate communication to NAEP and NRC clients.
• Additional duties identified in collaboration with supervisor and project teams.

Required qualifications

• Must have a minimum of 15 years of demonstrated product management success in maintaining and deploying web products focused on disseminating NAEP and NRC education data.
• Must have demonstrated product management success as a webmaster in IES website deployments for the public NAEP and NRC websites using the IES system and working closely with the IES webmaster.
• Must have demonstrated product management success in gathering requirements operating, maintaining, process improvement and workflows for the eight private NAEP-related web applications (CF, NN, IMS, SPTS, PCTS, SVSM, NRTS, GB).
• Must have demonstrated product management success in coordinating complex release schedules and collaborating with internal and external stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle.
• Awareness of human-centered design principles and best practices for digital accessibility.
• Knowledge and use of NAEP and NRC performance analytics.
• Must have current Public Trust Clearance through U.S. Department of Education.

Preferred qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree and 5 years of experience, Master's degree and 3 years of experience or PhD and 0 years of experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated success serving in product management or product strategy roles, leading, and overseeing the design and development of digital products and campaigns.
• Training and/or certification in Product Management or Agile is preferred (e.g. PMP, ScrumMaster, Product Owner, SAFe)
• Experience collaborating and communicating with multi-disciplinary teams, including researchers, designers, writers, and project managers.
• Experience working across multiple disciplines, including content strategy, UX research, UX design, development, finance, digital accessibility, analytics, and marketing.
• Skilled at systems thinking for digital product development.
• Ability to create and manage product roadmaps for digital products.
• Experience using tools such as Sybase 10 RDMS, FOCUS, IDMS, MS Office Suite, SharePoint, MS Test Manager, Web Link Validator, LOTUS Notes, MVS, VM, UNIX.
• Experience using product management software like Asana, GitHub, and Jira.
• Ability to fully own multiple projects, involving internal and/or external partners, with minimal oversight needed.
• Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy

For San Francisco, CA USA Job Postings Only: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Further information is available here.

RTI accepts applications to our job openings from candidates with criminal histories or conviction records in accordance with all applicable laws, including the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.

For Applicants in Massachusetts Only: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

The anticipated pay range for this role is listed below. Our pay ranges represent national averages and may vary by location as a geographic differential may be applied to some locations within the United States. RTI considers multiple factors when making an offer including, for example: established salary range, internal budget, business needs, and education and years of work experience possessed by the applicant. Further, salary is merely one element to our offer.

At RTI, we demonstrate our commitment to rewarding individual and team achievement through a total rewards package. This package includes (among other things) a competitive base salary, a generous paid time off policy, merit based annual increases, bonus opportunities and a robust recognition program. Other benefits include a competitive range of insurance plans (including health, dental, life, and short-term and long-term disability), access to a retirement savings program such as a 401(k) plan, paid parental leave for all parents, financial assistance with adoption expenses or infertility treatments, financial reimbursement for education and developmental opportunities, an employee assistance program, and numerous other offerings to support a healthy work-life balance.