Lead Product Manager

At ACT Your Work Makes a Difference

Education has power - a power that changes lives forever. It creates opportunities that lift up individuals, their families, and sparks societal change that echoes through generations to come. From our grassroots we have fought the good fight for inclusivity in education, and we remain devoted to helping anyone who struggles to access that power. This is what matters to us and we must do better -- we've never been more sure of our purpose.

ACT Education Corp. team members are part of an organization dedicated to an important mission: Helping people achieve education and workplace success. Advancing the mission internally, by helping team members achieve education and workplace success of their own, is core to our values. ACT values a diverse workplace and is committed to fostering an inclusive environment in which every team member has equal opportunity to grow.

We are seeking a Lead Product Manager with passion and experience for creating high impact solutions that make a real difference for the learners, families, and educators we serve. The Lead Product Manager will drive the complex aspects of product management through advanced knowledge, skill, and expertise.

The Lead Product Manager plays a critical role in driving the data and research backed strategy for the Direct to Learner Market, namely for the ACT National assessment and its companion test prep products. This role focuses on the innovation, development, and management of the flagship ACT assessment utilized by millions of learners and thousands of schools across the country. This role is responsible for developing and delivering to the product strategic goals, setting investment and development priorities, leading cross-functional matrixed teams, and creating incredible experiences for all internal and external customers, always keeping the students at the heart of our efforts.

The finalist will be hired at the salary and level commensurate with their qualifications. For this position, we anticipate offering an annual salary in the range of $150,000 to $180,000. ACT manages salaries within the range based on relevant factors including, skills, experience, and internal equity. The position is incentive eligible.

Location: Remote (can also be onsite or hybrid if in Iowa City, Iowa area)

A Day in the Life:

Serve as the leader for your product - driving its vision, strategy, roadmap, development, activation, and success.
• Engage with internal and external stakeholders, customers, and influencers to explore, identify, and assess their needs, opportunities, and problems to solve that will provide them with maximum value and positive impact.
• Collaborate across the enterprise to develop and evaluate business plans for your product that align to strategic goals and investment priorities, to market demands and opportunities, and to technical and financial resources.
• Stay ahead of industry trends and leverage emerging technologies for competitive advantage.
• Identify, evaluate, prioritize, and execute feature and functionality ideas, growth experiments, and long-term strategic plans.
• Collaboratively lead dedicated cross-functional matrixed teams to prepare and implement initiatives, features, and requirements from the product's strategic roadmap to enter the active development and release cycle.
• Build relationships and trust through clear communication and alignment across internal and external teams and stakeholders to inform and deliver on product roadmaps.
• Collaborate with marketing, sales, and relationship management teams on the creation and execution of successful market development and go-to-market plans for new features, iterations, and products.
• Develop and deliver internal and external product presentations and demos.
• Partner closely with other product managers to coordinate on building and rolling out functionality across multiple platforms and markets.
• Build the company public profile through networking, conferences, and speaking engagements
• Provide strategic updates and proposals upwards through the product operating model to senior leadership.
• Mentor and coach other product managers on the product team to collaborate and deliver on enterprise goals.

Role Progression:

• Within 1 month you will have a high-level understanding of the ACT National assessment and companion products as well as the Direct to Learner Market (D2L) that this position will focus on. You will be getting to know the D2L cross functional team, the work you will do together, and the place of your products in that ecosystem. You also will have started to develop relationships with individuals across the organization who you will be partnering with on a regular basis.
• Within 3 months you will be fully leading the ACT D2L product and have solid understanding of the product operating model we use. You will also have developed relationships with our external test prep providers and will be facilitating regular meetings with them. You will be evolving the vision, strategy, roadmap, prioritization, and problems to solve for the ACT and its prep products.
• Within 6 months you will have established yourself as the leader of the ACT and test prep products with solid engagement and collaboration with the team and internal and external stakeholders and have a measurable impact in the construction and implementation of the product roadmaps.

About You:

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible product management experience with proven track record of leading and launching products at scale.
• Experience executing within software and/or technology product development life cycles.
• Experience in education or the education technology industry.
• Demonstrated success leading teams, setting product design standards, and facilitating collaboration across cross-functional teams.
• Ability to balance business, user, and technical needs to create effective roadmaps and prioritize product improvements.
• Experience working with internal and external senior leadership and with board level reporting.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with ability to effectively articulate ideas and build consensus within the teams to ensure alignment, and influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Strong leadership and collaboration skills, with the ability to think strategically, and lead and work effectively in cross-functional teams and drive consensus in decision-making.
• Strong analytical mindset and problem solving skills, with ability to use data and user feedback to refine product direction and drive continuous improvement.
• Adept at balancing long-term vision with short-term execution and effectively manage timelines, priorities, and resources to deliver successful outcomes.
• Manages change and navigates positively in an environment experiencing change at a fast pace.
• Skills and knowledge required for success in this position attained through experience and education (Bachelor's degree in Technology, Business, Education, or related area of study), or a combination of both.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior assessment product management experience.
• Product or marketing experience in the direct to consumer education markets.
• Experience specifically in the High School to College/Career transition space.

When ACT was founded in 1959, it disrupted the assessment industry with a new approach to helping students better understand their readiness so they could take steps to improve it. By leveraging our expertise and authority in assessment and research, we will again disrupt the industry-helping more people learn, better measure their progress, and improve their navigation through life's transitions.

More than ever before, ACT is fulfilling its mission of helping people achieve education and workplace success. We're doing it by pushing the boundaries of learning innovation through the work of our people, who we call team members because we're all in this together.

We know transformation does not come without challenge. That's why ACT invests in a variety of experiences for team members to strengthen their connections, explore ideas, learn from customers, and celebrate success.

Learn more about working at ACT at act.org!

ACT is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. ACT participates in E-verify. ACT's online position announcements are intended only to provide general descriptions of employment opportunities; none of the information provided for any position should be interpreted as a commitment by ACT to specific terms and conditions for employment.

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