Director, Product and Business Management

Nelnet•Remote - Nebraska, NE

2d•$200,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Nelnet Business Services (NBS), a division of Nelnet, Inc., provides payment technology, education services, and learning management solutions to education and faith-based organizations, serving more than 1,300 higher education institutions, 11,500 K-12 schools, 3,500 churches, 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. As a Nelnet company, the perks at NBS go beyond our benefits package. You’re part of a community, invested in you as an individual and united by our mission to create opportunities for people where they live, learn and work. The Director, Product & Business Management establishes and grows a market segment (vertical) for New Ventures. The job changes shape over time, and the person must be excellent at every stage. It starts hands-on: serving as the product manager for one validated product with a small team, close to customers, the roadmap, and the sales motion. It grows into running a multi-product portfolio, leading a team of product managers, and owning the full segment P&L. This includes building the team deliberately, adding the right roles at the right time so the segment scales efficiently rather than ahead of its revenue. Success demands the range to do the early build and the discipline to scale it: deep expertise in the segment’s market and buyer, and sound judgment on what to invest in, who to hire, and what to prioritize. Performance is measured by segment revenue growth, profitability, product adoption, operational maturity, and disciplined investment and hiring decisions. Success in this role requires balancing strategy and execution, setting vision while remaining close to customers, revenue drivers, and operational realities. Performance is measured by revenue growth, profitability, product adoption, operational maturity, and disciplined investment decisions across assigned product lines.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Technology, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
8+ years of experience in product management, general management, strategy, or commercial leadership roles.
Demonstrated ownership of business outcomes, including revenue, growth, or P&L-adjacent accountability.
Track record across the full journey: hands-on product management plus scaling a product into a larger business or portfolio.
General management and business ownership
Segment and market expertise and customer insight
Hands-on product management and leading product managers
Team building and stage-appropriate hiring
Product strategy and multi-product segment scaling
Commercial and financial acumen and P&L ownership
Cross-functional leadership and influence
Strategic decision-making under ambiguity

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree or equivalent experience in product management, general management, or business strategy.
Experience leading and developing product managers or product teams at scale, preferred.
Demonstrated depth in a specific market segment or vertical (e.g., higher education, K-12), preferred.
Experience building teams and sizing roles to the stage of the business, preferred.
Exposure to SaaS, platform, or technology-enabled product environments, preferred.

Responsibilities

Establish and grow the segment: begin as the product manager for one validated product, then expand it into a multi-product portfolio with full P&L ownership.
Early on, personally own product management: roadmap, prioritization, customer discovery, and go-to-market for the first product.
Build the team deliberately: add the right roles at the right time, scaling capacity with revenue rather than ahead of it, and stand up dedicated Sales and Operations as the segment matures.
As the portfolio grows, build and lead a team of product managers, each owning a product end to end, and raise the bar for product judgment and execution.
Develop deep segment and buyer expertise: procurement cycles, decision-makers, and the competitive landscape.
Define and execute product and business strategy for the segment, aligned to company priorities and market opportunity.
Partner with the Venture Factory on net-new products graduating into the segment, integrating the right ones and declining those that do not fit.
Own the segment P&L: budgets, forecasts, revenue targets, NOI, and pricing, packaging, positioning, and launch execution.
Make lifecycle decisions for the segment and its products: investment, scaling, optimization, or pivots.