Senior Product Manager

State of Virginia•Fairfax, VA

29d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Product Manager leads the product management team as part of our Patriot Connect program and drives the strategic vision for our integrated student lifecycle platform. This role serves as the primary product strategist for our Salesforce Education, Marketing, and Service Cloud implementation and maintenance, working to create a comprehensive student 360-degree experience across all university touchpoints. The Senior Product Manager provides product management expertise, with a focus on higher education, to translate complex university processes into cohesive product strategies. This position works closely with IT development teams, functional unit leaders, and stakeholders across the institution to ensure our Salesforce platform delivers maximum value to students, faculty, and staff. This position reports to the Executive Director of Transformation Management and Operations and supervises a team of three product owners.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in related field or equivalent combination of education and experience;
Generally, 3-5 years' experience in roles with multiple direct reports, while working with executive leadership developing technology roadmaps, understanding and advocating for stakeholder needs, and holding decision-making authority for product development;
Demonstrated experience in higher education environments with deep understanding of university operations, student lifecycle, and institutional processes;
Experience managing enterprise software platforms and complex technical implementations;
Experience with Salesforce Education Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and/or Service Cloud implementations;
Experience leading cross-functional teams and managing complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives;
Demonstrated understanding of Salesforce platform capabilities, limitations, and best practices;
Knowledge of CRM systems, data integration, and enterprise software ecosystems;
Familiarity with agile development methodologies and product management tools;
Proven track record of developing and executing successful product strategies;
Demonstrated analytical skills with experience using data to drive product decisions;
Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences; and
Understanding of user experience design principles and user research methodologies.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in related field or equivalent combination of education and experience;
Previous experience implementing or managing Salesforce platforms in higher education settings;
Experience with change management and organizational transformation initiatives;
Knowledge of student information systems, learning management systems, and other higher education technologies; and
Familiarity with federal regulations affecting higher education (FERPA, ADA compliance, etc.).

Responsibilities

Develops and owns the comprehensive product roadmap for Patriot Connect, the university's Salesforce platform across Education, Marketing, and Service Cloud implementations;
Defines product vision and strategy that aligns with institutional goals and student success outcomes;
Conducts market research and competitive analysis within the higher education technology landscape; and
Establishes product success metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure platform effectiveness.
Partners with executive leadership and functional unit heads including, but not limited to enrollment management, university life, and academic affairs;
Serves as the primary liaison between business stakeholders and IT development teams;
Facilitates cross-functional collaboration to ensure product decisions support university-wide objectives; and
Communicates product strategy, roadmap updates, and progress to senior leadership and stakeholders.
Works closely with IT scrum teams to provide clear product direction and acceptance criteria;
Prioritizes feature development based on user research, institutional needs, and strategic impact;
Leads agile product development processes, including sprint planning, backlog grooming, and release planning; and
Ensures product releases meet quality standards and deliver measurable value to end users.
Conducts user research with students, faculty, staff, and external stakeholders to inform product decisions;
Analyzes user behavior data and platform usage patterns to identify optimization opportunities;
Champions user-centered design principles throughout the product development lifecycle; and
Validates product hypotheses through testing, feedback collection, and data analysis.
Builds and leads a high-performing product management organization;
Mentors and develops product management talent within the team;
Establishes product management best practices, processes, and governance frameworks; and
Fosters a culture of data-driven decision making and continuous improvement.
Other duties as assigned