Vice President, Product Management and Development

National Student Clearinghouse•Herndon, VA

3d•$250,000 - $285,000•Remote

About The Position

By joining the National Student Clearinghouse, you can be sure that the work you do now will help shape the future of education and the workforce in the U.S. As the trusted source for higher education data since 1993, the Clearinghouse is the leading provider of transcript and data exchange services, automated enrollment and degree verifications, learner insights and research, and compliance solutions for schools, businesses, and learners nationwide. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Clearinghouse works with nearly 3,600 postsecondary institutions to meet their compliance needs and with thousands of high schools and districts to provide continuing collegiate enrollment, progression, and completion statistics about their alumni. In addition, the Research Center publications inform policymakers and business leaders about student educational pathways. Using our unique combination of data, analytics, and software to drive our mission, security and privacy is paramount. Join us as we continue to invest in our talent and new advanced technologies to unlock the power of data on behalf of all learners. About the Role: The Vice President of Product Management and Development is a senior product leader responsible for driving the execution, alignment, and continuous evolution of the product roadmap (product strategy, agile product development, market research, financial analysis, product & feature launch, and execution) across assigned product portfolios (Business Services, Transcript Services, and/or Insights products). This role partners closely with executive leadership to translate enterprise strategy into actionable product plans while ensuring teams apply best practices in product management and agile delivery. Key responsibilities include leading and developing Product Directors, Product Managers, and Product Owners; overseeing delivery of multiple, complex, interrelated initiatives; and ensuring consistent, high-quality product outcomes that meet customer, market, and financial objectives. This position requires a strong command of data-as-a-service platforms, SaaS product management, and Lean Product Management (LPM) practices, with a balance of strategic thinking and hands-on leadership in execution. Currently, this is a remote-first position, and this position may be required to periodically work on-site at our office and the frequency would depend on the department/division's requirements. Therefore, candidates must either reside within a reasonable distance to commute to our office or be willing to travel to our office in Herndon, when required. How You Contribute: Product Strategy & Vision The Vice President of Product Management and Development is a senior product leader responsible for driving the execution, alignment, and continuous evolution of the product roadmap (product strategy, agile product development, market research, financial analysis, product & feature launch, and execution) across assigned product portfolios (Business Services, Transcript Services, and/or Insights products). This role partners closely with executive leadership to translate enterprise strategy into actionable product plans while ensuring teams apply best practices in product management and agile delivery. Key responsibilities include leading and developing Product Directors, Product Managers, and Product Owners; overseeing delivery of multiple, complex interrelated initiatives; and ensuring consistent, high-quality product outcomes that meet customer, market, and financial objectives. This position requires a strong command of data, technology, and data use platforms, SaaS product management, and Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) practices, with a balance of strategic thinking and hands-on leadership in execution. This role aligns product vision with business goals and market trends. Balances competing demands to focus on high-impact features and products. Develop and articulate high quality product strategy, implementation plans, and decisions effectively. Creates product strategies to sustain competitive advantage. Uses data and qualitative information to identify trends, anticipate future needs, create and launch reputation building products and services that delight customers and meet financial requirements. Develops, maintains, and demonstrates a strong working knowledge of the Clearinghouse, its environment, including its mission, services, and key stakeholders and how each organizational unit contributes to that mission. Actively seeks opportunities for efficiencies and cost-effective technologies and processes that reduce costs, streamline workflows, and optimize investments. Product Development & Innovation Leads Team in the discovery, validation, and definition of new product features, capabilities, enhancements, and platform opportunities within assigned portfolio. Oversees market research activities including customer interviews, focus groups, voice-of-customer analysis, usage analytics, competitive research, and surveys. Directs pilot programs and proof-of-concept efforts; evaluates operational and financial viability in partnership with finance and strategy teams. Ensures product teams apply user-centered design, low-res prototyping, and well-defined functional and non-functional requirements and user stories. Leads, plans and executes product lifecycle activities including launch, iteration, and sunsetting/deprecation. Go-to-Market & Commercialization Leads & partners with Finance, Strategy, Marketing & Communications, Sales, and Business Development to plan and execute feature releases and product launches. Supports early revenue generation and adoption through enablement, positioning, and customer engagement. Contributes to partnership evaluations including leading business case development, due diligence, and vendor/partner collaboration. Identifies, establishes, and implements metrics, and KPIs to guide decisions and measure outcomes, using hard data. Leads, plans and executes Go-to-Market Strategy: In cross-functional collaboration with Strategy and MarComm, plans product launches and drives adoption. Utilizes methodical and rigorous approach in the problem-solving process standards to include effectively identify the problem by gathering information, finding and evaluating alternatives, selecting and implementing best alternatives, monitoring and evaluating results. Leadership & Team Development Develops team skills and abilities with demonstrated best practices in market analysis, usage analysis, competitive analysis, pricing analysis, customer mapping and using data to inform product decisions. Provides steady, servant leadership in the face of uncertainty, change and aggressive deadlines common to a rapidly growing company with an evolving business model. Develops and leads a team in a positive and professional manner with a proven track record of identifying issues across the organization and resolving them. Leads by example with a high level of emotional intelligence and demonstrates a positive, energetic we can do it attitude. Communicates the product and company vision and strategy to staff in a clear, relatable, and compelling manner that creates excitement. Agile & Program Management Utilizes Agile methodologies and supports the Clearinghouses Lean Portfolio Management best practices - including cross-functional collaboration - to coordinate and prioritize resources on high-profile competing product initiatives. Displays strong grasp of Agile fundamentals as well as familiarity with Scrum, Kanban, and iterative development. Clearly creates and articulates the business context, metrics, milestones, dependences, schedules and success measures in delivery of product initiatives and adjusts for internal and external dependencies in planning. Monitors and manages projects, timelines, resources, risks and team capacity to ensure timely and high-quality outcomes. Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration Effectively presents product strategies, insights, and recommendations to senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders. Builds strong partnerships across Technology, Sales, Marketing, Customer Operations, Finance, and external partners at all levels across the organization. Leads resolution of conflicts and competing priorities through influence and collaboration, not position. Professionalism & Adaptability Continuously stays abreast of and adapts to evolving tools, technologies, customer expectations, and market conditions. Establishes new standards, tools, processes, and metrics for customer-centric, service-oriented standards across product teams. Expertly represents the Clearinghouse professionally with internal and external stakeholders using an at your service no-job-is-too-small". Demonstrates strong knowledge of the companys products and services, including customer use cases and how Clearinghouse offerings integrate and complement one another. Workforce Management Demonstrate the management and/or senior leadership competencies: Management Competencies : Making Complex Decisions, Being Flexible and Adaptive, Build Collaborative Relationships, Focusing on Performance, and Optimizing Diverse Talent. Senior Leadership Competencies : Balances Stakeholders, Cultivates Innovation, Drives Vision and Purpose, Strategic Mindset, and Understanding the Business. Build a team-based environment that aligns with company values, ways of working, and competencies. Ensure employees comply with company policies, procedures and regulations, while meeting established goals. Recruit and select the best talent to help optimize skills and experiences across teams and department. Motivate and manage staff to maximize productivity and efficiency. Provide direction to team members, including feedback to support personal and career development and ongoing improvement. Provide ongoing feedback, coaching, performance management, training plans, and career development support and advice to advance team performance and support job and career satisfaction. Monitor and provide feedback on performance including annual reviews, rewards, and compensation structure. Reward employees using formal and informal methods. Position may be required to perform other duties as required. These essential functions are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the job. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

Requirements

Master's degree in business, technology, or related field. A combination of education and experience including military service will also be considered.
15 years of experience in: Managing large scale programs and/or products in excess of $50M (at one point), Prioritizing and aligning schedules and resources, adjusting scope, resolving conflicts and issues with minimal oversight, while delivering on time and within budget. Managing multiple product initiatives and teams - simultaneously, prioritizing and monitoring tasks across all projects. Developing clear product and business requirements, working with both internal and external stakeholders.
10 years of experience: Leading a large diverse team (or group of teams) or functions in Agile environments. In product management as a senior product leader or individual contributor and team leader in hi-tech SaaS or DaaS environment. Training team members on clever approaches and best practices for gathering, analyzing, and making decisions with data and hard evidence coaching and developing teams of product manages/owners.
Strong working knowledge in profit & loss management and strong business acumen.
Understanding and communication of high-level market trends and changes in collaboration with executives and other senior leaders.
Excellent written and oral communication skills with experience presenting to all levels of stakeholders.
Strong technical knowledge of SaaS product design and development.
Proven ability to coordinate and execute on all aspects of go-to-market activities.
Ability to effectively and efficiently influence executive leaders and other team members to come to consensus on decisions to drive program forward, managing diverse personalities.
Deep expertise with market analysis including competitive analysis, usage analysis, sentiment analysis, usage analysis, persona development, requirements development, and other core product skills.
Proficient use of Microsoft Project, Microsoft Office Suite, and other collaboration tools.
Demonstrates the Clearinghouses core competencies: customer focus, optimizes work processes, communicates effectively, collaborates, and is open and authentic.
Must live within a commutable distance to Herndon, VA or in one of the Clearinghouse's approved States for hiring purposes. Refer to our HR Policies Page, located on our Careers site at https://www.studentclearinghouse.org/careers/human-resource-policies/, for more details.
Must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. We do not intend to sponsor external applicants for work visas, and may consider sponsorship only if no qualified candidates can be found who are authorized to work without sponsorship.
Must be at least 18 years old.

Nice To Haves

Ph.D. in Business, Computer Science, technology, or other related fields.
Experience: In the Higher Education vertical related to Institutional Research or data.
Leveraging best practices in project management for both Agile and Waterfall SDLCs and PMBOK project management methodology.
PMP certification or demonstrable experience delivering complex projects.
Agile certifications (SAFe, ICAgile, etc.), SAFe Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) and/or SAFe Agile Product Management (APM) a plus.
Familiarity with integrations, webhooks, APIs, SQL, data management, and Visualization tools
Previous experience in sales or client relationship management with higher education institutions; have a passion for customer-focused product development.

Responsibilities

driving the execution, alignment, and continuous evolution of the product roadmap (product strategy, agile product development, market research, financial analysis, product & feature launch, and execution) across assigned product portfolios (Business Services, Transcript Services, and/or Insights products)
translating enterprise strategy into actionable product plans while ensuring teams apply best practices in product management and agile delivery
leading and developing Product Directors, Product Managers, and Product Owners
overseeing delivery of multiple, complex, interrelated initiatives
ensuring consistent, high-quality product outcomes that meet customer, market, and financial objectives
aligning product vision with business goals and market trends
balancing competing demands to focus on high-impact features and products
developing and articulating high quality product strategy, implementation plans, and decisions effectively
creating product strategies to sustain competitive advantage
using data and qualitative information to identify trends, anticipate future needs, create and launch reputation building products and services that delight customers and meet financial requirements
developing, maintaining, and demonstrating a strong working knowledge of the Clearinghouse, its environment, including its mission, services, and key stakeholders and how each organizational unit contributes to that mission
actively seeking opportunities for efficiencies and cost-effective technologies and processes that reduce costs, streamline workflows, and optimize investments
leading Team in the discovery, validation, and definition of new product features, capabilities, enhancements, and platform opportunities within assigned portfolio
overseeing market research activities including customer interviews, focus groups, voice-of-customer analysis, usage analytics, competitive research, and surveys
directing pilot programs and proof-of-concept efforts; evaluates operational and financial viability in partnership with finance and strategy teams
ensuring product teams apply user-centered design, low-res prototyping, and well-defined functional and non-functional requirements and user stories
leading, planning and executing product lifecycle activities including launch, iteration, and sunsetting/deprecation
leading & partnering with Finance, Strategy, Marketing & Communications, Sales, and Business Development to plan and execute feature releases and product launches
supporting early revenue generation and adoption through enablement, positioning, and customer engagement
contributing to partnership evaluations including leading business case development, due diligence, and vendor/partner collaboration
identifying, establishing, and implementing metrics, and KPIs to guide decisions and measure outcomes, using hard data
leading, planning and executing Go-to-Market Strategy: In cross-functional collaboration with Strategy and MarComm, plans product launches and drives adoption
utilizing methodical and rigorous approach in the problem-solving process standards to include effectively identify the problem by gathering information, finding and evaluating alternatives, selecting and implementing best alternatives, monitoring and evaluating results
developing team skills and abilities with demonstrated best practices in market analysis, usage analysis, competitive analysis, pricing analysis, customer mapping and using data to inform product decisions
providing steady, servant leadership in the face of uncertainty, change and aggressive deadlines common to a rapidly growing company with an evolving business model
developing and leading a team in a positive and professional manner with a proven track record of identifying issues across the organization and resolving them
leading by example with a high level of emotional intelligence and demonstrates a positive, energetic we can do it attitude
communicating the product and company vision and strategy to staff in a clear, relatable, and compelling manner that creates excitement
utilizing Agile methodologies and supports the Clearinghouses Lean Portfolio Management best practices - including cross-functional collaboration - to coordinate and prioritize resources on high-profile competing product initiatives
displaying strong grasp of Agile fundamentals as well as familiarity with Scrum, Kanban, and iterative development
clearly creating and articulating the business context, metrics, milestones, dependences, schedules and success measures in delivery of product initiatives and adjusts for internal and external dependencies in planning
monitoring and managing projects, timelines, resources, risks and team capacity to ensure timely and high-quality outcomes
effectively presenting product strategies, insights, and recommendations to senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders
building strong partnerships across Technology, Sales, Marketing, Customer Operations, Finance, and external partners at all levels across the organization
leading resolution of conflicts and competing priorities through influence and collaboration, not position
continuously staying abreast of and adapts to evolving tools, technologies, customer expectations, and market conditions
establishing new standards, tools, processes, and metrics for customer-centric, service-oriented standards across product teams
expertly representing the Clearinghouse professionally with internal and external stakeholders using an at your service no-job-is-too-small"
demonstrating strong knowledge of the companys products and services, including customer use cases and how Clearinghouse offerings integrate and complement one another
demonstrating the management and/or senior leadership competencies: Management Competencies : Making Complex Decisions, Being Flexible and Adaptive, Build Collaborative Relationships, Focusing on Performance, and Optimizing Diverse Talent. Senior Leadership Competencies : Balances Stakeholders, Cultivates Innovation, Drives Vision and Purpose, Strategic Mindset, and Understanding the Business
building a team-based environment that aligns with company values, ways of working, and competencies
ensuring employees comply with company policies, procedures and regulations, while meeting established goals
recruiting and selecting the best talent to help optimize skills and experiences across teams and department
motivating and managing staff to maximize productivity and efficiency
providing direction to team members, including feedback to support personal and career development and ongoing improvement
providing ongoing feedback, coaching, performance management, training plans, and career development support and advice to advance team performance and support job and career satisfaction
monitoring and providing feedback on performance including annual reviews, rewards, and compensation structure
rewarding employees using formal and informal methods
performing other duties as required

Benefits

The National Student Clearinghouse provides a robust benefit program designed to help meet the needs of each employee and their family, both now and in the future.
We offer comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, as well as life and disability insurance benefits, for employees and their qualified dependents.
Health care, dependent care, and limited purpose flexible spending accounts, as well as a health savings account with annual employer contributions of $300 for employees and $600 for employees who are enrolled with their spouse and/or dependents, voluntary supplemental health plans for Accident and Hospital Indemnity coverage, and infertility coverage are options available for employees to set aside pre-taxed dollars for certain qualifying expenses.
We offer a very generous 401k matching contribution program with the opportunity to defer pre-tax and Roth contributions, as well as catch-up contributions for those who are eligible!
We are proud to offer a competitive paid leave program consisting of vacation, sick, and personal time, as well as paid holidays, up to 3 weeks of paid parental leave during a 12-month period , and up to 5 days of paid military leave per calendar year .
Vacation time will accrue based on length of service, and new full-time hires can accrue up to 13 days of vacation and up to 10 days of sick time per year.
On an annual basis, new employees may use up to 32 hours of accrued sick time as personal time.
Additionally, the Clearinghouse observes at least 15 paid holidays per year, including company year-end close between Christmas and New Years Holidays.
Another perk is that employees have the option to get reimbursed for basic wholesale company and roadside assistance memberships (e.g., Costco and AAA) and to request a buy back on portions of unused accrued vacation based on tenure and certain other qualifications.
Employees can further their education and professional development by using our Employee Education Assistance Program, which establishes reimbursement for qualified education expenses upon successful completion of the program, and leveraging the enterprise-wide LinkedIn Learning subscription.
There are additional employee benefits too, including but not limited to, mental health with up to eight free therapy sessions for employees and their family members and well-being reward benefits.
With the Clearinghouse being an eligible 501(3)(c) nonprofit organization, employees are eligible for service credit towards the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF).
To find out more, please request a copy of our Benefits at a Glance!