Senior Product Manager, Learning

Uncommon Schools  is a nonprofit network of high-performing, public charter schools providing an outstanding K-12 education in historically under-resourced communities. We have proudly built schools that reflect our student population, with more than 60% of our teachers and staff across our network identifying as a person of color. Uncommon currently manages 52 schools serving more than 20,000 students in five cities: Boston, Camden, New York City, Newark and Rochester. We are proud that Uncommon graduates persist in and graduate from college at five times the rate of their peers nationally. We achieve this by offering strong academic, co-curricular, and social-emotional learning that prepares students for success in college and beyond.

As a senior member of Uncommon’s Product Management Team, the Product Manager will be deployed to ensure that the Team achieves its most important goals and objectives. We are looking for a candidate with 5+ years of IT experience and 3+ years of experience in education, specifically working with assessments, SIS, and EdTech. Beyond technical knowledge, the Product Manager must have strong change management, planning, and communication skills in order to manage technology and processes at Uncommon’s scale and high standard.

Duties & Responsibilities

Independent and Expert Administration of Multiple Products

• Set a vision for the technical management of all EdTech to best support Instructional partner goals (Clever,mClass, Illuminate etc)
• Deeply understand Instructional goals and use cases for the platforms (i.e. replace teacher instruction versus practice based on live instruction)
• Develop and manage the implementation of all processes for day-to-day platform use (i.e. Student & teacher access, reporting)
• Build policy resources, including user management policy around roles, access level, and responsibilities for stakeholders and the Data & IT team
• Troubleshoot & manage vendor to resolve Tier 3 issues
• Manage system upgrades, backups, testing, connectivity with other enterprise applications
• Attend training/webinars offered by vendors to build expertise
• Use robust product knowledge to improve systems and process
• Identify new areas/ways the product can be used (either internally or externally)
• Support the implementation and roll-out of new applications

Management

• This position directly manages up to 3 FTE 
• Guide and review team member work product (e.g. product roadmaps, product documentation, product backlogs).
• Support the team members' individual growth within Uncommon and the K-12 Data space
• Facilitate Agile ceremonies, including backlog refinement, sprint planning, retrospectives,etc.
•  Leader planning for 8 to 12 weeks of work for the Value Stream Team via the Planning Increment ceremonies
• Create and foster a cross-functional community by allowing space and opportunities for team members to deeply engage and collaborate with each other
• Facilitate cascading communication through cohorts to breakdown functional team silos and ensure that we are functioning as a fast agile team

Training and documentation

•  Own creation and management of all internal and school-facing Knowledge Base articles on support, troubleshooting, and best practices for all platforms to be used by all teachers and Ops leaders
• Develop and facilitate training for school leaders, which they will turnkey to their staff 
• Help define and coordinate vendor-offered training sessions at the right level for those managing the Service Desk and Relationship Managers.
•  Work with School Leaders to document existing processes related to supported applications (e.g. documentation of methods and procedures of PowerSchool)

Vendor Management

• Manage renewal and payment of yearly contract
• Build relationships with vendors, act as liaison between vendor and Uncommon on any projects, and own school-level escalations & difficult conversations.
• Manage vendor escalations to deliver best-in-class performance to Uncommon stakeholders

Organizational Relationships

• Work closely with Regional Superintendents, school-based Directors of Operations, Curriculum Directors, Chiefs of Staff, and members of the Data and IT Team. 

Education Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree required

Experience Requirements:

• 7-9 years of directly related experience
  • 5+ years working in K-12 environment
    • 3+ years managing or building EdTech software
    • 3+ years managing or supporting student-facing technology/student information system or assessment platform: PowerSchool, Illuminate
    • Experience with SQL or other programming languages and how to use data dictionaries to understand data structures 
    • Advanced skills in Excel and Google Sheets/Forms
    • Previous management of 3 to 5 direct reports who own significant workstreams
    • Experience managing policies and procedures to set best practices and deliver high-quality support
    • Working knowledge of help desk ticketing software (e.g. Zendesk)

Schedule:

• 3 days a week in our central office located in downtown Manhattan

Our people are what make us uncommon. It’s important to us that our compensation practices align with our values and enhance our ability to attract and retain talent.  Our compensation philosophy is focused on equity and fairness, retaining our talented staff and valuing their expertise, and transparency and clarity.

Compensation for this position:  Candidates who meet all job description requirements will likely receive an offer of $111,000.The starting compensation for this role is between $104,800 to $123,300.The starting pay will depend on various factors including but not limited to relevant professional experience, education, certifications, and tenure with Uncommon Schools.  To receive an offer at the top of the range, candidates will need significant experience beyond the job description requirements. Because we value staff tenure in a role, we do not currently cap salary ranges for current staff members. 

Other Benefits:

• 19 days of paid time off in addition to three weeks of paid winter and summer org-wide holidays
• Extensive, best-in-class training and development  
• Choice of 3 comprehensive health insurance plans
• Pre-tax flexible spending and health saving accounts
• Financial planning & wellness
  • 403(b) retirement savings program + employer match
  • 529 college savings program
  • Public Service Loan Forgiveness application assistance
  • Financial  planning tools and assistance
• Dependent Care FSA, back up childcare and daycare discounts, pet care insurance
• Paid leave of absence 
  • Fully paid parental leave
  • Fully paid medical leave
  • Additional paid Short Term and Long Term Disability insurance 
• Mental health and counseling support + wellness benefits

Uncommon believes in the importance of being a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization that enables our students and staff to thrive. We are committed to building an exceptional team that reflects the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our students. We also strive to ensure an inclusive community by creating a space for meaningful dialogue about issues of race and identity for our staff and students. As an equal opportunity employer, Uncommon provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. We also ensure that individuals with disabilities receive all privileges and benefits associated with employment and are provided reasonable accommodations for the interview process and to perform core job functions. If you would like to request an accommodation, please email [email protected].