Product Manager (Applications)

Do you have a passion for higher education? Do you want to make a positive impact on the college admissions process? Our staff help to remove barriers and encourage students to forge their path to a better future. Common App is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to the pursuit of access, equity, and integrity in the college admission process. Each year we support more than 1 million students, one-third of whom are first-generation, as they apply to our more than 1100 diverse member colleges & universities using the Common App's free online application.

If you are an experienced product manager professional and want to be part of a mission-driven non-profit that uses innovative technology to advance the college admission process, Common App may be a great match for you.

Responsibilities

As a member of the Product Strategy team, and in coordination with the Senior Director of Product Management, the Product Manager will help shape enhancements to Common App’s first-year and transfer applications to drive college and counselor satisfaction and improve students’ experience. This includes driving significant new and enhanced features designed to increase the ease by which students, counselors, and colleges use the applications, particularly students from low to medium-income backgrounds.

Mission-driven and passionate about addressing complex problems in college admissions, this person will lead cross-functional teams in identifying, defining, and prioritizing product features that meet the needs of our diverse user base using techniques grounded in an approach to product management. Additionally, this person will determine metrics for success, capture and analyze results, and present findings for additional discovery and consideration.

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS

This role requires:

• Candidates must live in the United States.
• Willing to travel to attend twice annual Common App Retreat.
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 4-6 years of experience working in or around the college admissions process with a firm understanding of education technology trends and practices.
• Demonstrable experience working collaboratively to enhance, implement, build, or launch technology initiatives.
• Exceptional problem solving; the ability to identify products and enhancements that add value to constituents and are aligned to project and program goals.
• Product vision; the ability to synthesize user needs, market dynamics, and technology advancements to align with product direction.
• Analytical acumen; the ability to use data-driven insights to inform decisions and solutions.
• Agile or other project management methodology experience with the ability to manage initiatives and lead collaborative groups that span several areas of the organization.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate product and process updates including key milestones, trade-offs, and value considerations to supervisors, teams, and constituents.
• An innovative mindset and the ability to foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement while leading the product development lifecycle.
• Proficient in using collaboration tools such as Slack, Google Workspace, and Atlassian (e.g., Jira).

The ideal candidate will possess:

• Experience in product management or a combination of experience in technology implementation, business analysis, strategy consulting, or related fields.
• Experience working collaboratively with user experience and technology teams in solutioning and delivering products and features.
• Subject matter expertise in application platforms, student pathways, and/or community college enrollment.