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Sr Director, Product Management, State Assessment Solutions

Posting Date : 3/23/2018

Job# : 1190388

Employment Type : Full Time Regular

Category : Product Management

Job Title : Sr Director, Product Management, State Assessment Solutions

Location : Portland, OR

About this role....

The Sr. Director Product Management, State Assessment Solutions, articulates the vision and strategy for NWEA's state assessment business and guides the creation of solutions that are customer-centered, comprehensive, and compatible with NWEA's core capabilities and strengths. This role works with other senior leaders in the organization to target opportunities, assess organizational capabilities, architect solutions, and manage the roadmap for long-term success in the state market. The position has a high-profile external role, interacts with senior leaders in state departments and education organizations. He/she has a strong understanding of market trends and challenges and serves as a thought leader inside and outside of the organization. The Sr. Director leads (or directly oversees) initiatives aimed at creating capability and innovation needed for envisioned future success in the state market. The Sr. Director works with Product Management, Program Management, State Accounts, and other executives so that the NWEA product portfolio is cohesive, meets customer needs, and that the teams' work is efficient and effective.
The Sr. Director Product Management, State Assessment Solutions reports to the Vice President, Product Management and the position will be located in our Portland, OR. headquarters.

About us....
NWEA™ is a research-based, not-for-profit organization that supports students and educators worldwide by creating assessment solutions that precisely measure growth and proficiency-and provide insights to help tailor instruction. For 40 years, NWEA has developed innovative Pre-K-12 assessments, including our flagship interim assessment, MAP® Growth™; our progress monitoring and skills mastery tool, MAP® Skills™; and the OECD Test for Schools (based on PISA). Educators trust our professional learning offerings to accelerate student learning and our research to support assessment validity and data interpretation. Our tools are trusted by educators in 140 countries and more than half the schools in the U.S.

Your next challenge....

• Articulate the vision and strategy for NWEA's state assessment business
• Work closely with VP of State and Federal Accounts, VP Strategic Measurement Solutions and VP of Proposals and Program Management to
• Decide on target states and opportunities
• Assess current capability vs. needed capability for target opportunities
• Make bid/no-bid decisions
• Monitor progress and relationship quality on ongoing state contracts
• Serve as a core member of state solution-design teams - the Sr. Director's sign-off is required on all state solutions
• Lead (or directly oversee a delegate) initiatives aimed at creating capability and innovation needed for envisioned future success in the state market
• Ensure the state team's work is coordinated with other Product Management teams so that the NWEA product portfolio is cohesive, meets partner needs, and that the teams' work is efficient and effective. This person participates fully in prioritizing enhancements to the shared services platform and works closely with the Platform team to formulate the platform vision and to reconcile the platform vision with requirements from individual products and contracts.
• Maintain strong understanding of current assessment design across multiple markets
• Identify emerging market needs and potential solutions (e.g., accommodations, adaptive models, assessment design, item types, etc.) with a cross-departmental, systems perspective and ensure multiple measures lens is applied consistently across the organization
• Participate in client meetings such as planning, technical advisory, and others as needed
• Evaluate and improve design methodology and propose alternatives and solutions to meet business needs
• Maintain understanding of state assessment market and influence roadmap and development priorities to ensure successful sequencing and positioning of NWEA's solutions.
• Support, as needed, responses to requests for proposals
• Understand team dynamics and ensure they build upon organizational culture and values; cultivate the appropriate actions and behaviors for colleagues
• Develop and maintain strong collaborative relationships with a variety of NWEA teams
• Serve as mentor to various roles as assigned across the organization to strengthen internal capacity generally, and specifically related to multiple measures

Traits for success....

• Strong understanding of the K-12 education assessment industry (e.g. Common Core State Standards, competitors, RFP process) and accepted practices
• Proactive strategic thinker who is calm under pressure, with ability to move rapidly between big picture and tactical detail level
• Creative problem solver with a passion for well-designed customer-focused solutions
• Strong verbal, written and presentation skills
• Extremely strong interpersonal, negotiating and conflict management skills; demonstrated ability to work successfully with a wide variety of individuals
• Proven organizational skills and ability to manage time across multiple projects
• Ability to work independently and manage own schedule
• Demonstrated leadership, communication and team building skills
• Proven ability to manage complex projects with cross functional teams
• Ability to work effectively with team members in different locations
• Ability to work effectively and efficiently in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to participate in client discussions across a wide variety of program issues and considerations, including general industry topics
• Ability to assess the effectiveness of processes and procedures and recommend improvements
• Ability to identify barriers to progress and propose solutions
• Demonstrated ability to bring research studies and projects to completion
• Ability to travel as required, up to 25%
• Must be able to perform the physical and intellectual requirements of the role, with or without accommodation

Education and experience
• Minimum 10+ years' experience in Educational Measurement, Assessment or related Educational Field. Advanced training (Ph.D.) preferred.
• 5+ years' experience as Product or Program Manager in the Education assessment industry

What we can offer you....
At NWEA we not only offer a competitive base salary, we offer a 15% contribution of eligible employees' base salary to a defined contribution 403(b) retirement savings plan; career development opportunities; an awesome work culture and environment; we also offer industry leading benefits and perks that are focused on supporting our employees' holistic wellbeing. To learn more about what we can offer more, click here.

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