Overview:
If you are a seasoned senior K12 EdTech leader with a flare for managing large-scale, cross-functional programs with experience in leading teams in delivering excellence in research, marketing & communications, product development, and advocacy, read on. You may have just found your next move. The American Student Assistance (ASA.org), a non-profit organization changing the way kids learn about careers and plan for their futures, has an immediate opening on our growing planning and communications team. The Senior Director Program Management will report directly to the SVP of PR, Communications, and Planning and be responsible primarily for managing the strategy and execution of our goal to help 20 million kids by 2030 find, evaluate, and navigate to diverse pathways after high school. In this role, you will be responsible for guiding and advising multiple workstreams across ASA and our partners, including communications, research, networking/convening, advocacy/policy, product development, and product marketing. In addition to focusing on the Career Navigation Center, you will also have the opportunity to innovate and be responsible for launching new programs, campaigns, and initiatives to deepen ASA’s impact.
Responsibilities:
This role is ideal for an innovative and strategic leader who is energized by the Gen Z career navigation landscape and has experience in the K12 and postsecondary education arena. Part strategic thinker and part program manager extraordinaire with the ability to execute with fidelity, the successful candidate should be well versed in career readiness, career connected learning, and postsecondary education navigation.
In this role, you will provide leadership and direction to implement non-profit programs and develop the teams that support the organization's mission, vision, and goals. You will also:
- ensure that programs operate efficiently and pursues opportunities to expand and develop new programs.
- evaluate the performance of programs, assesses needs, and ensure that program objectives are achieved.
- act as a spokesperson and represents the programs at events.
- manage a departmental sub-function within a broader departmental function.
- create functional strategies and specific objectives for the sub-function and develops budgets/policies/procedures to support the functional infrastructure.
Co-lead Strategy and Vision for the Center:
- Evolve and position ASA’s point of view and its work around career navigation
- Set and communicate strategic goals and priorities for ASA and ensure that key initiatives, resources and budgets are aligned
- Communicate effectively with stakeholders including senior leadership, key internal and external partners, to provide updates on project progress, solicit feedback, and gain buy-in for product decisions and go-to-market strategies. Manage project and product development reporting.
- Manage all workstreams, coordinating with ASA personnel as well as external partners. Working with the PMO, develop and manage a comprehensive project plan and ensure all deliverables are on time, on budget and of the utmost quality. Workstreams include communication, networking/convenings, research, product development, product marketing, and advocacy & policy. Provide weekly updates to senior leaders and quarterly updates for the ASA Board of Directors.
Co-lead Career Navigation Platform Vision and Prototype Development:
- Inform comprehensive market research efforts to identify user needs, preferences, and market trends with the Gen Z demographic. Manage workstream ensuring ASA’s vision is heard and executed.
- Working closely with the SVP and Chief Product Officer, provide advisory support the product development process from ideation to prototype creation for a two-sided marketplace designed for Gen Z learners. Work closely with internal and external partners to define and prioritize product features based on user feedback and business objectives.
- Build and monitor key performance indicators and analytics to measure the success of the prototype and identify areas for further optimization.
Support the Career Navigation Platform Product Development
- Research: Provide feedback into format, venue, questionnaires, audience for focus groups and qualitative/quantitative research. Consolidate inputs to understand learner and employer motivations, competitive landscape, incentives, and demand.
- Design, Prototyping, Testing: Manage the effort to develop a live wireframe prototype ensuring features and benefits align with learner and employer preferences. Document the detailed specifications, defined features, and outline the product’s purpose. Test functionality, aesthetics, and usability. Iteratively refine the design based on feedback and requirements. Test your product prototype. Evaluate its performance, durability, safety, and user experience. Address any issues or improvements identified during testing.
- Provide program management support in the development of a build/buy/partner strategy determining optimal mix. Manage an RFP process for a product development house and subsequent contracting process to engage vendor and provide support for
user experience (UX) design, user interface (UI) design, and technical architecture planning. Collaborate closely with the development team, addressing any roadblocks and ensuring timely progress.
Lead the Go-to-Market, Audience Acquisition and Marketing Communications Strategy
- Create marketing strategies and develop promotional materials to build awareness. Create a visual identity and a messaging platform for the Center. Build a web presence.
- Co-create a communication plan for internal stakeholders as well as a public product launch. Plan should include a go-to-market strategy (public relations, social media, digital advertising, etc.) and an audience acquisition strategy to drive unique users to the platform.
- Provide national thought leadership on issues related to domains of expertise, including through speaking engagements at high-profile events, op-eds, publications, and social media; represent ASA on the national stage.
A successful candidate will:
- Have a Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent 15-20 years of EdTech publishing experience
- Be an innovative, subject matter expert in the career navigation landscape with experiences in K-20 education and have demonstrated experiences in strategy development, relationship/partner management, and building/managing effective teams.
- Be a well-rounded, proven program manager with experience working across companies in K12 product development, research, marketing and communication campaign planning/execution with knowledge in the areas of product development and advocacy:
- Possess a solid EdTech product background including a deep understanding of product development processes, including ideation, prototyping, testing, and refinement.
- Have a strong proficiency in conducting market research, which includes leveraging competitive analysis, and customer interviews to gather insights and inform product decisions.
- Have demonstrated skills in go-to-market product launch and sustained marketing growth campaign strategies.
Skills:
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills: Superior communication skills are mandatory. Must be able to communicate both verbally and in writing with all levels of management including senior leaders. Outstanding presentation and negotiation skills: superior success influencing up, down and across an organization; influencing without authority. Superior writing skills; including synthesizing multiple business priorities into coherent, relevant and impactful communications/presentations. Must be able to distill large amounts of information into easily digestible pieces for consumption and have a keen ability to adapt messages for audience relevance.
- Strong business acumen, strategic thinking and decision-making skills: Must possess a strong business acumen with the ability to quickly understand the company’s diverse landscape of people, systems, and processes. Must have demonstrated business savviness, business sense and business understanding with a keenness and quickness in understanding and dealing with a business situation (risks and opportunities) in a manner that is likely to lead to a good outcome. Much be self-sufficient and possess the ability to select between two or more alternatives to reach the best outcome in the shortest time. Must be able to evaluate risks and opportunities and make the best decisions to achieve the company's goals. Must demonstrate a strong ability to analyze problems, showing logical reasoning skills, and an ability to communicate solutions. Also, must display a high level of emotional intelligence.
- Strong interpersonal skills: Ability to quickly establish a good rapport with all contacts. Ability to motivate others in order to accomplish objectives and build consensus. Must be able to work with all levels of the organization as well as with content contributors and organizational partners. Must be able to fluently and confidently converse with all levels of the business. Having great facilitation skills and experience leading teams is a must.
- Excellent organizational ability: Must be detail-oriented, process-driven, able to prioritize own work, set and meet deadlines, and manage multiple projects simultaneously. Must have the ability to handle a high volume of work in a short period of time and be able to organize and assimilate information across multiple business units in a succinct manner. Ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment is crucial. History of successfully developing/delivering programs that support company vision and build thought leadership brand awareness/sentiment. Outstanding track record of managing large scale projects as evidenced by working with large cross-functional groups/managing multiple vendors and completing projects on time/on budget. Must be able to create and present project briefs, proposals & playbooks and develop detailed project plans for execution.
