Senior Director, Curriculum Systems Product Management

Summary:

The Senior Director Curriculum Systems Product Management is the primary product specialist for the development scrum team manages the teams backlog participates actively in all phases of development and is a key stakeholder in product related decisions and release planning and a primary liaison to the customer and vendors.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Help to define the vision for products and features and evaluate various approaches to implement effective solutions

• Serve as a key liaison between the customer and vendors to align product strategy with customer goals.

• Collaborate with product managers and other stakeholders to drive product specifications product design and overall product direction

• Translate ideas and strategies into tangible product requirements in the form of themes epics and user stories

• Prioritize development backlog items based on product strategy business value to the customer implementation cost and resource availability

• Continuously groom the development backlog by recurring iterations of user story development and prioritization

• Set specific objectives for each sprint

• Act as the one person in the scrum team who fully understands the vision and business value associated with all user stories and communicate that knowledge to the team to ensure that implemented solutions achieve intended goals

• Make the final acceptance decision on all implemented user stories based on whether the intended business value has been achieved

• Review and demonstrate product functionality with customers and internal stakeholders

• Evaluate and articulate scrum team results and identify opportunities for further product and feature improvements

• Participate in scrum events including quarterly Program Increment Planning Sprint Planning Team Standups and other ceremonies to ensure timely delivery of product features to meet goals.

Skills:

• Knowledge of software development lifecycle methodologies (e.g. Waterfall Iterative Agile)

• Experience with translating business requirements into system functional and non-functional requirements

• Strong analytical skills

• Welcomes solving problems with a positive attitude teamwork and innovation

• An effective and persuasive communicator (written verbal presentation e-mail etc.) who is skilled at leading meetings and making presentations

• Proven ability to work in a collaborative environment - consulting frequently with team members to understand all issues ideas and suggestions

• Strong customer and user intuition

• Must be able to grasp the big picture vision and have the drive to make that vision a reality

• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with many moving parts where information resources and priorities can change quickly and where information must be readily digested and decisions made expeditiously

• Must be a proactive problem solver innovator and able to handle multiple complex product features and tasks

Education & Experience Requirements:

Experience:

• 5-10 years of product management and/or project management or similar experience in a higher education setting.

• Experience writing formal business/functional requirements and user stories.

• Experience with agile and scrum processes and methods is highly desirable

Preferred Experience Requirements:

Education:

• Bachelors Degree

All submissions should include a cover letter and resume.

The University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination. UMGC is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race color national origin age marital status sex sexual orientation gender identity gender expression disability religion ancestry political affiliation or veteran status in employment educational programs and activities and admissions.

Workplace Accommodations:

The University of Maryland Global Campus Global Campus (UMGC) is committed to creating and maintaining a welcoming and inclusive working environment for people of all abilities. UMGC is dedicated to the principle that no qualified individual with a disability shall based on disability be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services programs or activities of the University or be subjected to discrimination. For information about UMGCs Reasonable Workplace Accommodation Policy or to request an accommodation applicants/candidates can contact Employee Accommodations via email at.

Benefits Package Highlights:

• Generous Time Off:Enjoy 22 days of paid vacation 15 days of sick leave 3 personal days and 15 paid holidays (16 during general election years). For part-time employees time off rates will be prorated based on the number of hours worked.
• Comprehensive Health Coverage:Access to health care medical with vision dental and prescription plans for both individuals and families effective from the 1st of the month following your hire date.
• Insurance Options:Term Life Insurance Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance and Long-Term Disability (LTD) Insurance. Part-time employees working less than 0.5 FTE are not eligible for LTD.
• Flexible Spending Accounts:Available for medical and dependent care expenses.
• Retirement Plans:Choose between the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) or the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System (MSRPS).
• Supplemental Retirement Plans: include 401(k) 403(b) 457(b) and various Roth options. The university does not provide matching funds.
• Tuition Remission:Immediate availability for Regular Exempt Staff. Spouses and dependent children are eligible for undergraduate tuition remission after two years of service. NOTE: For part-time employees (at least 50 percent of the time) tuition remission benefits are prorated.

Hiring Range: