Overview:

The RISE Network’s mission is to ensure all high school students graduate with a plan and the skills and confidence to achieve college and career success. Founded in 2016, RISE partners with public high schools to lead networks where communities work together to use data to learn and improve. Through its core and most comprehensive network, RISE partners with nine high schools and eight districts, serving over 13,000 students in historically marginalized communities. 

RISE high schools work together to ensure all students experience success as they transition to, through, and beyond high school by using data to pinpoint needs, form hypotheses, and pursue ideas to advance student achievement. Partner schools have improved Grade 9 promotion rates by nearly 20 percentage points, while also decreasing subgroup gaps and increasing schoolwide graduation and college access rates. In 2021, the RISE Network was honored to receive the Carnegie Foundation’s annual Spotlight on Quality in Continuous Improvement recognition. Increasingly, RISE is pursuing opportunities to scale its impact through research publications, consulting partnerships, professional development experiences, and other avenues to drive excellent student outcomes.

Position Summary and Essential Job Functions:

The RISE Product Manager will be responsible for RISE’s newest tool, the Data Hub. The Data Hub helps educators support students’ on-track achievement and postsecondary success by centralizing and streamlining relevant data and productivity tools. The Product Manager is a new role on a growing team who will ensure that the tool delivers maximum value to our school partners in furtherance of our student outcome goals. This is an extraordinary opportunity for an entrepreneurial, impact-focused, and user-centered leader.

Reporting directly to the Chief of Data Strategy and Product Innovation, the Product Manager will manage the Product Team, currently consisting of web developers and designers, and will collaborate closely with the Data Systems Team and Applied Data & Research Team. The Product Manager will be responsible for understanding the needs of our users, leading on the product vision, and building high-value web applications through the development team. We seek an individual who is passionate about closing opportunity gaps and developing the potential of all students regardless of life circumstance.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

1. Team Strategy and Leadership

• Oversee the implementation and continuous improvement of RISE’s Data Hub product strategy.

• Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for the team, ensuring all team members have a shared understanding of success metrics and how their roles support results in these areas.

• Organize web development and design staff and resources to advance the team’s KPIs, priorities, and ongoing work streams.

• Promote team coordination and communication, including by facilitating purposeful team meetings and overseeing team work plans. 

• Support the ongoing professional development of all team members through weekly one-on-one check-ins and ongoing coaching, modeling, mentorship, feedback, and other learning opportunities.

• Maintain an excellent team climate rooted in high expectations, an appreciation for team diversity, and a commitment to create an inclusive and collaborative team environment.

• Maintain strong partnerships with other functional teams, proactively supporting cross-team transparency and synergies.

• Serve on the management team, helping to advance organizational growth, strategies, and goals.

2. Product Vision and Strategy

• Collaborate with the Chief of Data Strategy and Product Innovation, Chief of Programs and Network Success, the Executive Director, and others to align the product vision to the organization’s strategy.

• Create and maintain a roadmap to articulate and operationalize the short and long-term vision of the Data Hub product.

• Create and lead systems to understand user needs of school and district partners, including their feedback and input for the product.

• Collaborate with the RISE Program Team and Engagement Team in designing a product that responds to school needs and student outcome goals and complements RISE’s other approaches to achieving impact.

• Maintain awareness of trends and best practices in the EdTech industry and how they apply to RISE’s work.

• Ensure sustainability of the product. Design products that allow for growth and increased impact.

3. Product Development and Maintenance

• Lead the product development team in building and continuously improving the product while adhering to the principles of Agile/Scrum methodology.

• Collaborate with data managers, including the Deputy Director of Data Systems and the Applied Data and Research Manager, to ensure smooth cross-functional operations including by facilitating collaboration across teams.

• Maintain a product backlog including gathering, developing, documenting, and refining requirements for product features.

• Oversee design processes and collaborate with Designer to ensure product consistency with the RISE brand and excellent user experiences.

• Develop and execute rollout plans to ensure the successful launch of new features, functionality, and data availability.

• Work efficiently to troubleshoot, resolve, and prevent bugs, while providing updates to users.

• Oversee and support staff in maintaining the highest levels of quality assurance for the product.

Required Knowledge and Skills:

• Strong understanding of Agile / Scrum methodologies or equivalent.

• Strong communication skills to technical and non-technical audiences.

• Excellent listening skills supporting strong social awareness and relationship management.

• Ability to prioritize and deprioritize tasks in line with product vision, goals, and strategy.

• Familiarity with designing, building and maintaining responsive & intuitive front-end web applications using JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and Vue.

• Understanding of a Design System and the purposes it serves.

• Outstanding interpersonal skills and teamwork

• Commitment to systems-driven solutions for scalable and sustained impact

• Strong organizational and project management skills

• Strong belief that all students can learn and achieve at high levels

• Ability to ramp up on new content and work in an independent and self-motivated manner

• Desire to work in a dynamic, entrepreneurial, and results-driven environment

• Sense of humor, positive attitude, and willingness to work in a collaborative environment

Preferred Knowledge and Skills: 

• Experience managing web developers and/or product designers

Required Education and Experience:

• Minimum of 6 year of relevant professional experience

• Minimum of 3 years as a product manager or related role

• Minimum of 2 years of direct people management experience

• Experience in or passion for K-12 education and educational technology.

RISE is an Equal Opportunity Employer.