IT Product Manager

$93,771 - $110,000/Yr

American University - Washington, DC

Full-time - Mid Level

Washington, DC

Educational Services

About the position

The IT Product Manager at American University is a pivotal role that combines strategic oversight with technical expertise to enhance the university's IT product domains, particularly focusing on enterprise technologies such as the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, Workday, and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, Salesforce. This position is designed for a technology expert who will develop a comprehensive understanding of the business areas supported by these systems, laying out a product strategy that not only delivers value but also addresses necessary fixes and enhances functionality in alignment with the university's priorities. The IT Product Manager will lead complex technology projects, influence stakeholders beyond their direct control, and communicate the product roadmap effectively, ensuring it aligns with institutional goals. In this role, the incumbent will be responsible for configuring, maintaining, troubleshooting, and enhancing enterprise systems to meet organizational policies and best practices. They will create and customize reports and dashboards to support data-driven decision-making, provide user support, and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure efficient data management and process optimization. The IT Product Manager will also develop and maintain a product roadmap in collaboration with leadership, manage the product backlog, and stay updated on industry trends in higher education enterprise applications. Additionally, the role involves managing relationships with software vendors, ensuring compliance with enterprise architecture standards, and acting as a liaison between IT and business units to understand and anticipate technology needs. The position requires flexibility, as occasional after-hours and weekend support may be necessary, particularly during peak periods at the start of each semester. The IT Product Manager will work in a hybrid modality, requiring one day a month on campus, and is expected to work 35 hours per week, Monday through Friday.

Responsibilities

• Configure, maintain, troubleshoot, and enhance enterprise systems such as Workday and/or Salesforce.
• Create, customize, and maintain reports, dashboards, and analytics to support data-driven decision-making.
• Provide support to enterprise application users on system functionality and best practices.
• Collaborate with key stakeholders and IT colleagues to ensure accurate data management, reporting, integrations, and process efficiency.
• Manage scheduled releases, facilitate testing and issue resolution, track areas of concern or failure, and ensure adoption of new features and functions.
• Continuously seek opportunities to optimize processes and workflows.
• Develop and maintain the product roadmap aligned with the institution's goals and priorities in collaboration with stakeholder leadership.
• Lead the continuous enhancement and delivery of new product functionality by gathering, prioritizing, and documenting requirements.
• Create and maintain the product backlog of epics and user stories, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities.
• Establish strong partnerships with key stakeholders to understand their technology needs and gather requirements.
• Act as liaison between IT and business units, ensuring effective communication and alignment.
• Manage relationships with software vendors and service providers, ensuring that products and services meet the institution's requirements and standards.
• Ensure that IT products and solutions adhere to enterprise architecture standards.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
• 3-5 years of relevant experience in IT product management or related roles.
• Demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills to collaborate effectively at all levels of the organization.
• Proven analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience with enterprise applications and related practices from requirements to delivery on projects that include new product versions and enhancements.
• Knowledge of agile and/or waterfall project management methodologies.
• Experience developing business cases and writing functional requirements.
• Proficiency in reporting tools and workflow processes.
• Experience with ERP or CRM systems is preferred.
• Experience working in a higher education institution is preferred.
• Knowledge of data privacy and security regulations (e.g., FERPA, GDPR) is a plus.

Nice-to-haves

• Master's degree in a relevant field.
• 4-6 years of relevant experience in IT product management or related roles.

Benefits

• 200% matching retirement plan
• Tuition benefits for full-time staff and their families
• Leadership development certificates
• Recognition as a fit-friendly worksite by the American Heart Association