Position Overview

The Director of Product Management, Business Skills is responsible for the management and delivery of products and services through the full product lifecycle:  gathering and prioritizing customer requirements, defining the product vision and scope, informing the product positioning and driving the content roadmap based on industry trends and competitive pressures and working cross-functionally within Skillsoft and externally to deliver state of the art and highly impactful products which meet revenue, profit and customer satisfaction goals.  The Director, Product Management’s primary goal is to ensure that the product / service supports the company’s overall strategy and goals for the content area. This position reports to the Vice President of Leadership and Business Skills content portfolios and works closely with Content Development, Product and Corporate Marketing, Sales, Customer Support and Consulting Technical Services departments.

Position Responsibilities

• Help define the vision for new products and services in the Business Skills and Leadership areas, help drive the development process from ideation to commercialization and to inform the roadmap for the evolution of products and services leveraging strong collaboration with content development and product maintenance teams.

• Create business cases, PRDs, MRDs and other documentation for new content offerings to support the development process and secure key stakeholder sponsorship.
• Help to inform and drive the Skillsoft innovation agenda in Business Skills and Leadership content areas by staying current with industry and competitive trends.
• Work with external third parties to assess partnerships and licensing opportunities.
• Identify potential subject matter experts in content areas for new product development consideration.
• For Business Skills content, stay current with certification requirements for all certification courses in the portfolio.  
• Collaborate with Marketing, Sales, Services and other functions to define core product position and messaging and leverage Corporate Marketing staff to drive product launch and roll out plans to educate customers about the product portfolio.
• Perform product demos to internal and external stakeholders.
• Develop data collection plans for tracking metrics regarding product performance.
• Serve as product line “evangelist” with the Sales Organization and coordinate with Sales to develop and implement sales tools and collateral through the Sales Enablement function.
• Develop a comprehensive go-to-market process with Sales, Marketing and Services functions. 
• Collaborate with Marketing to create messaging / positioning / campaigns that accurately reflect the features and benefits of new and existing content offerings. Ensure the successful implementation of this process.
• Regularly update Sales, Client Services and other cross-functional teams as needed.
• Conduct market research to define and identify use cases and unmet needs of existing and potential customers and to establish business requirements.
• Escalate issues to Vice President for resolution as necessary.
• Assist with projects and analysis as assigned by Vice President.
• Set up, manage and monitor new processes and systems to support the product management function within Business Skills and Leadership portfolios.

Desired Skills and Experience

• Customer Focused – personally demonstrated that both external and internal customers are a high       priority by identifying, and responding to their needs in a timely and efficient manner
• Initiative – Recognizes opportunities and initiates actions to capitalize on them by looking for a new and productive ways to make an impact
• Innovative Thinking – Embraces and champions new ideas and encourages others to do likewise
• Building Organizational Commitment – Demonstrates commitment, loyalty and appreciation for the organization.   Conveys a high-level of concern for all employees, while helping to ensure that both their needs and those of the organization are met
• Possesses excellent interpersonal relationship skills
• Excellent written communication skills, demonstrating the ability to write with purpose, clarity, and accuracy.
• Effective project management and organizational skills.
• Analytical and problem solving ability.
• Execution mind-set.
• Self-motivated with strong initiative, drive, creativity, maturity, self-assurance and professionalism. 
• Organized and detail-oriented.
• Excellent skills in common MS applications (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint).
• Passion for understanding the voice of the customer.
• Up to 25% travel may be required.

Education and Certifications

• BA / BS degree (preferably in economics or business) with 5-8 years related experience or Master’s in Business degree with 3 years related experience.