Our client is a leading provider of software to select vertical markets. They acquire, manage, and build industry specific software businesses. They are growth operators passionate about serving customers, building great products, and leading with innovation. They are data-driven growth experts who partner with great leadership teams to take good businesses further, faster. Their strategy is to combine great software businesses via acquisition with functional specialists in marketing, sales operations, and product to empower companies to achieve 3-5x growth while remaining profitable. They have the people and process to help unlock growth and build lasting value. Central to this mission is their ability to add operational leaders into their software businesses to ensure alignment and execution.
Role/Opportunity
They are looking for a Product Strategy leader who loves to build highly collaborative teams and develop talent. Reporting to the Head of Product Strategy, the Director of Product Strategy will work within the Business Unit Operation/Portfolio teams to drive sustainable ARR growth from product initiatives that allow them to monetize the value that their products create for customers.
As Director of Product Strategy, you will be instrumental in developing a pragmatic and repeatable process for onboarding newly acquired companies and their products into their product management practices. Our client acquires new businesses at a frequent pace, so your responsibilities include quickly identifying strengths and weaknesses of the business’s product strategy, product development practices, and team members’ skills. You will help to foster a culture of collaboration and learning – developing training strategies and mentoring PM leaders across all business units/portfolios, while also ensuring ongoing visibility into strategic product initiatives.
Responsibilities
- Provide strategic guidance to business unit (BU) Presidents and Product leaders in developing and executing product roadmaps aligned with BU strategies and growth targets
- Coach and mentor BU Presidents and Product leaders in applying best practices in product management and engineering to drive successful product launches and ongoing growth
- Think strategically about markets, customers, and the impact of R&D priorities on growth, and effectively articulate these to BU Presidents and Product leaders
- Develop training and support materials on product management and engineering processes, industry standard best practices, and career progression
- Create a performance management system to ensure the product roadmaps are kept current and key product milestones are delivered on time and on budget
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including Engineering, Pricing, Finance, and Go-to-Market leaders, to support BU Presidents and Product leaders
- Ensure visibility into engineering throughput and efficiency and inform required investments in technology and R&D as part of annual planning
Traits
- Mentorship and coaching skills
- Diplomatic and tactful communication
- Strategic thinking and vision
- Analytical decision making
- Creative problem-solving
- Inspiring leadership
- Flexibility and adaptability
- Passion for product development and customer satisfaction
- Comfort prioritizing competing demands to achieve a sustainable pace and workload
Requirements
- Proven expertise in Product Management, with a minimum of 10 years of experience, including both individual contributor and leadership roles
- Experience developing product strategy for acquired businesses, both tuck-in and standalone
- Strong coaching and mentoring skills, with the ability to lead and inspire others to succeed
- Expertise using a variety of strategies to develop product management acumen, including the ability to create templates, provide reference examples, and selectively “show,” not just “tell,” to accelerate learning
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to make informed product decisions based on data and market trends
- Experience executing a variety of strategies for obtaining market insights
- Strong communication skills and the ability to effectively articulate product plans and strategies to a variety of audiences
- Experience working in a fast-paced environment and managing priorities and commitments consistent with capacity
- Trained in Pragmatic Marketing with applied experience to product management
- Experience managing multiple SaaS products
- Experience working in a matrixed organization