At Penn Foster Group, our purpose is to open doors to brighter futures by helping learners to gain the skills they need to grow their careers. Our Chief Product Officer (CPO) will own the product vision and strategy for the company. They will be responsible for the development and delivery of the learning experience for our 200,000+ learners each year in high school, college, and career programs. Reporting to the CEO and a member of Penn Foster’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT), the CPO will lead our approach to developing and delivering quality learning, the strategy for how we will grow our impact in focus career verticals, and continuous improvement of our digital learning experience.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop a shared product vision that will double Penn Foster Group’s graduates within the next five years while delivering on annual goals, based on a detailed understanding of learner needs, learning technology, and market trends.
- Develop, implement, and manage a product strategy and end-to-end product process to deliver on the vision. This product strategy derives from focus, then leverages insights, converts these insights to action, and finally manages the work through to completion. Our product strategy should help us get the most value out of our product teams.
- Design, recruit, coach, and manage the team necessary to create the learning experience and deliver against the product strategy, including:
o Designing and delivering pedagogy and content that effectively prepares learners for jobs o Creating and executing strategies to grow in specific career verticals.
o Delivering an online learning experience that helps learners progress effectively through programs o Building a culture of data-driven experimentation to continuously improve performance
- Motivate, coordinate, and help prioritize the SLT to deliver against the product strategy:
o Work closely with the Chief Technology Officer to design, develop, and release products.
o Work closely with the Chief Operating Officer to ensure operational readiness and an excellent learner experience. o Work closely with the Chief Marketing Officer to ensure effective launch, go-to market, and enrollment activities.
o Work closely with the Chief Financial Officer to build business cases and track success metrics.
o Work closely with the General Counsel to align regulatory strategy and compliance requirements with the product strategy.
o Work closely with the Chief People Officer to develop the team and talent necessary to deliver the strategy.
- Build business cases, marshal and allocate resources and capital effectively to improve learner success and financial returns on investment.
o Work closely with the COO to integrate student-facing operations with the learning experience to improve outcomes and efficiency.
o Prioritize investments across programs and aspects of the learning experience; measure returns on those investments, learn and refine over time.
o Develop external partnerships to support the product strategy.
- Apply advances in technology as a part of Penn Foster Group’s product strategy; for example, VR or applications of AI for internal operations and student-facing experiments
- As a member of Penn Foster Group’s SLT, be a steward for the company, internally and externally.
o Help to develop Group strategy and culture o With the CEO, create Board clarity on operating priorities and execution, and report regularly against progress.
o Represent Penn Foster externally, participating in enterprise customer sales, relevant conferences, etc
- Live our Purpose, Promise, and Principles; build the learner-obsessed culture within your team and across the company
Skills and Qualifications You Will Need
- 15+ years of experience in product leadership and technology.
- Proven track record of outstanding product leadership, including demonstrated expertise in various product management models, understanding of best practices for product team leadership, and hands-on creation of product artifacts such as roadmaps, business cases, and successful product launches.
- Proven track record developing and delivering against digital product strategies in the K-12, higher education, or workforce skills training markets, including deep domain and market knowledge. You will need to know the market trends, competitors, investors, important new educational technologies, and government regulations.
- Understanding of learning technology and experiences, including an in depth understanding of technology developments relevant for online learning, especially Generative AI.
- Proven experience designing, recruiting, coaching, leading, and developing a team of product managers.
- Ability to drive a high-impact agenda with a diverse set of executives and business partners, with the ability to lead change in a dynamic environment.
- Experience developing and using customer research and data to drive decision-making and focus.
- Ability to challenge ideas and norms with thoughtful arguments; an inspiring leader who is creative and innovative in identifying solutions and persuading others to a course of action.
- Strong interpersonal skills. Consistent track record as a standout colleague with an understanding of how to deliver both personal and team goals.
- Excellent management, coaching and mentoring skills, with the demonstrated ability to build high performing teams.
Location:
Virtual, with ability to travel regularly (~2-3 times per month). Teams are primarily remote, with hubs in Chandler, AZ; Boston, MA; and Scranton, PA.
Equal Employment Opportunity:
At Penn Foster Group we are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We are committed to creating a work environment that embraces and celebrates diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other status protected under federal, state, or local law.
What We Offer:
We offer a competitive base salary and incentive compensation, plus a robust benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, flexible spending, generous paid time off, sponsored volunteer opportunities, a 401K with a company match, plus free access to all our online programs.