Uncommon Schools is a non-profit network of 53 outstanding public charter schools in grades K-12 across New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts. Our mission is to start and manage outstanding urban public charter schools that close the achievement gap and prepare students from low-income backgrounds for success in college and beyond. We are accomplishing that mission every day, with a college graduation rate that is well above the national average and thousands of stories of our students and alumni achieving their dreams.

Position Overview

The Director of Product Development will lead ongoing innovation efforts to ensure that Uncommon’s Home Office, Regions and Schools have the technology solutions required to accomplish the organization’s strategic goals. The Director will develop a deep understanding of needs across all levels of the organization and create a strategy for prioritizing and implementing new technology and data solutions going forward. The Director of Product Development will report to the Senior Director of Data and IT. 

Uncommon’s highest priority is student achievement and this role contributes directly to that priority by providing teams across the organization with the tools they need to drive student success.   This role will lead critical initiatives such as the next-generation K-12 reports that are designed to provide in the moment, easy access to accurate, actionable data that can be implemented by teachers and school leaders in the service of preparing our scholars to enter, succeed in, and graduate from college.   On top of this, the person in this role has the opportunity to help shape the strategic direction of those decisions by serving as a thought leader alongside instructional and operational stakeholders on what data presented in what way will be most likely to move results for students.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Strategic & Annual  Planning

• Understand critical Home Office, Regional, and School processes and priorities in order to develop a long-term strategy go for new technology solutions. 

• Develop annual plan for Product Development Team. 

• Serve as an active member of the technology leadership team with other IT Directors.

Team Management

• Oversee and manage responsibilities of Product Development Team.

• Manage and develop individual team members

• Ensure strategic use of outsourced engineering partner, Ponder

Product Management and Development: 

• Partner with the Director of IT Support and Product Owners on functional teams to define and co-own the product road map for all technology solutions, outlining near and long term product goals. 

• Elicit requirements from users using interviews, surveys, site visits and observations and other methods of communication and develop product requirements outlining the specific technical functionality needed to deliver on user needs. 

• Oversee the product release cycle of vendors and coordinate among vendors and key internal stakeholders. 

• Partner closely with other IT, Home Office, regional, and school teams to coordinate product upgrades and to test and release new features and functions. 

• Suggest product functional and data enhancements and work with the vendors to execute enhancements. 

• Respond, in a timely manner, to all user inquiries and feedback. 

• Develop, refine and deliver training materials and resources to ensure that product functionality is being maximized by users. 

• Create and maintain policies and documentation around all new products and enhancements delivering functional and data capabilities to the users.
   

Project Management: 

• Manage cross-functional teams needed to inform and roll-out new technology solutions. 

• Create and maintain project plans, accounting for and tracking roles of many stakeholders, ensuring all deadlines are met, identifying risks and escalating issues as needed. 

• Create necessary links between vendors and internal Uncommon teams to ensure implementation is smooth. 

• Work closely with IT and Data teams to collaborate on the roll-out and support of any new technology platforms and any data integration work. 

• Clearly communicate implementation options and implications with stakeholders. 

• Create mechanism for collecting feedback from stakeholders and promptly addressing their concerns and issues.

• Manage the aggressive roll-out and upgrade of data systems and tools for the 19/20 and 20/21 school years

Preferred Technical knowledge and skills

• Demonstrated ability and experience working with data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau)

• Skills in data manipulation & transformation (e.g., expert in MS Excel, proficient in R/Python/SQL)

• Knowledge of data structures and systems

• An obsessive attention to detail and data accuracy

• Fluency with technical process development

Leadership and Approach to Work

• Exceptional strategic, analytical and critical thinking skills

• Strong attention to detail

• Solid written and verbal communication skills

• Strong relationship management skills and end-user orientation; deep concern and empathy for users and internal stakeholders

• Demonstrated ability to lead and develop a team of experts who have deep technical expertise

• Demonstrated ability to be self-directed and take initiative

• Excellent organization, time management, and tenacious follow-up skills; ability to prioritize and demonstrate an appropriate sense of urgency

• Demonstrated track record in driving impact and leading and managing significant, complex efforts, and robust process

• Demonstrated ability to establish credibility with internal/external developers and vendors

• Thorough understanding of how to interpret customer business needs and translate them into application and operational requirements

• Experience designing, implementing and leading training for a range of audiences

• Demonstrated ability to learn new tools, systems and processes quickly

• Strong work ethic and commitment to high standards of excellence coupled with an enthusiastic approach to one’s work.

Minimum educational level

• Bachelor's degree required

Experience required/preferred

• 5+ years of operations, Ed Tech, project management or consulting experience preferred.

• 2-5+ years managing two or more technical direct reports as well as cross functional project teams.

• Previous experience in K-12 public education strongly preferred.

• Knowledge of and experience with business intelligence and school facing technologies preferred.

Uncommon Schools offers competitive salaries commensurate with experience and a comprehensive benefits package.  Aside from extensive professional development, all our staff members are equipped with a laptop computer, email, and all necessary supplies.

Uncommon believes in the importance of being a diverse, equitable and inclusive organization that enables our students and staff to thrive. We are committed to building a talented team that reflects the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our students. At the same time, we work to ensure an inclusive community through creating a space for important dialogue about issues of race and identity for our staff and students.  As an equal opportunity employer, we hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status or disability.