Director, Product Management

Oversee a portfolio of software as a service (SaaS) products serving the freight rail industry. Provide direction on product strategy and new feature development, new product development, pricing, product support and business management. Work collaboratively with other product management staff, IT development managers, executive management, and product support teams to execute on corporate initiatives and deliver industry value in support of Railinc’s mission and vision.

REPORTS TO : VP, AAR Product Management or VP, Commercial Product Management

Job Accountability/Responsibilities:

Essential Functions – General Product Management Responsibilities:

• Identify rail industry trends and concerns including industry strategic direction.
• Understand customer goals and objectives: solicit input from customers and business associates, internal and external to Railinc, for areas of opportunity.
• Gather information to analyze and prioritize identified opportunities (strategy roadmap for product portfolio)
• Pursue selected opportunities, develop industry champions, and secure investment.
• Manage and enhance existing product portfolio.
• Determine pricing and profitability targets for products and services.

Essential Functions – Portfolio Strategic Planning/Road-mapping/Customer Satisfaction:

• Understand all aspects of the product(s) in the portfolio, including how products deliver value to our customers and what business processes they support.
• Direct business activity related to product portfolio with annual revenue around $12MM.
• Prioritize work relative to market demand, technical capabilities, and company strategy for business unit containing around 30 staff members that operate cross-departmentally.
• Ensure projects are delivered with high quality, completed on time, at or under budget, deliver value, and meet necessary audit requirements.
• Provide strategic direction for technical systems development.
• Manage the customer relationship with industry stakeholders including representatives serving on AAR committees, Task Forces and Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs).
• Serve as the ultimate owner of customer satisfaction, utilizing surveys, outreach efforts, training initiatives, support processes and user adoption metrics to quantify stakeholder engagement and value realization.
• Obtain relevant market analysis including customers, competitors, and capabilities to use in the decision and prioritization process.

Essential Functions – P&L Responsibilities:

• Budgetary and allocation responsibility of resources (11+MM in expenses)
• Deliver annual budgeted revenue and profit targets for assigned product family or families.
• Monitor labor costs and other direct expenses.
• Explain actual revenue variances to budget & forecast.
• Identify and implement near-term and long-term cost reduction opportunities.
• Partner with IT development project managers to manage project budgets.

Essential Functions – People and Business Management:

• Supervise performance and professional development for staff including product manager, business analyst and product owners.
• Ensure alignment of department objectives with corporate goals and initiatives.
• Work cross-functionally with other Railinc teams to identify solutions for maximizing value for customers, aligning with Railinc’s mission and vision.
• Enhance knowledge of railroad industry as it relates to Railinc systems.

Essential Functions – Revenue/New Value Growth:

• Seek out new value opportunities and develop statements of work (SOW) or accelerated project documentation.
• Deliver the scope with high quality and high levels of customer satisfaction.

Key Measures:

• Revenue and profit as a proxy for value delivered
• Current year revenue on budget
• Profit on budget
• Customer satisfaction at targeted levels
• Industry project investment at targeted levels

Non-Essential Functions:

• Direct customer communication
• Customer/Account management
• Miscellaneous duties as assigned

Knowledge, Skills, abilities/minimum requirements/competencies:

Required:

• Technical knowledge of software development and related technologies including SaaS and DaaS (Data as a Service)
• Strong verbal and written communications skills.
• Experience in management of direct reports and other team members.
• Strong interpersonal skills with an understanding of organizational transformation.
• Ability to present complex strategies and analysis to senior management and external customers.
• High level of business acumen including product strategy and financial analysis
• Entrepreneurial spirit and creative approach to problem-solving.
• Ability to manage multiple activities in a deadline-oriented environment; highly organized and flexible.

Education, experience, certification/training:

Required:

• Software development technical degree or related work experience
• Master’s level degree in business administration/related field (or equivalent related work experience).

Preferred:

• AGILE/SCRUM experience and/or certified
• Product Management Certification
• Project Management Certification

Values:

• Results: We deliver on our promises to create value for the freight rail industry through talented people, good ideas, business leadership and great technology.
• Collaboration: We collaborate with our teams and our customers to get the job done, respecting individual ideas and contributions, and moving forward in pursuit of shared goals.
• Service: We serve the changing needs of our customers and our industry to enhance the value they bring to our community, the environment, and our economy.

Physical Requirements:

• Sedentary work : Assignment involves sitting at workstation (desk) most of the time (up to 8 hours) with only occasional walking and/or standing.
• Keyboarding : Primarily using fingers for typing.
• Talking : Expressing or communicating verbally through use of spoken words (accurately conveying detailed or important spoken instructions to others).
• Hearing : Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication and to make discriminations in sound.
• Visual : Through close visual acuity, required to perform activities such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing computer terminal; extensive reading (with or without correction).
• Environment : Work is performed within an office setting and therefore there is no substantial exposure to adverse environmental conditions (i.e., extreme heat, cold, noise, etc.).
• Travel : Required across North America (10% – 20%)

Disclaimer:

The preceding job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work to be performed. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job. The company reserves the right to change, modify and/or delete aspects of this position as needed at any time.

Equal Opportunity Employer - Women/Minorities/Veterans/Disabilities

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, gender, national origin, disability, veteran status or other legally protected status.