Manager, Product Insights and Research Strategy

🇺🇸 Remote - US

🕑 Full-Time

💰 $91,910 - $152,636

💻 Product Development

🗓️ April 27th, 2023

K-12 Edtech
Over 20 years ago, Stride was founded to provide personalized learning — powered by technology. We reached students where they were in their own journeys. We knocked down their barriers to great education. And we gave every learner equal opportunity to succeed — however they defined success. Stride innovated the learning experience with online and blended learning that prepared them for their lives ahead.

Stride is a community of passionate leaders.  Whether teachers, engineers, curriculum writers, or financial managers — whatever your expertise or role, we all work to empower futures through learning. And changing the trajectory of learning itself is one of our greatest missions.  Join us in developing more effective ways to learn and helping learners build the skills and confidence they need to make their way forward in life.

At Stride, we believe the future of learning is personalized, social, and fun enabled by technology. How people learn is changing, and we need Product Managers who can help us build intuitive, easy-to-use products that help millions of people learn, earn, and live.
The Manager, Product Insights and Research Strategy will help drive a strategic vision for the development of our product portfolio. This individual will be responsible for leading a team of product researchers to conduct user experience research in support of sustaining and emerging products, and develop product strategies that align with the company's vision and goals. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure that our products meet the needs of users and drive revenue growth. The ideal candidate will be a strategic thinker who has experience conducting user experience research across the product design lifecycle, experience collaborating with cross-functional teams, a deep understanding of human-centered design and design thinking, and a strong understanding of the EdTech market.
 
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:   Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties.
  • Lead a small team of product researchers who conduct User Experience (UX) research. The team supports emerging and sustaining product development across the product development lifecycle, employs a variety of research methodologies with current and potential users, communicates research findings to cross-functional teams, and develops insights that inform product development decisions.
  • Collaborate with UX designers and researchers to maintain and continuously improve Stride's UX Community of Practice. CoP includes managing governance, systems, and processes to streamline operations, ensuring excellence in design and research, and evaluating and managing resources and capacity to conduct effective research.
  • Work closely with emerging and sustaining product teams to ensure features and functionality meets users’ needs and addresses user feedback, and develop and maintain a product roadmap that aligns with the company's business goals, budgets, and timelines.
  • Collaborate with executive leadership to define the company's holistic product strategy.
  • Collaborate with Market Research and Product Marketing to develop a strategy for their ownership of market research and competitive analysis to identify trends, opportunities, and gaps in the EdTech market and to ensure products remain innovative and competitive.
  • Collaborate with the Product Marketing and Sales teams to ensure alignment on the product goals; and develop go-to-market strategies that drive emerging product adoption and revenue growth, and sustaining product goals such as academic outcomes and retention.
  • Collaborate with K12 teams, including Curriculum, Customer Experience, Learning Solutions, and Academic Policy, to more holistic research strategy for emerging and sustaining products integrated into the Stride-powered school experience; so those products fit into the school ecosystem, meet the needs of K-12 families and teachers, and meet academic outcome and retention goals.
  • Develop and maintain relationships with key industry partners, users, and stakeholders, stay up-to-date with industry trends, and stay up-to-date with product research, design, and development emerging trends and best practices.

Supervisory Responsibilities: Directly supervises 3 - 5 Full-time Equivalent (FTE) regular employees and/or contractors.  Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.
 
MINIMUM REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:   
  • Seven (7) years of experience in product research, product management, or related fields.
  • Proven track record of leading researchers and collaborating with cross-functional teams to develop and execute product strategies.
 
Certificates and Licenses: None required.
 
OTHER REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:  
  • Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills.
  • Deep knowledge of human-centered design and product research methodologies, tools, and best practices needed across the product development lifecycle. 
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. 
  • Knowledge of the EdTech market and trends. 
  • Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment. 
  • Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Visio, etc.); Web proficiency.
  • Ability to travel 10% of the time
  • Ability to clear required background check

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:  
  • Bachelor's degree in a relevant field such as human factors, human-computer interaction, systems engineering, product marketing, or product management; Master's degree in research-related field is preferred.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:  The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
  • This position is virtual and open to residents of the 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Compensation & Benefits: Stride, Inc. considers a person’s education, experience, and qualifications, as well as the position’s work location, expected quality and quantity of work, required travel (if any), external market and internal value when determining a new employee’s salary level.  Salaries will differ based on these factors, the position’s level and expected contribution, and the employee’s benefits elections.  Offers will typically be in the bottom half of the range. 
  • We anticipate the salary range to be $91,910 to $152,636. The upper end of this range is not likely to be offered, as an individual’s compensation can vary based on several factors. These factors include, but are not limited to, geographic location, experience, training, education, and local market conditions. Eligible employees may receive a bonus. Stride offers a robust benefits package for eligible employees that can include health benefits, retirement contributions, and paid time off.

The above job is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions, and perform any other related duties, as assigned by their supervisor.  All employment is “at-will” as governed by the law of the state where the employee works.  It is further understood that the “at-will” nature of employment is one aspect of employment that cannot be changed except in writing and signed by an authorized officer.  

Stride, Inc. is a Federal Contractor, an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and a Drug-Free Workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected Veteran status age, or genetics, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)