Western Governors University
Senior Manager, Academic Product Management
Edtech.com's Summary
Western Governors University is hiring a Senior Manager, Academic Product Management. This role leads the execution, delivery, and improvement of academic products including curriculum, assessments, and instructional models, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and accreditation standards while managing cross-functional teams and resources effectively.
Highlights
- Lead the execution and continuous improvement of curriculum, assessments, and instructional model initiatives.
- Translate academic strategy and product vision into actionable delivery plans managing scope, timelines, risks, and resources.
- Partner with Directors, academic leaders, and cross-functional teams for alignment and quality delivery.
- Evaluate academic program and assessment performance through quantitative and qualitative data analysis.
- Ensure products meet quality, accessibility, accreditation, and regulatory standards.
- Manage budgets and timelines, reporting risks and dependencies to leadership.
- Manage and develop managers and individual contributors, providing coaching and mentoring.
- Advanced knowledge required in curriculum design, assessment development, and competency-based education models.
- Bachelor's degree in education or related field with seven years of related experience including team supervision, program leadership, and budget management.
- Salary range: $95,300 to $157,300; full-time position with benefits including bonuses, health plans, retirement, paid time off, and parental leave.
Senior Manager, Academic Product Management Full Description
If you're passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you're committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.
Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.
The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.
At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
Grade: Management_Executive 607Pay Range: $95,300.00 - $157,300.00
Grade: Management_Executive 607Pay Range: $95,300.00 - $157,300.00
Job Description
Provides leadership for the execution, delivery, and continuous improvement of academic products, including curriculum, assessments, and instructional models. This role operates between the Director and Manager levels, applying advanced expertise in curriculum and assessment while maintaining strong accountability for delivery, execution, and team leadership. The role partners closely with academic leaders and cross-functional teams to ensure products are delivered on time, within budget, and aligned with institutional priorities, accreditation standards, and student success outcomes.
Location: This position will be located in our Salt Lake City, UT office.
Primary Responsibilities
- Lead execution and continuous improvement of curriculum, assessment, and instructional model initiatives across assigned academic products.
- Translate academic strategy, product vision, and program charters into actionable delivery plans, managing scope, timelines, risks, and resources.
- Partner with Directors, academic leaders, Product, Evaluation, and Operations teams to ensure alignment and high-quality delivery.
- Evaluate program, course, and assessment performance using quantitative and qualitative data to identify trends and improvement opportunities.
- Ensure curriculum and assessment outputs meet quality, accessibility, accreditation, and regulatory standards.
- Monitor delivery against budgets and timelines, surfacing risks, dependencies, and trade-offs to leadership.
- Drive process improvements that enhance efficiency, scalability, and consistency in academic product development.
People and Program Leadership
- Manage and develop managers and/or individual contributors responsible for academic product management and improvement.
- Provide coaching, mentoring, and performance feedback to support team growth and effectiveness.
- Foster collaboration across a highly matrixed organization, influencing without full policy ownership.
Decision Making and Scope
- Accountable for execution outcomes, delivery quality, and operational success of assigned academic products.
- Makes decisions within established academic and product frameworks; escalates enterprise-level strategy or policy decisions as appropriate.
- Influences academic product strategy through data-informed insights and delivery outcomes.
- Performs other related duties as assigned.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Advanced knowledge of curriculum design, assessment development, and competency-based education models.
- Strong program and product management capabilities, including managing complex, cross-functional initiatives.
- Demonstrated ability to analyze data and metrics to guide decision-making and continuous improvement.
- Proven people leadership, coaching, and stakeholder influence skills.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving academic environment and act as an agent of change.
Qualifications
Education
- Bachelor's degree in education, Instructional Design, Learning Science, Assessment Development, Education Technology, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
Experience
- Seven (7) years of related experience, which includes three (3) years of supervising a team, developing online training and education programs, leading change management efforts, developing and cultivating partnerships, leading multiple projects, including developing and managing budgets
- Progressive experience in academic product management, curriculum and assessment development, or program leadership.
- Experience leading teams, managing budgets, and delivering complex academic initiatives.
Experience in lieu of education
- Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this job may substitute for education degree requirements. Generally, equivalent relevant experience is defined as 1 year of experience for 1 year of education, and is at the discretion of the hiring manager.
Preferred Qualifications
- Advanced Degree in a related discipline
- Experience in a college-specific area-education, healthcare, business, information technology
- Ten (10) years of leadership experience in a higher education environment
- Experience stabilizing, structuring, and diffusing ambiguous situations.
Additional Requirements:
- On-site collocation is required
- Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
- Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times.
Travel
This position requires occasional travel of up to 20%, including required attendance at designated company summits (typically one to two per year). Additional travel may include conferences, visits to company locations, and other business-related events as needed. Additional travel may be assigned as needed to support business requirements
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Position & Application Details
Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.
How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.
Additional Information
Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It's not all-inclusive.
Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.
Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.
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