Senior Product Manager, AI

Uncommon Schools is a nonprofit network of high-performing public charter schools dedicated to providing an exceptional K-12 education in economically disadvantaged communities. Operating in Boston, Camden, New York City, Newark, and Rochester, we are committed to closing the college completion gap and preparing every student for college and beyond. Our students consistently exceed national benchmarks, reflecting our dedication to their success. We invest deeply in our educators, offering weekly coaching, feedback, and professional development to ensure excellence in teaching and leadership. Join us to work hard, do good, and make a lasting difference!

Independent and Expert Administration of Multiple Products Your Portfolio [for example, MagicSchool)

• Champion Strategic Vision for Portfolio of Products: Set a vision for the technical management of all AI to best support Instructional, Operational, and Home Office partners’ goals
• Manage Use Cases: Deeply understand Instructional goals and use cases for the platforms (i.e. replace teacher instruction versus practice based on live instruction)
• Own Processes: Develop and manage the implementation of all processes for day-to-day platform use (i.e. Student & teacher access, reporting)
• Own Policy & User Management: Build policy resources, including user management policy around roles, access level, and responsibilities for stakeholders and the Data & IT team
• Troubleshoot: Troubleshoot & manage vendor to resolve Tier 3 issues
• Own the Product Roadmap and Maintenance Strategy: Manage system upgrades, backups, testing, and connectivity with other enterprise applications
• Build Expertise: Attend training/webinars offered by the vendor to build expertise

Be a Strategic Thought Partner with Business Process Owner(s) like Director of Curriculum and Assessment Teams or Instructional Chiefs of Staff to understand and champion the appropriate long-term vision for AI platforms.

• Process improvement: Use robust product knowledge to improve systems and processes
• Enhancements: Identify new areas/ways the product can be used (either internally and externally)
• Project Support: Support the implementation and roll-out of new applications
• Value Stream Team Management: Lead team of about 5 cross-funtional D&IT team members
• Agile: Facilitate Agile ceremonies, including backlog refinement, sprint planning, retrospective,etc.
• Planning: Leader planning for 8 to 12 weeks of work for the Value Stream Team via the Planning Increment ceremonies
• Community and Culture: Create and foster a cross-functional community by allowing space and opportunities for team members to deeply engage and collaborate with each other
• Communication: Facilitate cascading communication through cohorts to breakdown functional team silos and ensure that we are the functioning as fast, agile team

Training and documentation

• Knowledge Base: Own creation and management of all internal and school-facing Knowledge Base articles on support, troubleshooting, and best practices for all platforms to be used by all teachers and Ops leaders
• Training: Develop and Facilitate Training
• School facing: Develop and facilitate training for school leaders, which they will turnkey to their staff
• Data & IT: Help define and coordinate vendor-offered training sessions at the right level for those managing the Service Desk and Relationship Managers.
• Process Documentation: Work with School Leaders to document existing processes related to supported applications (e.g. documentation of methods and procedures of PowerSchool)

Vendor Management

• Contract & Payment: Manage the renewal and payment of the yearly contract
• Manage Relationship: Build relationships with vendors, act as liaison between vendors and Uncommon on any projects, and own school-level escalations & difficult conversations.
• Escalations: Manage vendor escalations to deliver best-in-class performance to Uncommon stakeholders

Organizational Relationships

• Work closely with Regional Superintendents, school-based Directors of Operations, Curriculum Directors, Chiefs of Staff, and members of the Data and IT Team.

Education Requirements:

• Bachelors Degree

Experience Requirements:

• 7-9 years of professional experience
  • 5-6 years if directly related experience
  • 5+ years in K-12 or EdTech environment 
  • 1+ year building prompt based tools leveraging LLMs (e.g. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini)
  • Excellent project management skills within IT and educational functions. PMP certification preferred. 
  • Strong coaching skills to ensure peer product managers are using project management expertise in their work.
  • Excellent customer service skills and ability to prioritize and communicate effectively with non-technical users
  • Demonstrated ability to diagnose issues, identify root causes, and implement effective solutions
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, and experience developing communication plans
  • Proven ability to create and execute complex, detailed project plans affecting more than fifty stakeholders
  • Experience developing systems for a team that improve the team's work quality and/or efficiency
  • Growth mindset and interest in giving and receiving feedback with the goal of constantly improving
  • Demonstrated excellent personal effectiveness strategies (organization, time management, and follow-up skills)
  • Willingness to perform hands-on work as well as assisting in strategic projects
  • Results-oriented and committed to operational excellence
  • Self-sufficient with the ability to ask questions and request help when needed
  • Passion for learning and teaching new applications and products
  • Demonstrated strong attention to detail
  • Experience managing policies and procedures to set best practices and deliver high quality support
  • Experience managing high level stakeholders with a high quality bar
  • Working knowledge of help desk ticketing software (e.g. Zendesk)

Our people are what make us Uncommon. We offer competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits that support the personal health, wellness, and finances of our staff and their families. Our compensation philosophy values equity & fairness and attracting & retaining top talent.

Compensation

Compensation for this role is between $120,700 to $142,000. 

Starting pay is determined using various factors including but not limited to relevant professional experience, education, certifications, and tenure with Uncommon Schools. If you meet all job description requirements you will likely receive an offer of $127,800.

Benefits

• 19 days of paid time off
• 3 weeks of paid Winter and Summer org-wide holidays
• Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision insurance plans
• 403(b) retirement savings program + employer match
• Paid leave of absence options (parental, medical, disability, etc.)
• Mental health and counseling support + wellness benefits
• Pre-tax flexible spending, dependent care, and health saving accounts

*A detailed list of all benefits is located HERE.

At Uncommon, we believe that a supportive and welcoming environment helps our students, staff, and community thrive. We are dedicated to building a team that brings a wide range of perspectives and experiences, reflective of the communities we serve---with over 70% of our staff identifying as people of color. Our organization values respect and open dialogue on important topics that shape our school culture.

As an equal opportunity employer, Uncommon provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. We also ensure that individuals with disabilities receive all privileges and benefits associated with employment and are provided reasonable accommodations for the interview process and to perform core job functions. If you would like to request an accommodation, please email [email protected].