Product Owner, Technology Solutions

As a Product Owner at the Foundation for California Community Colleges, you will be the driving force behind project success. Your responsibilities will include overseeing the development and management of essential products such as the Centralized Clinical Placement System (CCPS) and its mobile counterpart, MyCCPS. You will lead from concept to release using agile methodologies and take the lead in defining product vision and strategy. Ensuring timely delivery, budget management, and product quality are key parts of your role. You'll also mentor team members, liaise between stakeholders and development teams, and implement quality assurance strategies to gather user feedback—ultimately aiming to enhance the student experience.

To thrive as a Product Owner at the Foundation for California Community Colleges, you should possess a relevant BA/BS or equivalent work experience, with a strong preference for certification as a Scrum Product Owner (CSPO). The ideal candidate will bring over 5 years of experience in product management, technical project management, or SaaS operations. A solid understanding of database management, SQL, and hands-on experience with data visualization tools like Tableau or Power BI are crucial. You should also be versed in agile methodologies and proficient in tools such as Atlassian's JIRA and Confluence.

As a Product Owner, collaboration is at the heart of your role at the Foundation for California Community Colleges. You will work closely with cross-functional teams, including design, marketing, and adoption efforts, to align product features with institutional needs and workforce initiatives. Your ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with both stakeholders and development teams will ensure that product priorities are aligned and that projects move forward efficiently. This synergy is especially important, given the Foundation’s mission to create systemic change across California Community Colleges.

The Foundation for California Community Colleges stands out as an employer due in part to its unique blend of non-profit impact, entrepreneurial culture, and extensive reach as part of a state agency. Employees are empowered to innovate, collaborate, and influence change actively, making a tangible difference in the educational landscape. Moreover, the Foundation’s commitment to a ‘remote-first’ philosophy means that as a Product Owner, you can enjoy a flexible work environment while contributing to our mission of enhancing educational experiences for millions of Californians.

Working as a Product Owner at the Foundation for California Community Colleges comes with several competitive advantages. You will receive a budgeted annual salary ranging from $75,000.00 to $105,000.00, alongside generous paid time off, holidays, and comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans. Other perks include retirement benefits through the CalPERS program and optional plans, tuition reimbursement, and the opportunity for professional growth. Our remote-first approach integrates flexibility with team collaboration, giving you the ideal environment to excel.

In your response, highlight your familiarity with Agile methodologies such as Scrum or Kanban. Discuss specific projects where you implemented these approaches, focusing on how they facilitated iteration, user feedback, and enhanced product delivery. Detail specific tools you used, like JIRA or Confluence, and illustrate how they contributed to project success.

Explain your methodology for prioritizing product features, such as utilizing frameworks like MoSCoW or RICE. Share a specific example from your experience where you successfully prioritized features based on user needs, business value, and technical feasibility. Focus on how you engage stakeholders in this process to ensure alignment with their expectations.

In answering this question, focus on employing various strategies for collecting user feedback, such as surveys, interviews, and usability testing. Provide examples of how you've transformed feedback into actionable insights, and discuss the importance of user-centered design in your product development process, especially in educational technology.

Choose a project that showcases your skills as a Product Owner. Describe the project's initial concept, your role in driving it, and the impact it had post-launch. Highlight key metrics, stakeholder collaborations, and challenges faced, emphasizing how you overcame them. Make sure to focus on how the project aligned with the broader goals of the organization.

Discuss the importance of clear communication and setting realistic timelines when managing stakeholder expectations. Provide an example where you successfully aligned stakeholder needs with product outcomes, showcasing your negotiation and relationship-building skills. Emphasize ongoing communication tactics like regular updates, feedback loops, and collaborative planning sessions.

Emphasize your commitment to quality assurance through rigorous testing processes, integrating user feedback, and adhering to compliance and regulatory standards. Share specific examples from your previous roles where your initiatives led to improved product quality and compliance, highlighting any frameworks or guidelines you followed.

In your response, focus on your experience with data analytics tools like Tableau or Power BI. Discuss specific instances where data analysis influenced product direction, feature development, or user experience enhancements. Emphasize how you turned data insights into actionable product strategies, demonstrating a metrics-driven approach.

Collaboration is crucial in product management. Highlight how you work with design, technical, and marketing teams to achieve a common goal. Provide an example where cross-departmental collaboration led to innovation or success. Emphasize the importance of transparency and flexibility in fostering a collaborative environment.

Detail your approach to creating and updating a product roadmap. Discuss how you integrate user feedback, stakeholder input, and strategic business goals to ensure the roadmap reflects the current priorities. Offer an example of a time when you adapted the roadmap based on business needs or user insights.

Discuss specific innovations you've implemented, whether in product development, user experience, or process improvements. Highlight the impact these innovations had on user satisfaction or operational efficiency. Be sure to address any innovative tools or methodologies you adapted to enhance product outcomes.