Contract Product Manager

The Contract Product Manager position at Upwork requires several key qualifications. Candidates should have experience in product management, particularly within the SaaS, tech, or hospitality industries. Strong communication and leadership skills are essential, along with the ability to balance technical feasibility with business objectives and user needs. Applicants should be familiar with Agile development processes and have a solid understanding of product lifecycle management and collaboration with engineering teams. An analytical mindset, complemented by experience in leveraging data and market research for informed decision-making, is highly valued.

As a Contract Product Manager at Upwork, your main responsibilities will include defining the product vision and strategy for the Evo Project, conducting market research, and collaborating with leadership to prioritize features. You will also act as the primary liaison between engineering, sales, and marketing teams to ensure smooth collaboration. Additionally, you will develop project timelines, mitigate risks, and manage product documentation such as PRDs and roadmaps. Ultimately, your role will encompass performance tracking and optimization to ensure product success.

Collaboration is a vital part of the Contract Product Manager role at Upwork. You’ll work closely with engineering teams to translate business requirements into actionable tasks, ensuring timely product execution. Additionally, you'll partner with marketing and sales to define product positioning and go-to-market strategies. By gathering feedback from customers and stakeholders, you'll enhance product functionality. Regular updates will be shared with leadership to align on project progress and necessary adjustments, fostering a strong connection between technical and non-technical teams.

The expected duration for the Contract Product Manager position at Upwork is until December 31, 2025. This gives candidates the opportunity to engage deeply with the product development process and make a lasting impact on the Evo Project while ensuring alignment with company goals.

The Contract Product Manager position at Upwork offers a hybrid work arrangement. Candidates will be expected to work at the Newton, MA office at least two days a week, which fosters in-person collaboration through brainstorming and strategic planning sessions. This setup combines the flexibility of remote work with the benefit of face-to-face interactions essential for driving the project forward.

Highlight specific projects where you've successfully managed the product lifecycle from conception to launch. Discuss methodologies you've applied, such as Agile, and detail your approach to cross-functional collaboration.

Explain your process for evaluating customer feedback, market research, and business objectives. Discuss tools you use, like MoSCoW or RICE, to prioritize effectively based on impact and feasibility.

Emphasize the importance of regular updates, transparency, and active listening. Provide examples of how you've tailored communication styles to suit different stakeholder needs to ensure alignment.

Share your approach to mediation and negotiation, emphasizing a focus on the overall product vision and user needs while balancing business objectives. Provide examples of successful outcomes from past experiences.

Offer a concrete example where data analysis prompted a significant change in product direction. Discuss the metrics tracked and the impact of that decision on user engagement or product success.

Discuss techniques that keep teams accountable, such as Agile sprints or Kanban boards. Explain how you set clear milestones and track progress, using examples from previous projects.

Talk about the tools you're experienced with, such as JIRA, Trello, or Asana, and how they've facilitated project tracking and stakeholder communication effectively in your past roles.

Describe your methods for collecting user feedback, such as surveys, interviews, or usability testing, and how you integrate that feedback into the product development process to enhance user experience.

Mention the importance of market research, competitive analysis, and defining clear goals for launch success. Discuss how you ensure marketing and sales teams are prepared to support the launch.

Share an instance where you identified potential risks in a project, your analysis process, and how you implemented strategies to mitigate those risks effectively for a successful product outcome.