Product Manager

Overview

• The Product Manager will lead the delivery and development of high-quality products and processes that improve the availability and use of public health systems and data to build capacity and inform decision making.This role is aligned to the Workforce Acceleration Initiative (WAI). WAI is a federally funded CDC Foundation program with the goal of helping the nation’s public health agencies by providing them with the technology and data experts they need to accelerate their information system improvements. Working within South Dakota Department of Health, the Product Manager will help increase the department’s capacity to build the modern systems, tools and technology needed to address continued public health challenges in South Dakota. The Product Manager will work closely with the Data Modernization Administrator and the IT Steering Committee (ITSC) to spearhead the development and execution of key modernization initiatives within the Department of Health. This role is critical in advancing data capabilities and improving information sharing across the organization. This role is best for someone who is mission driven and is comfortable bringing a product mindset to organizations who may be unfamiliar with this approach. This position will be responsible for both ideation and execution. The Product Manager will be hired by the CDC Foundation and assigned to the South Dakota Department of Health. This position is eligible for a fully remote work arrangement for U.S. based candidates.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain an up-to-date inventory of IT systems through ongoing engagement.
• Design and implement tools and processes to centralize and manage data knowledge within the department.
• Assist in creating a comprehensive ‘Data Encyclopedia’ that catalogs data and outputs from departmental systems.
• Develop policies and procedures to help the ITSC effectively manage and track supported systems, while collaborating with the Grant Governance Board to ensure the sustainability of both systems and workforce.
• Establish a centralized document repository for ITSC-related documents, policies, and artifacts.
• Develop and implement methods to build internal capabilities to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration within the department.
• Support IT training initiatives and contribute to the ongoing refinement of the Department of Health's IT Roadmap and strategic plans.
• Aid in the development of data governance plans and protocols to maintain the integrity and security of departmental data.
• Collaborate with Department of Health programs and technical teams to develop and deliver high-quality, user-friendly products that improve access to information and data for decision making.
• Work to understand public health agency needs and processes. Collaborate with the public health agency subject matter teams to create a shared vision for how to best prioritize and address the most critical challenges.
• Develop and deliver solutions from concept to release, with conceptual input from executive and management teams or committees.
• Self-engaged execution of task and project with assumption of day-to-day responsibility for key decision making based on departmental strategy.
• Implement and evaluate products with a user-centric philosophy, recognizing most end-users are health subject matter experts and not technologists.
• Contribute to product strategy and success metrics, which may include Key Performance Indicator (KPI) models and analytics.
• Collaborate in the creation of product development and management documents, including roadmaps, project briefs and grant deliverables.
• Be strategic and tactical to help define the product strategy.
• Build solid relationships with partners to understand users' needs, program goals, and the program's policies and operational constraints so that you can develop products that are valuable, usable and feasible.
• Provide product management advice and guidance to the public health agency and the CDC Foundation to share expertise and build capacity.
• Coordinate meetings; prepare agendas, take minutes, assign follow up tasks and ensure progress on action items.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in digital product management.
• Experience developing a product vision and strategy and worked with multi-disciplinary teams to achieve that vision from concept to launch.
• Experience collaborating with a multi-disciplinary team to translate the product vision and lead the product through smooth and continuous delivery.
• Knowledge and experience with project management methodologies, principles and processes.
• Experience and an understanding of product objectives, goal and metrics to oversee the development and implementation of large-scale projects.
• Experience with multiple IT systems and proven aptitude to see and actuate opportunities for automation and modernization preferably related to public health or healthcare.
• Experienced in change management and risk management principles and processes to provide leadership in the development of strategic plans and change management initiatives and their roll-out.
• Experience using data to make decisions, gathering data insights by design to improve product outcomes.
• Demonstrated experience developing and maintaining working relationships with internal and external partners and can effectively promote collaboration among differing viewpoints.
• Experience providing guidance in the areas of digital systems/products, data sources and the collection and context of data.
• Strong understanding of technical concepts and systems.
• Understanding of privacy and security implications of use and re-use of public health data.
• Knowledge of user experience design and user research principles and concepts.
• Ability to communicate and articulate problems and resolutions.
• Ability to translate user or data insights into actionable comments and critiques.
• Outstanding interpersonal and teamwork skills; and the ability to develop productive working relationships with colleagues and partners.
• Experience working in a virtual environment with remote partners and teams.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office.