Senior Product Manager, Partner - Niche

About Niche

Niche is the leader in school search. Our mission is to make researching and enrolling in schools easy, transparent, and free. With in-depth profiles on every school and college in America, 140 million reviews and ratings, and powerful search tools, we help millions of people find the right school for them. We also help thousands of schools recruit more best-fit students, by highlighting what makes them great and making it easier to visit and apply.

Niche is all about finding where you belong, and that mission inspires how we operate every day. We want Niche to be a place where people truly enjoy working and can thrive professionally.

About The Role

We are looking for a highly motivated Product Manager to join our team and lead a product team focused on partner fulfillment. Niche helps guide students and families through the school search process and helps connect interested searchers with schools and colleges. This role is dedicated to the partner onboarding experience and inventory management, creating the best connections between searchers and school partners. 

What You Will Do

For this role, you'll work closely with the Product Development Organization and other key stakeholders, such as sales and operations, to understand our users, partners, and internal needs to inform the prioritization of backlogs.  Additionally, you will act as the product owner on a product team working closely with the team's designers, and developers to build and regularly release using agile methodology. Lastly, you will be responsible for analysis and reporting to validate and inform development and strategic initiatives.

During the First Month:

• Learn about Niche by meeting with various team members to learn more about our company through our Onboarding meetings
• Collaborate with various team members to learn about the company
• Work with members of the Product Management and Operations teams to begin to understand the current state of partner onboarding and inventory management
• Attend product team meetings to begin to understand the workflow and build relationships across the product development organization 
• Collaborate with product managers and project managers across the Product department to learn about our tools, workflow, and analytical process
• Shadow product management team members to learn more about how we collaborate with other areas of the business and how your role fits with external stakeholders and teams

Within 3 Months:

• Full understanding of our partner onboarding process and inventory matching system, including how it works end to end
• Assume the role of Product Owner on a product team; this includes communicating and gathering requirements from stakeholders, maintaining and prioritizing a product backlog, and running bi-weekly sprint planning meetings
• Begin to analyze key user and business metrics and monitor results of various releases
• Collaborate with members of the operations, sales, and product team to gain expertise in our work flows and end users and ensure work stays aligned to the product vision

Within 6 Months:

• Begin to fully own a product backlog; this includes research and development of new features/initiatives and aligning to product and business strategic initiatives
• Responsible for analyzing and reporting on team metrics across the company; turn analysis into actionable next steps and enhancements
• Have an understanding of the tech stack and an ability to work and communicate effectively with developers on the team
• Work closely with product marketing to introduce new features and drive engagement

Within 12 Months:

• You will have deep knowledge of all aspects of the products you manage and how they integrate with company strategy 
• Use data-driven and user insights to inform overall product and business strategy
• Continue to develop long term strategy; expand the product offerings as the Niche evolves and expands

What We Are Looking For

• A minimum of 5+ years of relevant experience in product management, preferably in enterprise B2B or Marketplaces
• Proven track record taking a problem through the full product development lifecycle, including product discovery
• Demonstrated expertise in working with recommendation systems, personalization algorithms, or similar technologies
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal abilities for effective collaboration across diverse teams, including engineers, designers, marketers, and executives
• Proven leadership skills to motivate teams, foster consensus, and influence stakeholders
• Strong business acumen, capable of assessing opportunities and developing compelling business cases for initiatives
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field
• Bonus Points for:  Proficiency in machine learning, data analysis, and statistical modeling

Are you excited about the position and its responsibilities, but hesitant because your experience doesn't align 100% with the posted requirements? We believe you are more than a resume, so go for it! You won't want to miss the opportunity to play a part in helping students find where they belong.

Compensation 

Our national target base salary range is $109,000-$135,000, plus participation in our Annual Bonus and Stock Option Program. Base compensation will be commensurate with experience and skills.

At Niche, our Total Rewards Philosophy is centered around creating a workplace environment that attracts, motivates, and retains top talent by providing a comprehensive and competitive rewards package.  This philosophy is built on the principles of performance-based compensation, best-in-class benefits and work-life balance, and employee well-being.

Interview Process

Candidate experience is a top priority for our talent and hiring teams.  We believe in providing a transparent, authentic and comprehensive interview process where you have the opportunity to learn about us while we get to know you and your experience.  The interview process is outlined here:

• Phone Screen with Talent Acquisition Partner - 30 Minutes
• Video Interview with Hiring Manager - 45 Minutes
• Team Interview (2) - 45 Minutes Each
• Case Study Presentation - 45 Minutes
• Leadership Interview - 30 Minutes

Why Niche?

• We are a fully flexible workforce empowering our employees to choose to work remotely, in our Pittsburgh office or whatever combination suits you
• Full time, salaried position with competitive compensation in a fast-growing company
• Best-in-class 100% paid employee health plan, including vision and dental and supplemental coverage
• Flexible Paid Time Off Policy
• Stipend that allows you to build your work from home office in a style and function that suits your personal preferences
• Parental leave for all employees (12 weeks fully paid) in addition to short term disability for birthing parents
• Meaningful 401(k) with employer match
• Your ideas and work will make an immediate impact on our company and millions of users
• You will join a team that cares about you, our mission, our work - and celebrates our wins together!

Niche will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship now or in the future for this opening.  

We are currently hiring in states where we currently have employees: AZ, CA, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MO, NE, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, DC, WV.

Candidates only.  No recruiters or agencies, please. Sorry, we do not offer relocation assistance.

Niche is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment with the best employees. Therefore, we provide employment opportunities without regard to age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law.

All interviews are being held remotely. If there are preparations we can make to help ensure you have a comfortable and positive interview experience, please let us know.