Product Manager - Product Governance

Ascensus; Kansas; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Ascensus is seeking a Product Leader to bridge Product, segments, and partners. You will translate strategic direction into actionable plans, gather stakeholder input, and guide cross-functional teams through planning, launches, and market introduction.

You will work across Product, Technology, Client Services, Marketing, and Sales to align definitions and messaging, ensuring initiatives reflect segment priorities and enterprise objectives.

Qualifications

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to translate product concepts into business messaging.
• Excellent analytical skills to tie insights to outcomes.
• Solid planning and coordination across many stakeholders.
• Proven ability to influence without direct authority.

Responsibilities

• Serve as primary contact between Product org and assigned segments/stakeholders.
• Communicate product vision, roadmap, releases to segment leaders and partners.
• Collaborate to identify business problems, market needs, and differentiation.
• Synthesize feedback into actionable insights for leaders and partners.
• Support planning, launch readiness, and market introduction activities.
• Develop knowledge of segment nuances and support relationship teams.
• Lead cross-team issue resolution and escalate as needed.
• Represent Product in enterprise planning and execution.

Skills

Strong written and verbal comms

Analytical thinking

Planning and coordination

Relationship building

Cross-functional collaboration

Ability to manage multiple priorities

Adaptability in ambiguity

Job description

Ascensus is the leading independent technology and service platform powering savings plans across America, providing products and expertise that help nearly 16 million people save for a better today and tomorrow.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Segment Support

• Serve as the primary point of contact and strategic representative between the Product organization and assigned business segments, stakeholders, and/or external partners
• Communicate product vision, roadmap, releases, progress, and outcomes to segment leaders and internal and external stakeholders, including forward-looking direction, upcoming capabilities, and implications for assigned segments and partners
• Collaborate with segment leaders to identify business problems, opportunities, market needs, and differentiation requirements
• Synthesize stakeholder and partner feedback into actionable insights and ensure the right product and capability leaders have clear, decision-useful input
• Represent segment and partner strategy, priorities, and nuances in planning and prioritization discussions by influencing trade-offs and sequencing aligned to capability objectives, enterprise priorities, outcomes, and OKRs
• Maintain a consistent seat at the table in capability planning and ongoing product discussions to advocate for segment strategy and business-specific considerations
• Support execution planning, launch readiness, and market introduction activities for initiatives impacting assigned segments and partners
• Develop deep knowledge of assigned segment and partner nuances to proactively identify opportunities, inform product direction, and support relationship management teams
• Lead cross-team issue resolution by facilitating decisions, resolving priority conflicts, and driving timely escalations and paths forward
• Represent Product in cross-business line and segment initiatives, ensuring Product, segment, and partner considerations are reflected in enterprise planning, decision-making, and execution
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with internal leaders and external partners

Intake

• Develop and coordinate business cases and opportunity documents (OPPDOCs) aligned to defined outcomes, success measures, and OKRs
• Provide guidance on intake requirements, prioritization, and governance paths to improve clarity, consistency, and decision-making across segment and partner requests
• Partner with business stakeholders, Relationship Managers, and product leaders to distinguish segment- or partner-specific needs from broader enterprise product opportunities

Product Documentation

• Develop and maintain product definitions, positioning, packaging, and supporting materials needed to enable consistent understanding and effective market introduction across business segments and partners
• Monitor industry and competitor activity and synthesize competitive intelligence to inform product strategy and stakeholder engagement
• Analyze offerings and packaging and develop recommendations to inform roadmap, packaging, and positioning decisions
• Coordinate with Product, Technology, Client Services, Marketing, Sales, and other teams to align definitions, materials, messaging, launch readiness, and initiative objectives

Experience

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in product management, program management, product operations, or segment- or partner-facing roles
• Demonstrated success working effectively in cross-functional, matrixed environments
• Experience developing business cases, opportunity documents, or strategic proposals tied to measurable business outcomes
• Experience analyzing products, packaging, and competitive offerings and producing clear, evidence-based recommendations
• Industry and domain knowledge sufficient to engage credibly with internal teams and external partners

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to translate complex product concepts into clear business messaging and stakeholder-ready materials
• Strong analytical skills, including the ability to connect insights to outcomes and performance measures
• Strong planning, organizational, and coordination skills across multiple stakeholders and workstreams
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships and influence outcomes without direct authority
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment while maintaining attention to detail
• Adaptability and comfort operating effectively in ambiguity and change

Supervision

• None