Senior Product Manager - Westchester, IL

Follett Corporation; Westchester (IL); On-site; USD 40,000 - 172,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) plan

Paid time off

Job summary

Follett Higher Education is seeking a Senior Product Manager to lead the strategy and execution for a core area of the product portfolio. You will work with design, engineering, and stakeholders to define the roadmap, shape user experiences, and drive growth across North American campus stores and eCommerce platforms.

The role requires a track record in end-to-end product development, strong communication skills, and the ability to travel up to 10%.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• 6+ years of product management experience.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• Willingness to travel up to 10%.

Responsibilities

• Define and communicate a compelling product vision for your area that aligns with company goals, user needs, and market trends.
• Build and maintain a prioritized roadmap based on customer needs, market research, and business objectives.
• Lead the full product development lifecycle, from discovery to launch, writing user stories and criteria.
• Engage with customers, administrators, instructors, and students to gain insights and identify opportunities or risks.
• Collaborate with sales, marketing, support, and operations to ensure successful product rollouts and customer onboarding.

Skills

Product management

Communication

Data-driven mindset

SQL

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Tools

SQL

Job description

Follett Higher Education is a leading educational service provider and omnichannel retailer, providing students, faculty, staff, parents, and fans with the course materials, learning tools, and retail services needed to successfully support the collegiate journey. Follett Higher Education supports over 6 million students through its 1,100 physical and 1,750 eCommerce campus stores across North America.

At Follett, we are passionate problem-solvers and challenge-seekers dedicated to delivering exceptional results for our customers. Our mission is to inspire, enable, and celebrate the higher education journey by providing top-tier service to campuses and their students.

We are seeking an experienced Senior Product Manager who will be responsible for leading the development and execution of a core area of our product offering. In this role, you will collaborate closely with design, engineering, and stakeholders across the business to define product strategy, shape customer experiences, and drive growth. If you thrive in a tech-forward environment and are eager to make a significant impact in the education sector, we invite you to join our team.

Responsibilities

• Product Strategy & Vision: Define and communicate a compelling product vision for your area that aligns with company goals, user needs, and market trends. Translate this vision into actionable initiatives that drive value and measurable outcomes.
• Product Roadmap Ownership: Build and maintain a prioritized roadmap based on customer needs, market research, and business objectives. Ensure clarity and alignment across internal teams and adjust plans as priorities evolve.
• Product Development: Lead the full product development lifecycle, from discovery and requirements gathering to launch. Write user stories, define success criteria, and collaborate closely with engineering, design, and QA throughout development, including sprint planning, iteration, and release cycles.
• Customer & Market Insights: Establish strong relationships and regularly engage with customers, end users (including administrators, instructors, and students), and stakeholders to gain user context and uncover pain points. Conduct competitive and market analysis and stay current with emerging technologies to identify new opportunities or risks that could impact product strategy and the roadmap.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Act as the primary point of contact for your product area across internal stakeholders, ensuring transparency, alignment, and accountability across sales, marketing, support, and operations.
• Go-to-Market Support: Partner with marketing and sales to develop positioning, messaging, training materials, and launch plans. Ensure internal teams are equipped to support product rollouts and customer onboarding.
• Product Performance: Define and track product metrics and KPIs to measure success. Use data to support enhancements, iterate on features, and drive adoption and customer satisfaction.
• Team Leadership & Mentorship: Support the growth of junior product managers through coaching and mentorship. Promote a collaborative, user-centered culture that values innovation, transparency, and continuous learning.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• 6+ years of product management experience, with direct collaboration across design and engineering teams.
• Demonstrated track record of driving company growth through end-to-end product development.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to translate technical concepts for diverse audiences.
• Ability and willingness to travel up to 10%.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working in education technology, preferably in higher education.
• Deep understanding of the full course materials lifecycle from adoption collection to content delivery.
• Data-driven mindset with hands-on experience using product analytics to inform decisions and facilitate experiments.
• Proficiency in SQL for querying relational databases to extract insights and support product analysis.

Pay Range Pay Range The estimated pay range for this job. Disclosing pay information promotes competitive and equitable pay.
The actual pay rate will depend on the person's qualifications and experience. $40,000.00 - $171,933.00 / year

Pay Transparency

The annual salary/hourly rate range has been established based on the role, experience, skill set, and location. The exact starting salary/hourly rate within the range will depend on the role and the local market. This position may be eligible to participate in one of the Company's incentive plans. The amount of any incentive payment varies and is subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable incentive plan.
We offer a comprehensive benefits package which includes medical, dental, vision, disability, wellness programs, 401(k) plan, flex spending, paid holidays, and paid time off. Eligibility for benefits is governed by the applicable policies and plan documents.