Vice President, Product Management and Development

National Student Clearinghouse; Herndon (VA); Remote; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

National Student Clearinghouse is seeking a VP of Product Management and Development to drive strategy and execution across Business Services, Transcript Services, and Insights. You will lead Product Directors, Managers, and Owners, align roadmaps with enterprise goals, and guide agile delivery, data analytics, and market research.

This remote-first role may require periodic on-site work in Herndon, VA, with travel as needed to align with cross-functional teams.

Qualifications

• Leadership and strategic product thinking
• Experience leading multiple product teams
• Strong data-driven decision making

Responsibilities

• Lead Product Directors, Product Managers, and Product Owners across portfolios
• Align product roadmaps with enterprise strategy and market trends
• Oversee agile delivery, research, and go-to-market planning
• Drive product lifecycle from ideation to sunset with measurable outcomes

Job description

By joining the National Student Clearinghouse, you can be sure that the work you do now will help shape the future of education and the workforce in the U.S. As the trusted source for higher education data since 1993, the Clearinghouse is the leading provider of transcript and data exchange services, automated enrollment and degree verifications, learner insights and research, and compliance solutions for schools, businesses, and learners nationwide. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Clearinghouse works with nearly 3,600 postsecondary institutions to meet their compliance needs and with thousands of high schools and districts to provide continuing collegiate enrollment, progression, and completion statistics about their alumni. In addition, the Research Center publications inform policymakers and business leaders about student educational pathways. Using our unique combination of data, analytics, and software to drive our mission, security and privacy is paramount. Join us as we continue to invest in our talent and new advanced technologies to unlock the power of data on behalf of all learners.

About The Role

The Vice President of Product Management and Development is a senior product leader responsible for driving the execution, alignment, and continuous evolution of the product roadmap (product strategy, agile product development, market research, financial analysis, product & feature launch, and execution) across assigned product portfolios (Business Services, Transcript Services, and/or Insights products). This role partners closely with executive leadership to translate enterprise strategy into actionable product plans while ensuring teams apply best practices in product management and agile delivery. Key responsibilities include leading and developing Product Directors, Product Managers, and Product Owners; overseeing delivery of multiple, complex, interrelated initiatives; and ensuring consistent, high-quality product outcomes that meet customer, market, and financial objectives. This position requires a strong command of data-as-a-service platforms, SaaS product management, and Lean Product Management (LPM) practices, with a balance of strategic thinking and hands‑on leadership in execution. Currently, this is a remote-first position, and this position may be required to periodically work on-site at our office and the frequency would depend on the department/division's requirements. Therefore, candidates must either reside within a reasonable distance to commute to our office or be willing to travel to our office in Herndon, when required.

How You Contribute

Product Strategy & Vision

• The Vice President of Product Management and Development is a senior product leader responsible for driving the execution, alignment, and continuous evolution of the product roadmap (product strategy, agile product development, market research, financial analysis, product & feature launch, and execution) across assigned product portfolios (Business Services, Transcript Services, and/or Insights products).
• This role partners closely with executive leadership to translate enterprise strategy into actionable product plans while ensuring teams apply best practices in product management and agile delivery. Key responsibilities include leading and developing Product Directors, Product Managers, and Product Owners; overseeing delivery of multiple, complex interrelated initiatives; and ensuring consistent, high-quality product outcomes that meet customer, market, and financial objectives.
• This position requires a strong command of data, technology, and data use platforms, SaaS product management, and Lean Portfolio Management (LPM) practices, with a balance of strategic thinking and hands‑on leadership in execution.
• This role aligns product vision with business goals and market trends. Balances competing demands to focus on high-impact features and products.
• Develop and articulate high quality product strategy, implementation plans, and decisions effectively.
• Creates product strategies to sustain competitive advantage. Uses data and qualitative information to identify trends, anticipate future needs, create and launch reputation building products and services that delight customers and meet financial requirements.
• Develops, maintains, and demonstrates a strong working knowledge of the Clearinghouse, its environment, including its mission, services, and key stakeholders and how each organizational unit contributes to that mission.
• Actively seeks opportunities for efficiencies and cost‑effective technologies and processes that reduce costs, streamline workflows, and optimize investments.

Product Development & Innovation

• Leads Team in the discovery, validation, and definition of new product features, capabilities, enhancements, and platform opportunities within assigned portfolio.
• Oversees market research activities including customer interviews, focus groups, voice‑of‑customer analysis, usage analytics, competitive research, and surveys.
• Directs pilot programs and proof‑of‑concept efforts; evaluates operational and financial viability in partnership with finance and strategy teams.
• Ensures product teams apply user‑centered design, low‑res prototyping, and well‑defined functional and non‑functional requirements and user stories.
• Leads, plans and executes product lifecycle activities including launch, iteration, and sunsetting/deprecation.

Go-to-Market & Commercialization

• Leads & partners with Finance, Strategy, Marketing & Communications, Sales, and Business Development to plan and execute feature releases and product launches.
• Supports early revenue generation and adoption through enablement, positioning, and customer engagement.
• Contributes to partnership evaluations including leading business case development, due diligence, and vendor/partner collaboration.
• Identifies, establishes, and implements metrics, and KPIs to guide decisions and measure outcomes, using hard data.
• Leads, plans and executes Go‑to‑Market Strategy: In cross‑functional collaboration with Strategy and MarComm, plans product launches and drives adoption.
• Utilizes methodical and rigorous approach in the problem‑solving process standards to include effectively identify the problem by gathering information, finding and evaluating alternatives, selecting and implementing best alternatives, monitoring and evaluating results.

Leadership & Team Development

• Develops team skills and abilities with demonstrated best practices in market analysis, usage analysis, competitive analysis, pricing analysis, customer mapping and using data to inform