Business Product Owner (Project Management)

We Impact Lives Through Purpose-Driven Work in A People First Culture

Ascend Learning is the connection between a powerful portfolio of brands serving students, educators, and employers with outcomes-based, data driven solutions across the lifecycle of learning.

Our values-driven culture unifies our teams and inspires a mindset of action, innovation, and collaboration, with a relentless focus on customers.

We're always looking for talented, passionate professionals to join us in our mission to help change lives. If this sounds like an environment where you'd thrive, read on to learn more.

Ascend Learning leads the way in innovation and solution creation to improve outcomes and deliver results for students, educators, and healthcare workers in the ever-changing field of healthcare. We offer advanced resources that drive nursing success, empower front-line certified allied health workers, help physicians pass boards and stay current, and provide education management tools for medical education programs.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

A Business Product Owner (BPO) translates customer needs into actionable requirements, focused on the execution of design, build, test, and launch of new or enhanced customer solutions serving Health and Safety Markets across the country. This role will work cross-functionally to support both the day-to-day operational stability of the business as well as lead the successful delivery of strategic product initiatives. The Business Product Owner will partner closely with ClickSafety leadership and stakeholders to ensure alignment with strategy and lead the tactical execution plan to bring products to market. This role also partners closely with customers, technical product managers, content managers, and cross-functional stakeholders to ensure alignment and proper breakdown of business requirements into execution and delivery. 

WHERE YOU'LL WORK

This position will work a hybrid schedule from either our Leawood, KS or Burlington, MA offices.  

HOW YOU'LL SPEND YOUR TIME

• Translate product market requirements into actionable business requirements, functional specifications and use cases for Development and Content Teams to execute.
• Engage with Customers/Stakeholders to elicit requirements and elucidate their needs through product and solution discovery processes. Partner with UX to visualize concepts and drive business requirement documentation.  
• Serve as direct representative of the business with delivery teams, representing and reinforcing the customers' perspective. Work cross-functionally with product, technology, content, and other functions to drive successful execution of deliverables. 
• Prioritize requirements and collaborate with teams to resolve delivery problems to ensure successful on-time delivery.  
• Monitor all phases of product development and help to resolve roadblocks to ensure deadlines are met, in collaboration with product management, PMO and development leads.   
• Support go-to-market/launch, communication, and training plans, working with marketing, sales, operations/service, and development teams to ensure readiness and launch success.  
• Oversee the execution of minor product enhancement upgrades and other business-as-usual (BAU) activities to sustain in-market product health, including new features, defect fixes, stability and security needs, product backlog etc. 
• Support tracking/managing of product-related expenditures against budget.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED 

• Bachelor's degree in related fields such as Business, Marketing, Education or Workplace Safety combined with relevant work experience is preferred.   
• Minimum of 3 years combined experience in technology, product management, product owner, or project management, (project management alone is insufficient).   
• Proven ability to gather and translate market requirements into actionable business requirements and viable product solutions ensuring that the vision for “how a product needs to perform for a customer” is embodied in the design of the product.  
• Proven experience gathering requirements for product launches. Hands-on experience in managing all stages of the product lifecycle.  
• Experience working in an agile environment is preferred.   
• Educational/Vocational product management experience is strongly preferred.  
• Experience using one or more product management and development tracking tools (Jira Cloud & JIRA Align preferred)  
• Additional training or certifications in areas such as product management, product owner,  leadership, or project management may enhance the candidate's qualifications.  
• Strong project management skills, including ability to manage deadlines, prioritize product requirements, and identify issues and mitigate/manage risks.  
• Technical aptitude to partner effectively with Technology stakeholders.  
• Ability to travel up to 15% client, conferences and meetings.
• Pragmatic and/or Agile Product Owner (SAFe) Training preferred. 

BENEFITS

• Flexible and generous paid time off
• Competitive medical, dental, vision and life insurance
• 401(k) employer matching program
• Parental leave
• Wellness resources
• Charitable matching program
• Hybrid work
• On-site workout facilities (Leawood, Gilbert, Burlington)
• Community outreach groups
• Tuition reimbursement

Fostering A Sense of Belonging

We seek out and celebrate all people and perspectives and cultivate an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive, feel valued and be their authentic selves. Our culture is firmly rooted in the belief that by embracing our differences and drawing on diverse perspectives, we are a stronger, more innovative, and more successful organization where employees experience a sense of belonging.

About Ascend Learning

As a tech-enabled services company, Ascend Learning is a national leader in developing and delivering data-driven online educational content, software, assessments, analytics, and simulations serving institutions, students and employers across healthcare, fitness and wellness, public and workplace safety, skilled trades, insurance, financial services, cybersecurity, and higher education. We're committed to accelerating the learning pathways that can move people into careers where they have the knowledge and skills to have an impact and help change lives in the communities they serve. Headquartered in Burlington, MA with additional office locations and hybrid and remote workers in cities across the U.S., Ascend Learning was recognized by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group as one of America's 2023 Greatest Workplaces for Diversity.

Ascend Learning, LLC is proud to be an equal opportunity employer (M/F/Vets/Disabled). No agency or search firm submissions will be accepted. Applications for U.S. based positions with Ascend Learning, LLC must be legally authorized to work in the United States and verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

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Equal Opportunity Employer
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