Technical Product Manager, Software Product (P/T, Contract)

Job DescriptionJob DescriptionSalary: $80 - $100 per hour @ aprox 20 hours per week.

Technical Product Manager

Digital Product Practice

Highland is looking for a part time Product Manager who loves working with business leaders and development teams to help good organizations create new digital products and experiences.

This position is a six month contract with the potential to extend or join us full time. Must be in the United States and be able to travel to Chicago aprox 4x a year.

About Highland

Highland is a digital product and innovation consultancy based in Chicago. We research, design, and build digital products and experiences for mission-driven organizations and customer-centric companies.

Our mission is to increase human flourishing through game changing insights, design and--when appropriate--digital products and platforms. Our work tends to focus on organizations contributing to peoples physical and mental health, social connections, community, and financial stability.

About the role

The Technical Product Manager is responsible for developing trust and rapport with clients, gaining deep knowledge of the client, their business, and their project to ensure we provide the highest level of service. The ideal candidate will lead their team by creating the effective communication structures, project organization and trust that successful projects require. The role requires a dynamic balance of technical experience along with leadership ability. The Technical Product Manager will set product direction, define work provide projections, and track project progress and budgets.

Here is what we think is true of the person who would thrive in this role:

Product Management Expertise

• You have been instrumental in shaping and building digital products that meet customer needs and align to organizational goals.
• You collaborate with clients and developers in aligning around product opportunity and business strategy.
• You understand and speak to business outcomes, and have shaped human-centered products where you were accountable for specific business objectives like revenue, customer acquisition, incremental profitability, etc.
• You have direct experience with full stops and hard pivots, and are able to take action when concepts and products arent working.
• Youre familiar with agile methods as well as development and design processes.
• You create strategic roadmaps grounded in customer and business opportunities over features.
• You can articulate product needs and requirements at several levels of detail, from team-focused user stories and acceptance criteria up to client-facing objectives and roadmaps.
• You have a strong technical background and can provide direction to highly technical development staff

Client Leadership

• You advise and consult with client leaders on product strategy and product development.
• Youre focused on the end goal as well as the right next step.
• You seek frank, honest conversations with clients and team members alike.
• Youre a clear and compelling communicator, regardless of medium.

Project Management Expertise

• You manage and facilitate ongoing project and team cadences.
• You proactively communicate progress, risks and budget updates to Highland Directors and client leadership.
• You engage and leverage design and development leadership on your project team to align on decisions and drive outcomes.
• You ensure that all time tracking and billing activities for the team are completed in a timely fashion.
• You replace ineffective practices with ones that better accomplish project and company goals.

The values we live by:

• People First: What we make and how we work should make it a little bit better to be alive: for us, our clients, and their customers.
• Be Curious: The big picture is everyone's responsibility. There is always more to learn. We are generous in teaching what we know.
• Be Open: We respond to problems with solutions, not blame. Vulnerability, while risky, leads to trust and understanding. We're accountable to our clients and to each other. Even when things aren't going well.
• Give a Damn: Our client's goals are our goals. We do work we can be proud of. Quality is non-negotiable.

Our Commitment to and

Highland is committed to creating a just, equitable workplace, and is actively seeking candidates who can bring the value of diverse lived experiences to this position. We look for candidates who have a high level of demonstrated comfort with cultural competency; women, people of , people with disabilities, and people who identify as are encouraged to apply.

remote work