Product Manager, Data and IT-Managed Services - Uncommon Schools

Uncommon Schools  is a nonprofit network of high-performing, public charter schools providing an outstanding K-12 education in historically under-resourced communities. We have proudly built schools that reflect our student population, with more than 60% of our teachers and staff across our network identifying as a person of color. Uncommon currently manages 53 schools serving more than 20,000 students in five cities: Boston, Camden, New York City, Newark and Rochester. We are proud that Uncommon graduates persist in and graduate from college at five times the rate of their peers nationally. We achieve this by offering strong academic, co-curricular, and social-emotional learning that prepares students for success in college and beyond.

As a member of Uncommon’s Product Management Team, the Product Manager will own the Managed Service Providers workstream that will help ensure the team works independently toward achieving outcomes (not tasks) under minimal guidance. Accountable for performance management, support management, deliverables and obligations tracking, customer satisfaction surveys, vendor metrics, reporting, contract inquiries, budget and invoice management, and escalation management by directly managing vendor(s) responsible for the day-to-day operations of Uncommon's IT infrastructure and projects

Beyond technical knowledge, the Product Manager must have strong change management, planning, and communication skills in order to manage technology and processes at Uncommon’s scale and high standard. 

Oversee Uncommon’s IT Managed Service Providers (Ricoh, Inspiroz, etc):

• Manage Use Cases: Deeply understand stakeholders’ goals and use cases for IT (i.e. day-to-day and outage support, hardware maintenance, software licensing, etc.)
• Manage Summer Infrastructure Upgrades: Oversee Managed Service Provider in all school-based hardware and infrastructure projects and upgrades (i.e. new building tech outfitting, EOL and upgrades such as Servers, WAPs, WiFi, etc)
• Own Processes: Develop and manage the implementation of all processes for day-to-day (relationship management, performance management, issue management, vendor support management, deliverable and obligation tracking, executive and operational vendor reporting, and other governance activities)
• Support Policy: Work with Data Governance team to build, execute, and automate policy, including security, data governance, roles & permissions
• Troubleshoot & manage escalations: Troubleshoot & work with vendors to resolve escalations and outages
• Own the Service Improvement and Innovation Plans: Oversight of vendor service reviews and service improvement and innovation plans as necessary
• Contract, Payment & ERate: Contract management and financial management, as well as all E-Rate processes
• Manage Relationship: Build excellent relationships with vendors, act as liaison between vendor and Uncommon on any projects, and own school-level escalations & difficult conversations.

Manage Google Workspace (GW) for Education (e.g. Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Google Classroom, and more):

• Oversee the planning, prioritization and execution of the GW roadmap in partnership with team members who rely on GW functionality (such as Product Manager of EdTech). 
• Identify and escalate issues with technology partners and manufacturers.
• Independently create communication and change management plans internally driven shifts or Google-imposed changes
• Train IT Support team and outsourced partner to handle common issues
• Collaborate with IT team members to facilitate integrations with GW data sets

Vendor Management:

• Contract & Payment: Lead renewal and payment of yearly contracts, such as Verizon contract
• Manage Relationship: Establish relationships with vendors, act as the liaison between vendor and Uncommon on any projects, and own school-level issues & difficult conversations. 
• Partner concerns: Work with the Director to handle vendor issues 

Training and documentation:

• Knowledge Base: Own creation and management of all internal and school-facing Knowledge Base articles on support, troubleshooting, and best practices for the platform
• Training: Develop and Facilitate Training
• School facing: Develop and facilitate training for regional and/or school leaders, which they will turnkey to their staff 
• Data & IT: Help define and coordinate vendor-offered training sessions at the right level for those managing the Service Desk and Relationship Managers.
• Process Documentation: Work with regional/school Leaders to document existing processes related to supported applications (e.g. documentation of best practices for in-school tech management)

Organizational Relationships:

• Work closely with regionally-based RSOs, school-based Directors of Operations, and members of the Data and IT Team.

Education Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree required

Experience Requirements:

• 7-9 years of professional experience
• 3-4 years of directly related experience
• 1+ year managing Ticketing System
• 2+ years managing or supporting student facing technology (preferred)
• Familiarity with Agile principles of product management (preferred)
• Experience managing school-based hardware and infrastructure projects and upgrades (i.e. new building tech outfitting, EOL and upgrades such as Servers, WAPs, WiFi, etc)
• Advanced skills in Excel and Google Sheets/Forms

Travel Requirements:

• 3 days in person work at Uncommon Home Office (NYC) 
• Travel to Uncommon’s schools across all regions (NJ, NY, MA)

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer involving video and audio.

Our people are what make us uncommon. It’s important to us that our compensation practices align with our values and enhance our ability to attract and retain talent.  Our compensation philosophy is focused on equity and fairness, retaining our talented staff and valuing their expertise, and transparency and clarity.

Compensation for this position:  Candidates who meet all job description requirements will likely receive an offer of $100,800.  The starting compensation for this role is between $$95,200 to $112,000.  The starting pay will depend on various factors including but not limited to relevant professional experience, education, certifications, and tenure with Uncommon Schools.   To receive an offer at the top of the range, candidates will need significant experience beyond the job description  requirements.  Because we value staff tenure in a role, we do not currently cap salary ranges for current staff members. 

Other Benefits:

• 19 days of paid time off in addition to three weeks of paid winter and summer org-wide holidays
• Extensive, best-in-class training and development  
• Choice of 3 comprehensive health insurance plans
• Pre-tax flexible spending and health saving accounts
• Financial planning & wellness
  • 403(b) retirement savings program + employer match
  • 529 college savings program
  • Public Service Loan Forgiveness application assistance
  • Financial  planning tools and assistance
• Dependent Care FSA, back up childcare and daycare discounts, pet care insurance
• Paid leave of absence 
  • Fully paid parental leave
  • Fully paid medical leave
  • Additional paid Short Term and Long Term Disability insurance 
• Mental health and counseling support + wellness benefits

Uncommon believes in the importance of being a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization that enables our students and staff to thrive. We are committed to building an exceptional team that reflects the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our students. We also strive to ensure an inclusive community by creating a space for meaningful dialogue about issues of race and identity for our staff and students. As an equal opportunity employer, Uncommon provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. We also ensure that individuals with disabilities receive all privileges and benefits associated with employment and are provided reasonable accommodations for the interview process and to perform core job functions. If you would like to request an accommodation, please email recruitment@uncommonschools.org.