At the Monterey Bay Aquarium, we are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that celebrates and values diversity. We firmly believe that having a team of diverse backgrounds and voices, working together, increases our capacity to serve our visitors and fulfill our mission. We welcome people from all walks of life into our team and strongly encourage people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, veterans, and people with disabilities to apply.
This role supports hybrid or onsite work types, as well as flexible scheduling.
Job Summary:
Reporting to the Vice President of Technology and Innovation, responsible for building, leading, and mentoring a team of product managers, UI/UX experts, and other digital specialists to deliver the Aquarium’s suite of products (e.g., websites and intranet, membership and ticketing platforms, online store, employee experience and collaboration tools). Play a pivotal role at the Aquarium in implementing product management methodologies that put the user first and allow products to be delivered nimbly. Be a hands-on leader who defines the Aquarium’s product strategy, roadmap, and user experience; will consider the entire product lifecycle to align initiatives across products and develop clear, measurable, and achievable outcomes in line with the Aquarium’s mission and business goals. Promote continuous improvement and facilitate collaboration and innovation, establish and/or improve product operations, including but not limited to sprint management, resource allocation, deployment, task management, and feature requests–and spreading the practice of product management across the Aquarium. Establish product thinking at the Aquarium and foster a culture of team collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning within the team. Lead the definition of product vision, roadmap, and product priorities and drives the execution of planned products with engineering and user experience teams. This is achieved through the effective management of people, software development processes, and implementation of sustainable digital solutions that carry forward the organization’s key initiatives. Perform other duties as required.
Preferred Knowledge, Skills & Abilities (KSAs):
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience in a related field (e.g., Business Administration, Marketing or Communications, Technology, Product or Project Management)
- Minimum 5 years experience managing digital teams and product strategy
- Minimum 7 years experience related to developing customer-facing digital technologies
- Demonstrated knowledge of rapidly evolving trends in technology and digital products and a passion for staying current in the field
- Success in leveraging and scaling practices such as agile software development, master data management and enterprise architecture
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts in business-friendly and user-friendly language
- Working knowledge of enterprise platforms and products including content management systems for websites and intranet, ecommerce and customer relationship management, apps and interactive experience, employee service and collaboration tools)
- Demonstrated ability to build high-performing agile teams
- Demonstrated ability to develop a talent plan that ensures the right people are in the right roles at the right time, and employees are highly engaged and satisfied
- Strong level of common sense and a good sense of humor, a positive Can-Do attitude
- Ability to work within, and maintain Monterey Bay Aquariums’ Core Values
Core Activities:
- Team management:
- Build (recruit, hire, train) a high-performing agile product management team of professionals, including product managers, digital specialists, UX/UI designers.
- Direct team leaders, teams and individual contributors in roadmap development, technical work, and delivery to business units, coaching in and applying digital/agile product delivery methods; set goals and build accountability within the team to meet those goals.
- Product strategy:
- Define and drive the digital product strategy toward customer experiences, operational excellence, programmatic outcomes in alignment with the overall mission and objectives of the Aquarium. Outline milestones and timelines for product development and releases.
- Stakeholder engagement:
- Lead the process of prioritizing product initiatives based on strategic commitments, stakeholder needs, and market demands.
- Governance:
- Execute clear digital governance to allocate resources efficiently and effectively and ensure alignment between the product roadmap and vision. Work collaboratively with the Office of Strategy and Operations to establish governance practices to be implemented by the product management team.
- Execution oversight:
- Oversee the development and maintenance of digital products aimed at enhancing the visitor experience, engagement, and accessibility; iterate on products based on feedback and performance data.
- Support data governance and management (including privacy, security, and health) of the organization’s myriad data repositories, to ensure compliance with privacy policy, legal requirements, and data security protocols.
- Resource planning and management:
- Develop and manage budgets for digital product initiatives, ensuring effective allocation of resources and adherence to financial constraints. Take a lead role in annual planning and budgeting exercises; manage and track product and services costs to approved department budgets.
- Product Delivery and Innovation :
- Stay abreast of trends in digital products in cultural attractions to identify opportunities for innovation (conferences, peer organizations, etc.).
- Establish and maintain role clarity between team members as technologies, tools, and techniques change, in collaboration with the Digital Solutions and Data department.
Physical Requirements to Perform Essential Job Functions:
- Typical office equipment
- Constant sitting, walking, standing, bending
- Occasional unassisted lifting up to 50 lbs
- Typical office environment, main aquarium, and offsite events
Annual Compensation Range:
$138,600-$177,000 USD annually. Starting rate will vary based on previous experience and relevant skills/knowledge set.