Product Manager / Product Owner

Job Description:

Manager Notes:

• Project mix: Approximately 60 70% web initiatives and the remainder mobile development.
• Seeking experience in full product lifecycle management, including timelines, risk management, and Agile/Scrum methodologies.
• Primary focus is on front-end digital experiences across both existing and new websites.
• Responsible for managing and enhancing booking flow functionality. Most core websites are already built; emphasis will be on delivering new features and driving product execution rather than greenfield builds.
• Position aligns more closely with a Product Owner role established processes and frameworks are in place, and the individual must operate effectively within them. Strong production and delivery focus required.
• Concentration on front-end/website digital experience initiatives.
• Must be able to translate product requirements clearly between technical teams and business stakeholders.

Purpose of the role:

• Responsible for delivering quality products across the digital experience (Mobile, Hotel Website, or Revenue Management).
• This role coordinates among business stakeholders, software developers, technical engineers, designers, data analysts, and other functional subject matter experts to create a comprehensive and holistic roadmap that addresses both short term and long-term needs.
• The Sr. Product Manager, must be able to work at the strategic level (generating innovative ideas for growth and change management) and at the tactical level (analyzing data, solving problems).
• The Sr Product Manager will prioritize and activate said roadmap, ultimately managing the end-to-end product lifecycle from ideation to launch to adoption to optimization in an agile methodology, pivoting as needed in response to stakeholder and customer needs.
• They will also support in-depth business reviews, communicate and present across all levels of the organization and support cross-functional product teams.

Key Accountabilities:

• Lead development and implementation of product strategy: future state based on deep understanding of how the business works, incorporating customer insights, markets, competition, and distribution capabilities as well as the potential "game changing new functionality and capabilities CLIENT will require to compete. This should manifest itself in a roadmap of initiatives including small enhancement and content refreshments to existing products as well as new product needs.
• Identify product opportunities far in advance of obsolescence, drive strategic planning, and articulate topline business requirements
• Lead cross-functional working teams to design, develop, and implement prioritized product roadmap
• Source data and craft test plans to ensure data-driven decisioning; use insights to inform priority of work
• Proactively seek input from stakeholders to align the roadmap against business and customer needs
• Forecast ROI, regularly report on product performance post launch, drive product adoption, and lead optimization plan
• Identifies goals, metrics, and analytics to determine product value; continually makes recommendations and refinements to the product backlog based on learnings
• Manages and grooms the product backlog; makes future decisions based on the value that will be delivered
• Monitors research as well as the competitive landscape to recommend the best solutions and ensure that products remain or become best in class
• Formulates, tests and refines assumptions and hypotheses through user research and testing
• Creates, prioritizes and accepts user stories; incorporate them into release planning
• Manage product lifecycles: continually evaluate product performance and key customer insights and ensure new product needs are identified far enough in advance to address needs before product obsolescence.
• Communicate product information: including product roadmap, specifications, value proposition, sales tools training tools and competitive information to stakeholders. Provide status updates to PMO for regular reporting cycles.
• Writes technical user stories
• Fosters collaboration with team members (Engineering, UX, etc.) to drive value and identify and resolve impediments
• Guides more junior team members in strategy, alignment, analysis and execution tasks
• Provide regular updates to leaders and partners, sometimes catering the message depending on audience

Direct Reports / Indirect Reports:

• N/A
• Majority of work is performed in a normal office environment.
• Some travel required as needed (generally less than 10%)

Key Shared Accountabilities:

• Key Internal Relationships -
• Technology Services, Information Security, and other technology partners
• User Experience teams
• Hotel Content Team
• Marketing & Campaign Teams
• Commercial / Revenue Management for Hire
• Global Customer Experience Brand Organization
• Commercial performance teams
• Marketing partners
• Global design, development, delivery and support partners/vendors
• Global Revenue Management
• GHOS Peers: work with peer groups relating to interdepencies of systems, databases and well as resources
• Marketing & Loyalty: engagement related to revenue optimization of cross department initiatives and projects (such as room types and stay enhancements)
• Global Sales: collaborate on current initiatives and client needs
• Key External Relationships
• Outside creative agencies: to discuss creative services and production
• Vendors: interactions relating to data, reports, tools & systems and/or to coordinate projection of materials and bid projects
• Owners: have an owner mindset and involvement with occasional owner summits

Required Education, Experience, Technical Skills and Knowledge Decision Rights Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, User Experience, Customer Experience, Statistics, Business, or a relevant field of work, or an equivalent combination of education and work-related experienced.

Experience:

• 3-6 years of relevant work experience as a Product Manager in a modern software development company

Skills & Technical Experience:

• Expert knowledge of the CLIENT digital landscape as well as strong familiarity with competitors and other eCommerce websites to understand trends and best practices
• Able to recognize when and how to pivot with ease and effectively deliver.
• Demonstrated deep knowledge and understanding in a specific area of expertise including products.
• Demonstrated effective verbal and written communication skills for the purpose of providing information to clients, vendors, senior management and staff. Demonstrated ability to present new concepts, research findings, and business outcomes to various groups including corporate clients, senior management, potential vendors, and industry consultants.
• Demonstrated program management experience with modern, established product management processes in organizing, planning and executing projects from conception through implementation. Demonstrated attention to detail and ability to manage multiple tasks/clients required.
• Demonstrated experience in detailed product development discovery, documentation, and design work.
• Demonstrated analytical skills and ability to perform research and use the results of analysis to make effective strategic decisions.
• Demonstrated proficiency with MS Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Demonstrated ability to adapt tactics and strategies to fast moving, rapidly evolving marketplace required
• Demonstrated ability to use prototyping or simulation in product creation
• Experience in formal requirements methodologies such as vision, scope, context, use cases, etc.
• Strong storyteller, is able to formulate cohesive messages with meaningful and impactful points that resonate with target audience.

Preferred:

• Demonstrated hotel industry knowledge reflecting the entire customer experience journey (reservations stay loyalty on-property, and ongoing relationship management).
• Familiarity with AEM 6.5 Touch UI a plus
• Have an entrepreneurial spirit with a keen eye for identifying new market opportunities and transforming that into an actionable plan
• Thrive in ambiguity where the solution doesn't exist and the problems aren't fully known
• Results driven candidate that can take an idea and develop a strong business case that will become the team's roadmap
• Knowledgeable in technology and enterprise software
• Ability to work and lead across all parts of the organization
• Comfortable and experienced in presenting product vision/strategy to large and senior audiences

Owns:

• This position reviews customer feedback, data and insights to help determine project priorities. Performs analysis of customer feedback, business strategies and objectives to determine final project requirements.
• This position assists in determining the detailed design requirements of multiple projects based on budget, need, strategy, objectives etc.
• This position measures the effectiveness of digital products and channels, works with Internal Departments to set content management policies, and researches technology vendors and content providers to determine potential business relationships.
• This position has final authority in interpretation of business requirements as presented by client in discovery process, and final authority in pre-production acceptance testing for features and functions developed on behalf of designated clients.