Product Director, Acquisitions, Grants & Personal Property
Graduate School USA

Provides leadership and management for the Acquisition & Contracting (AC) as well as Grants Management and Personal Property domains, including portfolio, course types, course content, and SME management. Responsible for growing the training business by establishing optimal product mix through product development (in partnership with Learning Development), product marketing (in partnership with Marketing) and Sales (in partnership with Business Development team). Serves as expert on determining appropriate course content and/or design, developing customized learning solutions, and identifying customer training needs.

Responsibilities:

• Participates as a member of the Product Team to balance Product priorities and budget across portfolios
• Responsible for market understanding through a variety of market research techniques (in partnership with APEI research team) including, but not limited to secondary research, events, reading, surveys, focus groups, discussions with customers.
• Responsible for long-term (1 & 3 year) portfolio planning as well as quarterly product R&D spending decisions.
• Represents the customer perspective; striving to ensure accurate and effective curriculum solutions are built and delivered to clients that support positive learner and performance outcomes.
• Supports Sales team with in-depth market and product understanding where needed; including proposal support.
• Drives the Product Marketing strategy for covered domains. Partners with Marketing team on the execution of that Strategy
• Balances the product development spend across new courses, significant updates, and minor update maintenance. Also contemplates the best modality mix and how to grow revenue beyond the traditional multi-day training format.
• Effectively test product strategy hypotheses to minimize risk on investments.
• Monitors course quality and customer experience for continuous improvement of both.
• On approval, Initiate and steer (as the customer advocate AND the company budget steward) product development efforts.
• Find and manage a set of subject matter experts (SME) who are qualified and available to help develop/update courses.
• Assign and contract SME’s to development projects as appropriate.
• Participate in Proposal bid/no-bid decisions; provide proposal content, contribute to customization discussions along with Learning Development leadership.

Requirements:

• Ability to research and understand the AC, Grants, and Personal Property training markets. Ability to identify potential opportunities and then analyze/justify the likelihood of success.
• Ability to realize there may be a “need behind the ask” and to find the pattern of that need that fits a large enough section of the market to justify a product.
• Strong analytical, critical-thinking, financial, and creative problem-solving skills.
• Ability to demonstrate ingenuity and originality to develop new approaches to solve problems that serve as precedent for others throughout the organization.
• Knowledge of project management and lifecycle of curriculum management.
• Excellent relational and communication skills (oral and written).
• Ability to make a strong written business case including, but not limited to market sizing, financial analyses, risk control, iterative approaches, and prioritization.
• Ability to effectively collaborate and communicate around the needs of curriculum, instruction, and learners both within and outside the organization; Ability to identify and set priorities and to work independently and with others.
• Ability to forge and sustain excellent customer relations and provide excellent customer service.
• Ability to work with Subject Matter Experts for course development.
• Ability to interact with all levels of co-workers and customers with tact and diplomacy and collaborate successfully with different groups (customers, instructors, partners, and GS employees), each having different needs and goals.
• Ability to identify and set priorities and to work independently and with others.
• Solid computer skills (email, Word, Excel, etc.).
• Other duties as assigned.
• Experience with the federal govt or experience in the education space
• 7-10 years of federal training management, development, and delivery experience preferred
• Experience working with Instructors, Subject Matter Experts, Instructional Designers, and other learning/training partners, preferred.
• Experience with government contracting practices and procurement vehicles

Degree Level Required:

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s or relevant certifications desired

Compensation:

• The compensation range for this role is $112,900 to $135,500.

About Us:

Founded in 1921, Graduate School USA (GSUSA) is an independent, not-for-profit educational institution based in Washington, DC, offering workforce training and services across the U.S. and around the world. The organization is a leading provider of professional development and training courses for the federal government and private sector, serving organizations and individuals with programs designed to support organizational missions, career and occupational development, and the personal ambitions of adult learners. GSUSA’s courses and programs are delivered by instructors with real-world government experience, including customized training solutions, distance education, and leadership training.

Graduate School USA is an Equal Opportunity Employer: Race, Color, Religion, Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, National Origin, Age, Genetic Information, Disability, Protected Veteran Status, or any other legally protected group status.