Associate Product Operations Manager

Job description

We are seeking a proactive and detail-oriented Associate Product Operations Manager to support our Product organization in improving operational efficiency, cross-functional alignment, and consistency in how work moves through the Product Development Lifecycle (PDLC). Working closely with, and at the direction of, the Senior Product Operations Manager and Product Leadership team, this role will execute the day-to-day tactics that keep our Product Operating Model running smoothly, while building the experience and judgment to take on greater ownership over time. - Align: work closely with the Product Leadership, Senior Product Operations Manager, Product Managers, and cross-functional business partners to help ensure product work is clearly understood, decisions are communicated effectively, and teams stay aligned on priorities, dependencies, and readiness. - Enable: Help provide product teams with the means to complete routine and strategic tasks as efficiently as possible, by supporting key processes, maintaining tools and workflows, and bringing structure to how work is prepared, reviewed, and tracked. - Improve: Support continuous, iterative improvement of how teams work by helping identify bottlenecks, reducing time spent on non-core product activities, and reinforcing the systems, governance, and operating rhythms that support high-quality product work. ### Duties & Responsibilities Product Operations is a multifaceted function that focuses on improving how the Product organization operates day to day, driving cross-functional collaboration, and enabling product teams to focus on what they do best: build great products. This role is a mixture of hands-on execution and support for continuous improvement, working under the direction of the Senior Product Operations Manager and Product Leadership team. In this role you will be responsible for: - Product Operating Model and Product Development Life Cycle (PDLC) Support: Support the flow of work from intake through discovery, assessment, planning, and delivery by helping ensure requests are complete, handoffs are clear, and the right information is available at the right time. - Intake and Initiative Readiness: Support the intake process by serving as a first line of review for incoming requests. Work with stakeholders to gather required inputs and help ensure work is ready for Product review and decision-making. - Operating Rhythm and Meeting Support: Help prepare, coordinate, and, where appropriate, facilitate recurring forums such as Weekly Business Reviews, roadmap reviews, stakeholder meetings, and leadership sessions. Ensure materials are organized, decisions are captured, and follow-up actions are tracked to completion. - Tools and Workflow Optimization: Maintain the product management tech stack, including workflow hygiene, documentation practices, and reporting accuracy, and flag opportunities to improve transparency and usability across Product and cross-functional teams. - Governance and Process Support: Support key operating processes including compliance reviews, cross-functional readiness, and other recurring governance needs that help the business interact effectively with Product. - Cross-functional Project and Program Support: Support the execution of select cross-functional initiatives directed by the Senior Product Operations Manager and Product Managers, helping track alignment on scope, timelines, dependencies, and risks across teams. - Data-informed Execution: Help gather and organize data, reporting, and operational insights to support the Senior Product Operations Manager and Product Leadership in identifying trends and informing process improvements. - Iterative Improvement: Help ensure product operating processes, frameworks, and methodologies remain practical and fit for purpose. Support the rollout of improvements as directed, with a bias toward progress over perfection. - Cross-functional Collaboration: Support open communication and help facilitate alignment between Product, Engineering, Design, Compliance, Operations, Marketing, and other stakeholders, ensuring teams are working effectively toward common goals. - Team Support: Support onboarding, training, and documentation efforts led by the Senior Product Operations Manager and Product Leadership, helping build repeatable ways of working across the Product Organization. ### Requirements - Experience: 3-5 years in product operations, program management, project management, product management, or a similar role, ideally within a technology or product-focused organization. - Education: Bachelor's degree in Business, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field. Equivalent practical experience is also welcomed. ### Skill Set Product Operations is a strategic support function for the business that is as much about coordinating people as it is technology and processes. The strongest candidates will be comfortable owning tactical, day-to-day operational work while building the skills to help identify ways to improve how the organization works over time. Predominantly, candidates from product operations, program or project management, business operations, product management, business analysis, or similar roles may bring the right mix of execution, organization, and process improvement experience to the position. - An understanding of the full product development lifecycle (PDLC), including intake, discovery, assessment, planning, release, and cross-functional readiness processes. - Works iteratively and pragmatically - eager to help improve the way teams work over time without over-engineering or trying to change everything at once. - A logical and analytical mindset, with a developing ability to understand what can be changed, what value change can bring, and comfort using data to support recommendations. - An empathetic attitude to truly understand the problems you are trying to support and solve with your colleagues and stakeholders. - Comfort with ambiguity, resilience to change, and the ability to adapt while working across multiple priorities and teams. - Experience managing task management and workflow tools - e.g. Jira, Linear, Asana, Productboard, or similar platforms. - Ability to help maintain, organize, and refine knowledge bases and documentation structures using the most suitable information architecture and documentation solution at hand - e.g. Confluence, Notion, etc. - Ability to help use product, process, or operational data to support better decision-making and surface relevant insights from available reporting and analytics. - Experience supporting the administration, adoption, and improvement of software tools and workflows in general. - Comfort supporting meetings and presentations with multiple stakeholders, with growing confidence in facilitating and presenting over time. - Comfort working with all levels of the business - from senior leaders to individual contributors - and a willingness to make suggestions and support positive change under the direction of the Senior Product Operations Manager and Product Leadership.