Director, Product Portfolio & Growth

Job description

Risepoint is an education technology company that provides world-class support and trusted expertise to more than 100 universities and colleges. We primarily work with regional universities, helping them develop and grow their high-ROI, workforce-focused online degree programs in critical areas such as nursing, teaching, business, and public service. Risepoint is dedicated to increasing access to affordable education so that more students, especially working adults, can improve their careers and meet employer and community needs. The Product Strategy team supports the strategy and design of innovative learning solutions at the intersection of higher education, alternative credentials, employer markets and workforce development. This role works across all teams - market research, product marketing and other Risepoint units - to identify, design and grow scalable, skills-based, and career-connected learning solutions. Job Summary We are seeking a Director, Product Portfolio & Growth Strategy to join our Product Strategy team and play a key role shaping the future of higher education by identifying growth opportunities, uncovering market insights, and developing innovative solutions that drive success for our university partners. Working at the intersection of education, workforce needs, and market demand, you'll transform data and insights into actionable recommendations that influence portfolio decisions, drive product growth, and expand access to career-connected learning. In this role, you will turn market intelligence, competitive insights and partner goals into recommendations, including business cases, narratives, and go-to-market and launch plans. Reporting to the Senior Director of Product Marketing and Strategic Initiatives, you will collaborate closely with internal and cross-functional teams and with university and employer partners to bring high-impact, workforce-relevant offerings to life—driving meaningful outcomes for both Risepoint and the partners we serve. Key Duties and Responsibilities Product and Portfolio Strategy In a highly collaborative, data-informed environment, design and deliver executive-level product solutions and strategies for internal and partner audiences. Synthesize data, research, and stakeholder inputs into structured problem-solving frameworks, persuasive narratives, and actionable recommendations that clearly communicate the vision, rationale, tradeoffs, and expected outcomes. Develop presentations, reports, and decision-support materials that demonstrate analytical acumen, strategic thinking, and the ability to influence senior-level audiences. Conduct partner or program family specific analysis to assess performance, market fit and competitive positioning for new opportunities and identify optimization and growth opportunities across existing and new programs, leveraging market research outputs, internal data and/or expertise. Market Intelligence In partnership with internal team and other Risepoint stakeholders, utilize a systematic approach for monitoring market and product trends, competitor offerings, and emerging innovations across higher education and workforce development, including new markets, audiences, and growth pathways. Leverage insights to recommend programs, approaches and adjustments. Leverage market research outputs, internal data and other forms of intelligence and data to surface growth opportunities aligned to the approved portfolio direction. Go-to-Market Planning & Activation Collaborate with internal teams to translate and define go-to-market plans, sales enablement resources that support activation for new and optimized portfolios and products. Coordinate with cross-functional leaders to ensure smooth handoff from recommendations to launch to activation. Define, monitor, and report on KPIs and performance for new launches, pilots, and portfolio initiatives, capturing insights and learnings to inform ongoing optimization and future execution efforts. Additional Position Responsibilities Perform in accordance with Risepoint Policies Perform other duties as assigned Travel Required: Yes - (up to 10%) QUALIFICATIONS Minimum of 7 years of higher education experience in product marketing, strategy consulting, product strategy, or higher education/workforce development. Experience with innovation in the higher education space essential. Working with product design, the Training & Development space, workforce education, adult learning markets also desirable. Skills/Knowledge/Abilities Demonstrated ability to navigate ambiguity and apply systems thinking, design thinking, and agile methodologies to new product challenges. Strong consultative, communication, and influence skills across stakeholder groups. Substantive understanding of a wide range and breadth of the market of higher education, training and development trends, the market of talent, workforce and edtech trends. Ability to work both independently (self-driven) and collaborate well across teams (team-player). Strong analytical storytelling, executive communication, and persuasion skills, with the ability to synthesize complex data, research, stakeholder input, and AI-enabled insights into clear, structured, and compelling narratives for senior leaders and partners. Skilled at applying a hypothesis-driven, issue-based problem-solving approach to frame ambiguous business challenges, identify key insights, evaluate tradeoffs, and develop actionable recommendations. Able to create executive-ready presentations and decision-support materials that combine analytical rigor, strategic clarity, commercial judgment, and persuasive storytelling to influence alignment, decision-making, and action. Demonstrated ability to synthesize quantitative and qualitative data into actionable recommendations. Experience in GTM strategy, product positioning, cross-functional activation Highly organized project management skills Ability to connect academic programming with learning design and talent development needs of the workforce and regional employer partners.Demonstrated success in consulting style engagements Risepoint is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an equitable environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable state or federal laws. Risepoint is an equal-opportunity employer and supports a diverse and inclusive workforce. Risepoint is an equal-opportunity employer and supports a diverse and inclusive workforce.