VP, Product Strategy

The Vice President, Product Strategy is a strategic and operational leader, functioning as a key advisor and partner to the Chief Academic and Product Officer and their product leadership team with a focus on aligning product strategy, organizational initiatives, and market opportunities at Risepoint. This role focuses on bringing strategic clarity of product strategy and alignment across teams to ensure cross-functional product support and market needs are met.

The ideal candidate combines strong strategic thinking, business acumen, and execution capabilities with proven expertise in helping prioritize and evaluate current and future market needs that empower higher education institutions to achieve their goals. 

Key Responsibilities: 

Stakeholder Engagement and Communication: 

• Act as a key liaison between the product organization and other critical roles within the senior leadership team, ensuring transparency and alignment. 

• Facilitate communication across leadership levels to maintain a cohesive vision and coordinated execution. 

• Create materials (documents and decks) that outline the product strategy for internal audiences and to pitch to partner 

• Engage externally with strategic partners, as needed, representing Risepoint’s product vision and contributing to thought leadership in the higher education space. 

Strategic Leadership and Alignment: 

• Serve as a key advisor to the Chief Product Officer, providing insights, recommendations, and analysis to drive decision-making. 

• Ensure alignment of the company’s product vision with organizational goals and market opportunities. 

• Translate high-level strategic goals into actionable plans for cross-functional teams, ensuring alignment across departments and awareness and accountability where external dependencies exist. 

Operational Excellence:  

• Optimize cross-departmental workstreams and communication to eliminate bottlenecks and enhance collaboration. 

• Oversee the execution of strategic product initiatives, ensuring on-time and high-quality delivery in collaboration with the product leadership team. 

• Develop and maintain mechanisms for measuring, tracking and reporting progress against strategic goals, providing regular updates to the Executive Team. 

• Run specific projects that can evolve Risepoint’s product offering and differentiation 

Value Creation and Impact: 

• Identify and prioritize opportunities to enhance product value for our partner universities ensuring alignment with market demands and organizational objectives. 

• Collaborate with sales, marketing, partner management and student success teams to maximize product adoption and market impact. 

• Support efforts to build a differentiated and scalable product capability, including contributing to monetization strategies and pathways that enhance product value and drive growth. 

Leadership and Team Enablement: 

• Partner with department leaders to foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and innovation. 

• Support teams in implementing strategic initiatives and navigating complex challenges. 

• Build systems and processes that empower leaders to deliver on organizational goals effectively. 

Qualifications: 

• Education: Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred. 

• Experience: 

  • 8+ years of experience in strategic planning, operational leadership, or chief of staff-type roles. 

  • Management consulting experience at a top tier firm with at least 2-3 years leading project teams in product or customer-centric strategies is mandatory. 

  • Background or experience in the higher education or education technology sector is strongly preferred. 

  • Proven ability to manage complex cross-functional initiatives and drive organizational alignment. 

  • Consulting Experience will be an advantage 

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills. 

• Exceptional communication and relationship-building capabilities. 

Key Competencies: 

• Strategic mindset with a focus on execution and impact. 

• Highly collaborative, with a proven ability to influence and align cross-functional teams. 

• Exceptional organizational and project management skills. 

• Customer-centric approach, with a deep understanding of market needs and challenges. 

Personal Attributes: 

• Results-oriented with a proactive approach. 

• High level of integrity and professionalism. 

• Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail. 

• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced and dynamic environment. 

• Humble and team oriented