Early Childhood Administration Product Group Manager / Product Management Director

About the role

The Early Childhood Product Group Manager is a senior product and people leader responsible for the supervision and coaching of 5-9 product managers, as well as developing and supporting the strategic direction and delivery of a portfolio of digital products within the Early Childhood Administration at the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF).

This role will be instrumental in moving the early childhood administration at DCYF toward forming a multidisciplinary digital services product organization—including product management, UX/UI design, content strategy, instructional design, and change management—to deliver modern, human-centered digital services that improve program integrity, enhance experiences for families and other users of our digital services, and advance equitable access to services for Minnesotans.

Responsibilities

• Establish aligned product group vision and roadmaps in partnership with the product managers in the group.
• Embed human-centered design practices.
• Drive data-informed decision-making to ensure products deliver measurable outcomes.
• Coordinate and develop cross-functional teams.
• Align product strategy, user experience, and adoption efforts across the full lifecycle—from discovery through delivery, adoption, and long-term sustainment.
• Translate policy, operational, and user needs into clear product direction.
• Ensure cohesive, accessible, and effective digital experiences at scale.
• Integrate product, design, and adoption strategies into a unified model that delivers meaningful impact for Minnesotans.

Requirements

• Demonstrated leadership experience.
• Five years of experience with at least two (2) years of product leadership expertise leading cross-functional product management teams.
• Three (3) years of experience doing product-related work.
• People-leadership experience that demonstrates the ability to support and coach individuals.
• Proven ability to connect product strategy, user experience design, and adoption and change management.
• Experience overseeing end-to-end product lifecycle delivering end-to-end user experiences, not just technical features.
• Experience overseeing quality assurance of product deliverables to identify and mitigate product and delivery risks.
• Experience managing complex stakeholder environments, including influencing without authority and managing up.
• Communication and storytelling skills to align teams, executives, and external partners.

Qualifications

• Minimum qualifications: Demonstrated leadership experience, five years of experience with at least two years of product leadership expertise, three years of experience doing product-related work, people-leadership experience, proven ability to connect product strategy, user experience design, and adoption and change management, experience overseeing end-to-end product lifecycle, experience managing complex stakeholder environments, communication and storytelling skills.
• Preferred qualifications: Experience leading design-forward product organizations, experience integrating UX design, content strategy, and training into product delivery, experience owning product strategy and delivery across multiple products or platforms, experience with service design or end-to-end journey mapping, experience in the public sector or in supporting public sector clients, experience with legislative processes including development of budget and policy proposals, fiscal notes, and talking points, experience supporting diverse populations, including accessibility and language, experiences working effectively with others from different backgrounds and cultures, experience managing vendors or external partners.

Skills

• Leadership and management skills.
• Product management expertise.
• Strategic planning and execution.
• Stakeholder engagement and collaboration.
• Data analysis and decision-making.
• Human-centered design principles.
• Change management and adoption.
• Effective communication and storytelling.

Benefits

Your benefits may include:

• Paid vacation and sick leave
• 12 paid holidays each year
• Low-cost medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug plans
• Fertility care, including IVF
• Dental and orthodontic care for adults and children
• 6 weeks paid leave for parents of newborn or newly adopted children
• Pension plan that provides income when you retire (after working at least three years)
• Employer paid life insurance to provide support for your family in the event of death
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance that can provide income if you are unable to work due to illness or injury
• Tax-free expense accounts for health, dental, and dependent care

Pay

$45.71 - $65.66 / hourly; $95,442 - $137,098 / annually

Schedule

Day shift: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm