Production Manager

Vendor Management & Oversight

Execute the outsourcing strategy, aligned with organizational goals and product roadmaps.
Negotiate contracts, service-level agreements (SLAs), and pricing to secure cost-effective, high-quality services.
Manage vendor budgets and track spend to maintain financial control and meet budget targets.
Develop and deliver regular reporting on vendor spend, forecasts, and cost-savings initiatives.
Lead the annual request for proposal (RFP) process for outsourced production services.
Track vendor performance against KPIs and address issues related to quality, timeliness, or compliance.
Support digital transformation by aligning vendor capabilities with evolving technologies and workflows.

Team & Process Management

Manage and mentor a team of production editors, production specialists, and production coordinators.
Establish and refine production processes to support scalable, repeatable, and high-quality deliverables.
Define and track KPIs to measure performance, efficiency, and quality across production teams.

Technology & Workflow Optimization

Identify, evaluate, and execute opportunities to streamline existing outsourcing workflows.
Leverage data to inform workflow improvements, resource allocation, and production planning.
Explore emerging tool sets, vendor expertise and capabilities, as well as other progressive technologies to scale and improve speed to market.
Design workflows that can scale with business growth and evolving content formats.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Collaborate with vendors and external partners to manage outsourced production and technology solutions.
Work with cross-functional stakeholders to identify and implement process improvements across the product development cycle (from inception to delivery).

Quality Assurance & Compliance

Evaluate and refine existing QA protocols for both internal and vendor-produced content to ensure consistency, quality, and accuracy.
Maintain currency with accessibility standards and ensure all internal and vendor-supplied content meets quality, accessibility, and compliance standards (e.g., WCAG 2.2 AA, Section 508).

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree required.
• Minimum of 4 years working with production vendors and overseeing outsourcing activities required.
• Minimum of 6 years of experience in production, with at least 1-2 years in a leadership role required.
• Minimum of 5 years of people management experience required.
• Passion for education and a commitment to improving learning outcomes through digital innovation.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Proven track record of managing large-scale outsourcing programs.
• Strong leadership, project management, and communication skills.
• Knowledge of accessibility standards.

Benefits

• Employee Stock Ownership Plan – a retirement plan that is 100% company funded.
• 401(k) with a company match.
• Medical plan options.
• Dental plan options.
• Vision plan.
• Generous Paid Time Off.
• Wellbeing Programs.
• Cariloop – a Caregiver Concierge.
• Pet Insurance.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• Social Activities and Events.

Pay

The starting salary falls between $90,000 - $100,000 per year.

Schedule

Those located in the Chicagoland area will follow a hybrid schedule, working onsite two to four days per month at our Tinley Park, Illinois office.