Tech Product Owner

Founded in 1936, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF or Federation) is America's largest and most trusted grassroots conservation organization with 52 state/territorial affiliates and more than six million members and supporters, including hunters, anglers, gardeners, birders, hikers, campers, paddlers, and outdoor enthusiasts of all stripes.  The Federation's mission is to unite all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in our rapidly changing world through programming focused on conserving wildlife, restoring habitats and waterways, expanding outdoor opportunities, connecting children with nature, and addressing the causes and consequences of climate change. 

One of the National Wildlife Federation’s signature conservation programs is Garden for Wildlife™.  For more than 45 years, this program has been inspiring people to plant on behalf of wildlife where the live, work, play, learn and worship. 

To advance our mission, we are seeking a full-time Tech Product Owner to join our staff, working out of our Reston, VA, office with telework options.  (Due to COVID-19 all employees are working remotely until we make return to work decisions).  As the Tech Product Owner for Garden for Wildlife™, you will lead the development of and maintain, a transformative digital product that is the cornerstone of the new Garden for Wildlife™ Enterprise (GFWE) to expand access to native plants and trees, scale the conservation impact, and create an engaged and diverse community of wildlife gardeners – effectively revolutionizing the way all people plant to benefit wildlife and communities.  The GFWE is an independent business unit within the Innovation and Growth division and you will report directly to the Head of Garden for Wildlife™ and be a team player in the GFWE senior team that includes the directors of GFW Operations and Growth, Marketing, and Finance.

You will lead the build and run of the analytics driven B2B2C platform to support a network that seamlessly engages environmentally minded gardeners through personalized experience that connects: DIY solutions, science-based data, and mapping for impact with an interactive community.  You will direct the creation, enhancement and maintenance of the responsive mobile, desktop web-based application, Cloud based CRM, with analytics driven e-commerce, and integration with 3rd party fulfillment support and inventory management ERP.  This role consistently conveys the GFWE operational model for what matters most to platform users to the Tech Build Project Manager and engineering and design teams. 

In this role you will:

• Recruit and manage a diverse and dynamic GFWE Platform Tech team that will drive strategy, growth and impact.  Your direct reports will include Front End and Back End Engineers, Cloud Data Manager, Analytics manager and you will co-supervise GFWE web design and content lead. 
• Successfully negotiate and manage all Tech partner and vendor relationships.  Specifically manage 3rd party contracted Tech Build Project Manager for GFW Build.
• Create a quality control system that manages the conceptual and technical integrity of the platform’s features.  This includes Product Backlog list of all the features or components of the project with user-centric descriptions, to coordinate with Build Project Manager’s Sprint process. 
• Negotiate contracts for required integrations with external data feeds, e.g. fulfillment partner, geo location, zipcode, photo assets, species or science data, etc.
• Ensure platform includes mapping capacity and maintains functionality and enhancements for responsive user experience to include but not limited to:

• • • Ensuring user privacy, cybersecurity and data asset management.
    • Building and monitoring data/behavior /tracking throughout the tool.
    • UX/UI production combined with user testing.

• Consult with the National Wildlife Federation’s Strategic Business Operations/IT department to ensure seamless connections to the National Wildlife Federation’s existing web and information technology and financial platforms.
• Propel and support an equity and justice culture across all enterprise departments ensuring this culture is embedded into hiring and business practices, vendor relationships, corporate partnerships and product offerings, as well as inclusivity and diversity in advertising, content development and storytelling.
• Work with the GFWE marketing team to best position the platform and plant product release. Specifically, ensuring the build product manager is working with GFWE marketing to outline product placement strategies and how the products will be described in the platform and social channels.
• Closely manage the Tech budget, performance and financial reporting.
• Be responsible for staying on target and meeting aggressive launch deadlines. 

Qualifications:

• Requires a degree in computer science, business, engineering, developer or related field or equivalent experience.
• Understanding of online retail users’ behaviors, the market place, potential competitive platforms, and future trends to consider for successful domain and platform experience.
• Eight or more years of combined experience in tech business analysis, operational process improvement, project management or equivalent cobination of technical and operational experience.
• Advanced knowledge of system(s) assigned, Agile methodology and principles.
• Previous experience with data visualization products.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Project Management Professional (PMP) certification a plus.
• Technical certifications a plus.
• Product owner certification preferred.
• Experience with Salesforce cloud platforms ideal.

Important Success Factors:

• Strong understanding of online retail and community technology and user experiences.
• Ability to synthesize disparate and complex technology and summarize key points concisely for consumption by different levels of the organization, including executive teams.
• Strong negotiator, decision-maker, and communicator.
• Skilled at defining customer needs and using that knowledge to defining functional product specifications.
• Strong requirements gathering skills.
• Ability to continuously motivate the product development teams to meet the project's original goal.
• A leader who can thrive in an entrepreneurial environment and work independently as well as collaboratively with all levels of the organization.
• Self-motivated, detail oriented, and able to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Exceptional analytical, verbal and written communication skills.
• Growth, innovation and customer-first mindset.
• Enthusiasm for conservation issues.

 Leadership Competencies

• Self-Awareness and Learning - Demonstrates awareness of multiple group identities and their attendant dynamics and consistently bring a high level of self-awareness, empathy, and social skills to work and interpersonal interactions and commit to build our awareness through continued learning.
• Authentic Relationships and Partnerships – Proactively builds and sustains robust, authentic, productive working relationships with colleagues and community partners across race and other group identities
• Direct Communication - Communicates in ways that honor each person’s inherent dignity and agency, including our own, and lead with respect and compassion.
• Supervision and Power sharing – Brings an awareness of culture and difference into our supervisory relationships and work to authentically share power to bring out the best in others.
• Innovation - Seeks solutions by cultivating empathy, taking risks, trying new approaches, learning from mistakes, learning from each other, and continually improving our efforts. We are courageous and proactive about developing solutions that are rooted in principles of equity and justice.
• Equity Analysis and Action - Clearly and consistently articulates a sophisticated understanding of equity across social groups and structural racism, and the centrality of this analysis to the work we do and how we operate at NWF. We integrate that knowledge into work projects and interactions by addressing structural implications and disproportionate impacts of policies, activities, and decisions on race, class and other group identities within the context of job responsibilities and projects.

Your actions are expected to reflect the staff values of the National Wildlife Federation: collaboration, mindfulness, empowerment, inclusivity, and mission focus.

Application:

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

The salary range for this position is currently $110,000 - $120,000 annually, dependent upon qualifications and experience.

The National Wildlife Federation values work-life balance and a family-friendly atmosphere. Our paid time-off includes 3 weeks of vacation leave, open wellbeing leave, 10 paid holidays, 3 floating holidays, a week-long winter break, and additional leave options, per year.  In addition, our benefits package includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, company paid life insurance, AD&D, short- and long-term disability, 16 weeks of paid FMLA leave, 403b retirement plan with employer matching and annual contribution, adoption benefits, and flexible work options including telecommuting, non-traditional work hours, and compressed work weeks. Applicants are invited to learn more about National Wildlife Federation’s benefits package at https://www.nwf.org/About-Us/Careers

We strive to increase diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) in all elements of our work and with our partners to support the interdependent needs of wildlife and people in a rapidly changing world.  We recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote regardless of race, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity (including gender nonconformity and status as a transgender individual), age, physical or mental disability, citizenship, genetic information, past, current, or prospective service in the uniformed services, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  Applicants are invited to learn more about National Wildlife Federation’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion at nwf.org/equity. 

If you have a disability and require an accommodation or assistance with our online application process, please tell us how we can help by calling us at 703-438-6244.

The requirements listed in our job descriptions are guidelines, not hard and fast rules, and if you have 75% of the qualifications listed we encourage you to apply. Your experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work, which helps build the competencies, knowledge, and skills that translates directly to our openings.  Applying gives you the opportunity to be considered.

Candidates should submit a cover letter and resume.

If selected for this position, a background check will be conducted.

www.nwf.org