Position Summary: Ranked one of Fast Company’s top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Data Science in 2021, Best Friends seeks a software product professional to join our Data & Analytics team in a key role to support innovation in animal welfare. The Product Manager will lead all aspects of Best Friends’ public and industry-facing data tracking tools that empower the industry and animal lovers in communities across the country to save the lives of pets. The Product Manager is a technology professional responsible for ensuring that Best Friends data tools meet the organization and user’s needs through managing, prioritizing, and confirming tools through the product lifecycle. The successful candidate will be able to shape go to market strategy, user experience, team culture and more, alongside a dedicated group of professionals who are working to create and evolve products that will change animal welfare forever, as well as a growing team of professionals to ensure all aspects of data products are successful. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Treat people around you with Kindness and Compassion, build trust by demonstrating authenticity and following through on your commitments, prioritize your well-being like you do our mission, and work to build strong relationships with your colleagues by participating in communication loops to share and receive honest feedback. You are responsible and accountable for the culture you add to your team dynamic.
• Own the innovation and successful implementation of Best Friends data tools, including the Pet Lifesaving Dashboard and the Shelter Pet Data Alliance. 
• Communicate a vision to all stakeholders, including cross functional product teams, that justifies prioritization, decisions and backlog. 
• Make decisions that address competing needs to deliver products and features that meet project goals, and user needs.
• Empower product teams to build, deliver, and innovate, while aligning with business strategy, budget, and user needs. 
• Employ change management principles both for the tactical needs of product development, and the psychological safety needs of end users and evangelists. 
• Collaborate with marketing and other industry professionals to inspire excitement, and deliver on the promise to make our data actionable. 
• Manage all aspects of product life cycles from roadmap, backlog, new technology, user experience, and audience growth.
• Create processes to realize efficiencies, avoid opportunity costs, improve the product, communicate goals and changes, and keep the product teams and senior leadership informed of progress, goals, changes, and risks. 
• Build a deep knowledge of Best Friends, and how data products can be leveraged to support the mission, 2025 goal, and ongoing initiatives. 

Skills & Experience

• A bachelor’s degree in business, computer science, information systems or a related field or equivalent experience.
• A minimum of 5 years of product management with a proven track record of managing all aspects of a successful product throughout its lifecycle.
• Technological sophistication, business savvy, and credibility with key stakeholders to move a product from ideation through execution. 
• Have or demonstrate the ability to build a deep knowledge of product users, including animal welfare supporters, shelters and rescues, researchers and industry partners. 
• Creative, resourceful, curious, problem solver.
• Operates with transparency, integrity, reliability, and independence.
• Proven ability to develop product strategies and effectively communicate recommendations to executive management.
• Data-informed strategic thinker with strong communication and change management skills. 
• Demonstrated excellence in cross-functional collaboration, especially between engineers, designers, and users. 
• Strong leadership presence in a role without direct reports. 
• Solid technical background with understanding and/or hands-on experience in software development and web technologies.
• ReactJS or other JavaScript frameworks.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, especially leading meetings, and presenting to diverse audiences.
• Willingness to learn new skills, systems and methodologies.
• Knowledge of animal welfare or shelter management strongly preferred.

Physical Requirements

• Able to work at a computer for extended periods of time with repetitive typing, arm and hand motion.