Benchmarking Services Product Manager

EDUCAUSE is seeking a Benchmarking Services Product Manager to guide the evolution and day-to-day delivery of benchmarking products, with a focus on turning data into interpretation, planning, and narrative value for member institutions. This role owns the end-to-end benchmarking experience, from lifecycle design and product requirements to usability, integration, and continuous improvement.

Role Overview

Own the roadmap and execution for EDUCAUSE’s benchmarking offerings (current and future), working in partnership with the director and matrixed technical teams to align association priorities with the broader decision-support ecosystem. Lead cross-functional efforts that connect member and campus needs to benchmarking requirements, ensuring decision-ready insights and strong product engagement.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and execute the roadmap for EDUCAUSE benchmarking offerings, partnering with the director and matrixed technical teams to ensure alignment across the association and decision-support ecosystem.
• Partner with the Director of Benchmarking and Portfolio Operations to ensure benchmarking products are cohesive, intentional, and integrated across EDUCAUSE products and services.
• Lead cross-functional engagements with internal staff, campus technology leaders, and community members to identify user needs, define benchmarking requirements, and deliver end-to-end solutions aligned with institutional priorities and real-world practice.
• In partnership with the EDUCAUSE research team, define and coordinate the full benchmarking lifecycle, including survey or instrument design, peer group definition, and data collection.
• Facilitate benchmarking product design processes, including survey instruments, data outputs, visualizations, guidance, and usability validation.
• Define product objectives, outcomes, and KPIs to measure benchmarking product quality, usability, and impact.
• Maintain awareness of competing and complementary offerings and conduct competitive market analyses to identify risks and opportunities.
• Assess KPIs, user inquiries, community discussions, and product evaluation information to implement strategies for reaching engagement targets.
• Ensure benchmarking products deliver clear member value through usability, guidance, and actionable insights.
• With the EDUCAUSE marketing team, develop and implement marketing, promotion, and communications strategies, including ongoing improvements to the public-facing web presence.
• Educate members and stakeholders on how to use benchmarking products and interpret outputs using recorded video tutorials, webinars, virtual community meetings, and other outreach mechanisms.
• Own the end-to-end benchmarking experience, including platform functionality, releases, and continuous improvement.
• Lead governance group planning for a future release roadmap for longer-term development and execute service releases accordingly.
• Establish and maintain policies and practices that support benchmarking data integrity, access, and appropriate use.
• Oversee tier-based support workflows and work with IT to support timely issue resolution.
• Partner with IT for system administrative-related tasks and serve as team lead on integration implementation, feature testing, and technical troubleshooting.
• Coordinate internal staff and third-party contractors to produce benchmarking products, including regular product meeting facilitation and communications.
• Maximize product value through product backlogs and continuous prioritization of enhancements based on stakeholder needs.
• Collaborate with the technical team to maintain development backlogs and plan work sprints.
• Communicate with technical development teams or contractors and the website operations team to ensure work is delivered on time and on budget and the website remains fully functional.
• Train membership and tier-1 support staff on new and existing products and provide second-level end-user support when needed.
• Oversee preparation, validation, and quality of benchmarking data inputs and outputs to ensure accuracy and reliability.
• Monitor KPIs, user inquiries, community discussions, and product evaluation data to inform ongoing product improvements, including methodology, outputs, guidance, and user experience.
• Generate internal reports and stakeholder communications summarizing product evaluation results and KPI status, including recommendations for improvement.
• Stay current on higher education benchmarking practices, data standards, and emerging member needs.
• Represent EDUCAUSE professionally and engage with co-workers, volunteers, and members in a civil, caring, and respectful manner.
• Act as a departmental liaison with employees, members, volunteers, volunteer groups, and clients.
• Participate in EDUCAUSE events and activities as needed and support members in ways that facilitate growth, engagement, and an enhanced EDUCAUSE experience.
• Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (for example: business, information systems, evaluation, data, or higher education).
• At least eight years of experience as a product manager, product owner, or similar role supporting data, benchmarking, or analytical products, or a combination of education, training, and experience demonstrating the ability to perform the duties.
• Demonstrated ability to establish, prioritize, and communicate business and product requirements.
• Experience with product management practices, agile delivery, and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Ability to sustain collaborative relationships, forge partnerships, and build consensus within a diverse community of practice.
• Ability to communicate effectively, tactfully, and proactively in oral and written form with technical, professional, and executive audiences.
• Demonstrated initiative to manage multiple short-range and long-term projects simultaneously and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work independently and know when to include others.
• Capability to manage both broad and detail-oriented work to deliver tangible results.
• Leadership behaviors including influencing actions and opinions, accepting feedback, recognizing others, and sustaining a quality focus.
• Ability to develop and coordinate project plans and manage project team activities, including delivering on time and within budget.

Preferred Qualifications

• 3+ years of work experience in higher education technology.
• Experience working with campus technology leaders and/or higher education stakeholders.
• Experience developing or guiding benchmarking outputs and data visualizations such as Power BI, Tableau, or similar tools based on user needs.
• Experience with benchmarking, survey research, peer group analysis, or data-driven decision-support products, including familiarity with survey design and administration tools (for example: Alchemer) and benchmarking data collection methodologies.

Technology

• Power BI
• Tableau
• Alchemer

Supervisory Responsibilities

• None at this time.
• May supervise staff if overseeing grant work.
• May supervise contractors or consultants.

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision
• 2-for-1 employer match to your 403(b) retirement plan, up to 10% of your base salary
• Employer-paid Life and AD&D, Short-Term Disability, and Long-Term Disability
• 15 days of vacation and 6 days of personal time annually
• 9 paid holidays
• One week of paid time off when offices are closed between Christmas and New Year’s Day
• 36-hour work week (without any reduction in pay), amounting to 26 additional days of paid time off each year
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Emergency Travel Assistance
• Professional development assistance
• Monthly connectivity reimbursement

Work Environment and Physical Demands

• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Physical demands of travel such as sitting for long periods, handling luggage, time zone changes, and adjusting to new environments.

Remote Work Requirements

• Scheduled working hours either in the employee’s time zone or EDUCAUSE core working hours, or core working hours to be determined with the supervisor.
• Be available and responsive during scheduled working hours.
• Any time off or change in working hours must be pre-arranged according to department guidelines and consistent with employment rules (for example, vacation, sick, personal, leave of absence).

Travel Requirements

• 10–15% of time for internal work meetings, representing EDUCAUSE externally, and speaking engagements, varying by time of year, work priorities, and budget.

Location and Salary

Location: Remote (remote).
Salary: USD 85,000–100,000 per year.
Experience: 8+ years.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.