Senior Manager, Product Operations - Strategic Partnerships

Job Description

(A note before you read on. We are looking for someone who reads carefully, thinks clearly, and follows through. To help us identify those candidates, this job description includes a small request hidden inside the requirements. Take your time and read all the way through.)

At Western Governors University, our mission is to expand access to high-quality, affordable education for learners everywhere. As Senior Manager, Product Operations, you will help enable that mission by building and scaling the systems and operational tools that power WGU's Strategic Partnerships. This role sits at the intersection of business operations, technology, and leadership, ensuring teams have the platforms and processes they need to grow meaningful partnerships and extend WGU's impact.

The Role: Senior Manager, Product Operations - Strategic Partnerships

The Senior Manager, Product Operations owns the strategy, development, and delivery of systems and operational tools that support WGU's Strategic Partnerships team. This role leads a small, cross-functional team and partners closely with technology and business stakeholders to translate operational needs into scalable product solutions, with Salesforce as the primary platform. Success in this role requires strong product and project management discipline, business acumen, and the ability to drive measurable outcomes in a matrixed environment.

What You'll Do

• Own and manage the product roadmap for Strategic Partnerships systems and tools, including Salesforce CRM, partner portals, intake workflows, and reporting infrastructure.
• Lead and support a cross-functional team of developers, administrators, project managers, and a UX designer by setting priorities and enabling delivery.
• Translate business requirements into clear technical specifications, user stories, and structured project plans that guide development and deployment.
• Serve as the primary liaison between Strategic Partnerships and EdTech teams to ensure alignment on architecture, security, data governance, and integrations.
• Manage the full lifecycle of systems initiatives from discovery and scoping through build, testing, launch, and post-launch support.
• Oversee Salesforce solutions including custom objects, flows, reports, dashboards, Experience Cloud portals, and third-party integrations.
• Establish and maintain development standards, release processes, change management protocols, and platform health across the Strategic Partnerships tech stack.

What You'll Bring

• Bachelor's degree.
• 5+ years of experience in product management with increasing scope and responsibility.
• 3+ years of experience leading and managing teams.
• 3+ years of experience developing enterprise-wide technical solutions such as Salesforce. To help us evaluate this, send a short email to Francesca.delgado@wgu.edu with the subject line "Coolest Build - Your Name" describing the most interesting system, product, or technical project you have led: what it was, what made it tricky, and why you enjoyed the work. Three to five paragraphs are plenty. We treat this as a meaningful signal of fit alongside your application.
• Salesforce Administrator (ADM 201) certification is required within 6 months of hire date.
• Project Management Professional (PMP) or equivalent certification (e.g., CAPM, PMI-ACP, Scrum Master) is required within 1 year of hire date.

Bonus Points

• Experience in higher education, ed-tech, or a mission-driven organization.
• Experience in partnerships, business development, or marketing
• Experience with Salesforce Experience Cloud, PRM solutions, or CRM data enrichment tools.
• Lean Six Sigma, Change Management (Prosci), Agile, or SAFe

Work Location

This is a full-time, in-office position at WGU's office in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs. At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is: Grade: Management_Executive 608 Pay Range: $101,000.00 - $181,800.00

What to Expect

At WGU, our mission drives everything we do, including how we hire. Our interview experience is designed to give qualified candidates the opportunity to show their best work through meaningful conversations and collaboration. We thoughtfully review every application and invite forward the candidates whose experience and potential best align with the role and our mission.

Interview Steps

• Introductory call (30 minutes)
• Hiring manager interview (45 minutes)
• Technical interview (45 minutes)
• Final Interview (1 hour)

Position & Application Details

Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.