Senior Manager, Product & User Experience - Craft Education

Senior Manager, Product & User Experience - Craft Education

Company:
Western Governors University

Job Location:

Category:
IT Manager/Director

Type:
Full-Time

Job Type: Full time

Job Number: JR-024619

Location: Nashville, TN

If you're passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country-and you're committed to working hard to play your part in building that future-consider Craft Education as the next step in your career.

Craft Education is on a mission to solve skilled labor shortages by powering work-based learning pathways for all.

At Craft, we're revolutionizing the apprenticeship degree, combining on-the-job learning with accredited instruction to create innovative educational pathways that accommodate working professionals and meet employer needs. Our flagship product - Craft Connect - helps organizations administer apprentice degree programs and address mission-critical data and reporting needs. Through the same platform, Craft is also transforming how on-the-job learning converts into academic credits.

Our team of technology, education and workforce professionals also provides technical assistance to organizations looking to launch and manage apprenticeship degree programs. We are working tirelessly to accelerate the expansion of these programs along with the data infrastructure that underpins them.

If you're looking to join the work-based learning revolution, we'd love to talk with you. At Craft, you'll have the opportunity to solve hard problems in a high-growth startup environment and make a lasting impact on the future of education and workforce development. We couldn't be more excited to advance this work as a team of innovative, collaborative and mission-oriented professionals - we hope you'll consider joining us.

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 611 Pay Range: $141,900.00 - $255,500.00

Job Description

The Senior Manager of Product and User Experience will drive product execution, develop our product management team, and establish user experience as a strategic capability. This role thrives at the intersection of operational excellence and hands-on development; coaches Product Managers at varying stages of autonomy while ensuring reliable product delivery.

Product Execution & Delivery

• Owns outcomes across a significant product portfolio; ensures delivery from discovery through launch.
• Guides product decisions within established strategic frameworks and empower your team to make autonomous calls.
• Translates strategic vision into executable plans; partners with senior leadership to clarify priorities and surface execution risks.
• Drives cross-functional alignment with Engineering, Sales, Customer Success, and Operations.
• Represents Product in leadership forums and with key stakeholders.

People Leadership & Development

• Builds, mentors, and develops a team of Product Managers across levels of seniority and autonomy.
• Leads performance management with clear accountability, including difficult conversations.
• Adapts leadership style to individual needs-strategic partnership for autonomous PMs; intensive development where needed.
• Creates structures, rituals, and expectations that drive high performance across the team.

User Experience (UX) Leadership

• Defines and champions UX vision and standards-what "great design" means for our customers.
• Leads or partners closely with UX professionals (designers and researchers).
• Embeds user-centered design early starting in discovery, not bolted on at delivery.
• Builds scalable UX capabilities-design systems, research practices, and quality standards.

Operational Excellence

• Establishes team rituals and communication patterns that enable high performance.
• Ensures product development processes are optimized and repeatable from discovery through delivery.
• Drives predictability-oversees release management, quality standards, and cross-team coordination.
• Creates visibility into performance via metrics, dashboards, and regular reporting.

Execution Partnership

• Enables team autonomy while maintaining visibility and accountability for outcomes.
• Surfaces execution risks early with solutions, not just problems.
• Executes product organization initiatives and build team capabilities.
• Builds trust through reliable delivery and strong judgment.

Qualifications

• Proven track record shipping high-quality products in B2B or B2B2C environments.
• Strong product execution and delivery skills; can lead product development with minimal oversight.
• Comfortable guiding decisions with incomplete information and adjusting as you learn.
• Experience in regulated or compliance-heavy environments (education, workforce development, healthcare, fintech, government).
• Experience managing and developing Product Managers or readiness to step into people leadership.
• Strong POV on what makes great UX; design or research background preferred.
• Strong communication and influence skills; can build alignment across functions.
• Comfortable operating independently in high-growth environments.

Education

Bachelor's degree preferred; equivalent experience considered.

Experience

5 years in product management with ownership of significant products or portfolios

2 years of experience leading Product & User experience teams or related leadership experience

Experience in lieu of education

Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this job may substitute for education degree requirements. Generally, equivalent relevant experience is defined as 1 year of experience for 1 year of education and is the discretion of the hiring manager.

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times.

Location:
This position will work in office at our beautiful new location in downtown Nashville, TN.

Travel:

This position requires occasional travel of up to 20%, including required attendance at designated company summits (typically one to two per year). Additional travel may include conferences, visits to company locations, and other business-related events as needed. Additional travel may be assigned as needed to support business requirements.

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.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It's not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.

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