Senior Manager - IT Product Management (Finance)

Job Description:

JOB SUMMARY:

This position is responsible for managing multiple product areas within the IT Product Management function, contributing to the definition of and abiding by product and release management processes, and ensuring alignment of the continuous improvement of business application solutions with business goals and priorities.

IT Products support the needs of Vertex internal business processes and the users through integrated business application solutions.

This role is responsible for driving strategies that enhance the company's global brand presence by supporting customer-facing business functions, including Customer Support, Customer Success, and Customer Experience. A key focus is on requirements gathering, including the ability to engage stakeholders, facilitate discovery sessions, document business needs, and translate them into clear, actionable initiatives. The individual will leverage a deep understanding of customer experience and support operations, using industry metrics to inform decisions. Success in this role depends on aligning initiatives with customer expectations, operational excellence, and market standards while fostering strong internal collaboration.

The individual in this position establishes and collaborates with cross-functional teams of Business Owners, IT Product Managers, Enterprise and Solution Architects, Compliance, development and support teams, and various stakeholders to deliver high quality business application solutions that meet Vertex needs through programs, projects and ongoing continuous enhancement releases, and manages a team of IT Product Managers in fulfilling these responsibilities.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Drive Product Strategy, Roadmap and Continuous Product Enhancement:

• Creates business application strategy and roadmap for their product areas, ensuring alignment with Vertex priorities and objectives, working closely with business product owners in a cross-functional manner, Enterprise Architecture, and Compliance.
• Leads prioritization for requested product features, enhancements, and projects, for their product areas as part of Project and/or Program Increment planning.
• Stays informed of industry trends and directions, Vertex strategy, and new features being delivered by our SaaS providers that may benefit Vertex.
• Ensures that IT Product Managers under their management have the requisite knowledge and skills to define and design effective solutions within our business application landscape, covering knowledge in our core applications of Salesforce, Workday, Profisee, Integrations, as well as integrated applications as applicable to their area of product responsibility.
• Develops and maintains own knowledge of core applications and new technologies and an understanding of how these applications and technologies support Vertex business processes.
• Ensures Delivery of approved Programs, Projects, and Releases as specified in their IT Product Roadmap
• Leads complex programs, projects and releases as deemed necessary, and appropriately delegates responsibilities to their team members.

Oversee Product Discovery, Development and Lifecycle Methodology:

• Executes methods and processes that support the end-to-end product development lifecycle from Intake and Discovery through Deployment and Support, in collaboration with the IT Operations, Support, and Platform teams.
• Collaborates with business stakeholders to drive creation of business cases for projects and ensures senior management is presented information necessary to make informed decisions.
• Leads the business product owners in definition of product requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria, manages the product backlog, and ensures that IT Product Managers under their guidance are also capable of performing this work.
• Prepares and presents enhancements and project requests to the appropriate governing body (e.g. Change Control Board or Business Review Board), to support informed decision making by these groups. Periodically facilitates the CCB.
• Ensures collaboration with development team to review requirements, provide clarification and guidance during implementation.
• Leads definition of test plans and scenarios and collaborates across IT and the business to define and execute test plans to ensure product quality.
• Supports production implementation of new products and features, including participation in knowledge transfer to the support team.
• Supports the organization's adoption of agile methods and tools within the SAFe agile framework.

Ensure Stakeholder Collaboration:

• Engages with key stakeholders, including business leaders and business product owners to gather and prioritize needs.
• Maintains open communication and foster strong relationships with business stakeholders and IT colleagues to support effective collaboration in service to Vertex objectives and priorities.
• Drive the adoption of new products and features by supporting user training and change management efforts.

Optimize Product Performance:

• Continuously monitors and evaluates performance and stability of our business application solutions, in partnership with the Operations and Support team, to identify areas of improvement.
• Regularly analyzes user feedback, usage data, and support and performance trends to identify opportunities and recommendations for product enhancement and optimization.
• In partnership with Enterprise Architecture and Business Product Owners, ensures that the business application portfolio for their product area is fit for purpose and rationalized to eliminate redundant or unneeded applications and functionality, to attain greater efficiency, reduce cost and unnecessary technical complexity.

Optimize IT Performance:

• Develops delivery processes, and procedures in coordination with other leaders to deliver improved service and greater cost efficiency.
• Manages all personnel related processes for the IT Product Managers for their product area, including team member selection, resource allocation, capacity management, performance management, employee relations, employee development and team organization, etc.
• Provides input to and responsible for budgeting, planning, and forecasting for their area of responsibility.
• Participates in other projects or duties as assigned.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Determine appropriate resourcing of staff to achieve goals and objectives.
• Build an effective team through mentoring and formal education that focuses on management and product management principles.
• Define annual goals, objectives, and key results aligned with corporate goals.
• Manage and mentor employees and/or managers on performance gaps, career development opportunities, and strategies.
• Manage and coach employees and/or managers on all human resource related processes including onboarding, performance management, succession planning, employee relations, selection, terminations, compensation, and rewards.
• Recognize others' contributions and share credit for success.
• Own attainment of high employee satisfaction and retention; lead development of program and initiatives within group to attain high employee satisfaction.
• Prepare and manage budget as assigned; analyzes variances and initiates corrective actions to maximize operational performance.
• Exhibit strong leadership, with the ability to lead large and complex projects and oversee ongoing processes.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:

• Must have excellent Business acumen and knowledge of IT processes and standards
• Understands how to support Vertex business strategy through appropriately prioritizing, planning and delivering on business application needs
• Possesses clear communication skills, and is comfortable giving presentations and facilitating with various stakeholder audiences (all levels including executives) as well as gathering requirements.
• Strong project management skills
• Strong leader of people and proven ability developing others.
• Experience leading and managing product management teams and product lifecycle management processes in a (approx.) $500 million software firm preferred.
• Proven ability to develop relationships at all levels, especially with business product owners, senior and executive management.
• Strong Knowledge of Salesforce Service Cloud, Salesforce Experience Cloud, Einstein AI, Slack, and integrated business application landscapes as applicable to area of product responsibility.
• Proven ability to stay on task, overcome obstacles, meet deadlines and milestones and deliver work by agreed upon dates.
• Demonstrated ability to drive results virtually with distributed global teams
• Pursues continuous learning in areas critical to success in the job role, learning from subject matter experts, colleagues, and formal training
• Collaborates across IT and business in a transparent way, exhibiting willingness to share information, and ability to connect people within and across teams
• Knowledge of SAFe Agile framework and ways of working, and ability to guide others in this area
• Proficiency in JIRA, Smartsheet, Microsoft Office products, and other tools used to support analysis, create deliverables, and track status

EDUCATION AND TRAINING:

• Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Business Administration, Information Systems, Computer Science or related field.

• Nine (9) plus years of experience in IT or business role responsible for application and product strategy and management
• Three (3) plus years of leadership experience
• Seven (7) plus years of experience in business applications relevant to the Vertex application landscape (Salesforce, Workday, integrated business applications).
• Or equivalent combination of education and/or experience

Other Qualifications
The Winning Way behaviors that all Vertex employees need in order to meet the expectations of each other, our customers, and our partners.

• Communicate with Clarity - Be clear, concise and actionable. Be relentlessly constructive. Seek and provide meaningful feedback.

• Act with Urgency - Adopt an agile mentality - frequent iterations, improved speed, resilience. 80/20 rule - better is the enemy of done. Don't spend hours when minutes are enough.

• Work with Purpose - Exhibit a "We Can" mindset. Results outweigh effort. Everyone understands how their role contributes. Set aside personal objectives for team results.

• Drive to Decision - Cut the swirl with defined deadlines and decision points. Be clear on individual accountability and decision authority. Guided by a commitment to and accountability for customer outcomes.

• Own the Outcome - Defined milestones, commitments and intended results. Assess your work in context, if you're unsure, ask. Demonstrate unwavering support for decisions.

COMMENTS:

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals in this position. Other functions may be assigned, and management retains the right to add or change the duties at any time.