Senior Professional Development Lead - Operations

I.  MAJOR FUNCTION:

The Senior Professional Development Lead is responsible for leading the strategy, development, and lifecycle management of NASW’s professional development products. This role owns the roadmap and performance of revenue-generating, non-dues products, including continuing education and digital platforms, ensuring they deliver strong member value, align with organizational goals, and achieve financial sustainability. 

Working cross-functionally with NASW departments, the Senior Professional Development Lead translates member needs and market insights into scalable, high-quality product offerings and continuous improvements across the portfolio.

II. MAIN DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Owns the end-to-end product lifecycle for NASW professional development offerings, including ideation, discovery, prioritization, launch, optimization, and retirement.
• Develops and maintains product strategies and road maps for continuing education and related digital products.
• Partners with subject matter experts including in marketing, technology, and with operations teams to define product requirements, value propositions, pricing considerations, success metrics, and go-to-market alignment.
• Ensures seamless and high-quality user experiences across all professional development products and partner technologies.
• Serves as the primary product owner and liaison for external vendors and platform partners, managing requirements, timelines, enhancements, performance expectations, and ongoing optimization.
• Uses customer research, member feedback, usage data, and market analysis to inform product decisions, prioritize enhancements, and identify growth opportunities.
• Defines and monitors product performance metrics, including engagement, satisfaction, adoption, and revenue, and uses insights to drive continuous improvement.

III. MINIMUM WORK REQUIREMENTS:

Skills: 

• Strong product ownership skills, including roadmap development, prioritization, and lifecycle management. 
• Ability to analyze product performance data and customer insights to drive strategic decisions and improvements. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex requirements for diverse stakeholders. 
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence without direct authority. 
• Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills. 

Knowledge:    

• Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, communications, or a related field preferred. Social work degrees are welcomed. 
• Knowledge of product management principles, user experience considerations, digital platforms, and data-informed decision-making. 
• Familiarity with marketing technology, learning platforms, and customer engagement tools preferred. 

Experience:

• 5+ years of progressively responsible experience in product management, digital product ownership, or a closely related role.  
• Non-profit experience highly preferred. Corporate experience welcomed.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex, multi-channel or platform-based products from concept through launch and optimization. 
• Demonstrated ability to balance multiple product initiatives simultaneously, adapting to changing priorities while maintaining quality, alignment, and strategic focus. 
• Experienced in presenting and communicating with senior management and executive leadership, including a board of directors  
• Experience working with vendors, technology partners, and cross-functional internal teams. 
• Proficiency with product, analytics, and collaboration tools required. 

IV.  ATTRIBUTES

• Results driven: Sees the big picture, develops and monitors key performance metrics, and takes appropriate risks to produce the desired results.  Not content with simply maintaining the status quo.
• Business acumen: Sees opportunities and emerging trends, and is knowledgeable about the operations, unique needs, and goals specific to member-driven, not-for-profit organizations. Sets priorities wisely and knows how to make tough resource allocation decisions, always finding a way to forward strategic initiatives. This individual knows how to translate strategy into action and enjoys solving tactical and process problems to meet strategic goals.
• Partnership: Builds trust internally and externally and must be viewed as highly professional, discreet, and accountable.
• Organizational agility: Has a thoughtful, respectful communication style that fosters an open environment, enabling thought-provoking discussions and collaborative decision making. 
• Perceptive:  This individual is creative and intuitively recognizes opportunities and takes appropriate action.