Director of Product
About Nava
Nava is a consultancy and public benefit corporation working to make government services simple, effective, and accessible to all. Since 2013, federal, state, and local government agencies have trusted Nava to build transformative digital services to help people access public benefits. Meeting our mission is an opportunity to restore trust between people and public institutions. We focus on populations that are the least protected because the stakes are higher.
As a client services company, we work with government agencies to improve how people apply for benefits, navigate their health care, and more. We bill for our time, selling our expertise and problem-solving methodology to government clients. Our clients hire us to help improve their products and services so that their users and beneficiaries have a better customer experience.
These end-users—the humans who benefit from our work—are at the core of everything we do. We research beneficiaries’ needs to help our government clients better deliver on their missions, providing everyone at Nava opportunities to do meaningful, impactful work.
Position Summary
The vision for Nava’s product organization is that we are a highly trusted and engaged team of product managers who maximize the value delivered by contract teams and grow Nava’s portfolio of mission-aligned work. As the Director of Product Management, you will be responsible for advancing this vision by building Nava’s product management practice, coaching Nava delivery teams, and contributing to company-wide goals. You will report to the VP of Product Management. As leaders of the Product organization, you and the VP will divide the responsibilities for strategic initiatives and vital operations in a way that suits your respective strengths. You are an experienced product leader and growth-minded strategic thinker who is comfortable straddling the worlds of both execution and strategy, and scaling teams and organizations to achieve long-term objectives.
Opportunities and Challenges
The government contracting ecosystem is a compliance-driven multi-stakeholder environment – particularly when compared to the operating environments for companies of our size in the private sector. Successful members of our team understand how to be innovative within this environment. Finding and recommending ways to improve the ways in which government digital services are procured and built is one of the highest-leverage ways we fulfill our mission.
What you'll do
Your leadership will ensure the Product Management Team is engaged, high performing, and oriented towards Nava’s current and future company goals. You will be responsible for building Nava’s product management practice, coaching Nava delivery teams, and contributing to company-wide goals. You will report to the VP of Product Management. As leaders of the Product organization, you and the VP will divide the responsibilities for strategic initiatives and product operations in a way that suits your respective strengths.
Leadership
- Act as a sounding board for Product Management Team members at Nava, coaching them through challenges and cultivating the next generation of leaders at the organization
- With the VP of Product, set the long-term direction of the Product Management Organization, identifying the areas of greatest need and create plans to improve them (this includes staffing or org chart design).
- Create alignment across the Delivery Organization by leading unstructured initiatives or vague intentions toward clear and correct objectives
Practice building
- Cultivate Nava's Product Management community of practice to ensure that knowledge and expertise are shared and collectively fostered across the team
- Build scalable, consistent processes and best practices in collaboration with other Nava practices (Engineering, Design, Project Management, and Program Management)
- Develop and refine equitable practices and cultivate a diverse and effective team, helping them realize their potential and honoring each team member's unique experiences
- Ensures the team is well trained to handle the complex and difficult relationships we encounter in this space
- Manage a team of 5-10 direct reports across multiple projects
Growth
- Serve as a strategic partner by influencing and shaping Nava’s approach to growth
- Actively contribute to Nava’s revenue growth by supporting and contributing to business development activities
- Provide input on bid opportunity assessments to help Nava decide which bids to pursue
- Assign subject matter experts from product management to help Nava submit strong proposalsIdentify key personnel for business development proposals
- Contribute directly to business development by writing proposals, coaching, participating in market studies, and reviewing proposals
Delivery
- Collaborate with other members of Delivery Leadership to meet company objectives
- Provide coaching and support to delivery staff from any practice across portfolios and projects, as appropriate for your specific areas of expertise
- Identify areas where the Product Management Practice can create new or bigger lines of business for the company that aligns with the overall company strategies.
- Provide air-cover for direct reports on any contract (E.g. scrubbing in to help get a project on track or providing direct support if a member of the Product Management team encounters a complex stakeholder management situation)
Product operations
- Anticipate general and niche hiring needs and define and execute a staffing strategy to stay upstream of opportunities, threats, or risks.
- Recruit and hire, establish best processes and practices, grow according to the team vision, and represent Product Management for Nava
Requirements
- At least 6 years of progressive Product Management leadership experience or equivalent experience, including 3 years of direct people management experience and team leadership
- Experience product-managing complex software delivery efforts in highly constrained environments, including experience overseeing agile software development efforts
- Capacity and resilience to develop, build, and grow strong working relationships at all levels of leadership, management, and the organization
- A skilled practitioner with deep experience in creative, strategic, technical, managerial and operational aspects of product management at scale
- In-depth experience cultivating strong relationships with external stakeholders and partners
- Experience with fast-growing companies, with a bonus for experience within government contracting or professional service firms
- An adaptive, empathetic, collaborative leadership mindset
- Excellent organizational skills and effective presentation skills
- Excellent written and verbal communication
- Education: Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
Desired Skills
- Experience managing the business dynamics in a professional services firm (billable hours, contract portfolios, client services skills).
- Experience and bias toward a “company-builder” frame of mind
- Track record of introducing and expanding agile transformation and pursuing best practices in product management with clients and stakeholders
Compensation Range
$175,000 - $205,000
Other requirements
The individual working in this position:
● Must be legally authorized to work in the United States and meet any other requirements for government contracts for which they are hired.
● Candidates who are offered a job with Nava must possess work authorization that does not require sponsorship by their employer for a visa now or in the future.
● May be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information or applicants who are eligible for security clearances.
Perks working with Nava
● Your well-being is important to us, so we offer highly competitive benefits for medical, dental, and vision
● 20 days of PTO accrued, 12 days paid federal holidays, 5 floating holidays, unlimited sick leave
● 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave and weekly meal deliveries during leave
● Comprehensive Employee Wellness Program
● Virtual Doctor visits with zero copay through UHC
● Fertility Support and Treatment
● Sabbatical Leave
● 401k contributions match at 4% of your salary
● Flexible work arrangements
● Home office budget and monthly phone allowance
● Monthly partial reimbursement for utilities (where applicable)
● Comprehensive learning and development program
● $2,000 annual tuition and professional development budget, on top of a LinkedIn Learning license
● Equity stock options
● Employee referral program
● Commuter Benefits
● Short and Long-Term Disability Insurance
● Life and Accidental Death Insurance
● Diverse, inclusive, highly collaborative, and vibrant culture, fostering remote work!
Location
You can work in a hybrid work arrangement from one of Nava’s offices in NYC, DC, or San Francisco. We also have fully remote options if you reside in one of the following states:
Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, DC, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin.
*If you are not living in one of the states listed above, unfortunately, you will not be considered for a position at this time.
Stay in touch
Sign up for our newsletter to find out about career opportunities, new partnerships, and news from the broader civic tech community.
Nava PBC equal opportunity employer that is deeply committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, age, gender, religious or political beliefs, national origin or heritage, marital status, disability, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, genetic information, pregnancy, status as a protected veteran or any characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion not only reflects our values as a public benefit corporation but also enriches our ability to do our work. Learn more about where we are today and hope to be by 2025.
Please contact the recruiting team at recruiting@navapbc.com if you would like to request reasonable accommodation during the application or interviewing process.
We participate in E-Verify. Upon hire, we will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. This role is required to work from the contiguous United States.