Product Manager

Create Something New.

Carat, the world’s largest integrated marketing and media services company, is looking for an Product Manager to join our media team. At Carat, we believe in transforming communications. The depth and breadth of Carat’s offerings and ability to encompass all consumer touch points, gives us a unique ability to activate all expressions of a client’s brand. Curiosity, creativity and collaboration drive our people to deliver superior communications solutions in an innovative and empowering work environment. Carat is a full service award winning agency that is apart of one of the world’s fastest growing marketing communications groups, Aegis Media.

Product Manager

The Product Manager owns the vision, definition, sourcing, development, management and support of the specified Carat toolset, solution, or group of solutions. The solution may be comprised of tools proprietary to Carat, third party tools, or a combination thereof. These solutions may encompass software, hardware and services. The Product Manager is responsible for managing, growing and supporting a solution product line(s) and defining its strategic product life cycle. They will ensure that the solution successfully and effectively addresses the business needs of the appropriate internal and/or external Carat clients. They work closely with service line leads, Account teams, Program Management and clients to ensure successful delivery of the solution(s).

Responsibilities:
Plays a lead role in identification and definition of the solution. Is responsible for defining and managing the product lifecycle of the solution and the supporting product budget. Plays a lead role in identifying, selecting, acquiring and managing the software, hardware, technologies and services required to resolve the specific business needs and support the solution, whether from external providers or internal resources, and manages these providers on a ongoing basis. Ensures compliance of providers to contracts, MSAs, SOWs, etc. Ensures that quality and timeliness of deliverables meets client and team expectations, in collaboration with Program Management and the team. Leads the needs assessment and definition of scope and business requirements for the solution. They will work closely with client, Account teams, other service lines, and providers to establish requirements. Provides input and guidance into Client and Project budgets and timelines. Leads the implementation of the solution, internally and at client. They will work closely with Program/Project Management to ensure a successful implementation process. Creates and maintains Implementation Project Plan templates. Ensures the QA process for each implementation. They will work closely with external providers and the internal team to define, approve and manage the QA plan. They will work closely with clients, Account team, and other service lines to achieve signoff and User Acceptance. Owns and manages all documentation of the solution and its implementations, including Product Lifecycle plans, Project Plan templates, Business Requirements, Data Definitions, etc. Manages user and/or administrative training for the solution. They will ensure that adequate training is provided. Develops and maintains Training materials. Ensures that the organization is properly informed of the status of the solution via regular status reporting. Collaborates with or manages a Product team as workload and projections support, which may include but is not limited to Business Analysts, Data Analysts and QA Analysts. Supports the solution for New Business pitches. Develops New Business materials. Qualifications:
Experience in technology/software product management, marketing/media tools, data analysis, business intelligence, technology project management or related fields. Experience in strategic technology product development strongly preferred. Proven track record of identifying, acquiring and providing effective technical solutions. Proven track record of successfully integrating technology solutions. Experience in vendor management, outsourcing of technical functions, and management of consultants. Strong business analysis, data management, project management, solutions integration, and quality assurance skills required. Strong team management skills. Clear ability to execute tactically while thinking strategically. Excellent oral and written communication skills and presentation skills. Competent in MS Project and MS Visio. Minimum 5 years overall business experience. 3 - 5 years in technology product management specializing in Intranets and Extranets. Experience developing with Sharepoint 2007 required. Sharepoint sysadmin expertise a strong plus. Experience managing User Experience required. Experience managing QA required. Knowledge of the digital and offline media processes a strong plus. Experience with digital industry tools, third party tracking and reporting tools (DoubleClick DART, Google Analytics, etc.), or site-side analytics tools (Omniture, Coremetrics, Hitbox/ Visual Sciences, etc.) a strong plus. Experience with an agency, advertising/marketing/media technology service provider, or related role required.