Project Manager, Product Team
Economic Mobility Center (EMC) DBA Economic Mobility Systems (EMS)
About Us
Economic Mobility Center (EMC), also known as Economic Mobility Systems (EMS), is a nonprofit organization that partners with states, regions, and educational institutions—from K-12 through higher education—to harness the power of data and technology. We work to improve student education and workforce outcomes, ultimately driving economic mobility.
Job Overview
Economic Mobility Center is seeking a mission-driven, detail-oriented Project Manager to join our growing Product Team. This role is critical to driving operational excellence and cross-functional alignment across all product initiatives. The Project Manager Product Team will lead the coordination of development resources, maintain the product roadmap, support continuous improvement efforts, and ensure successful execution of innovation priorities.
Reporting to the VP of Product Management, the ideal candidate thrives in dynamic environments, communicates with clarity, and brings a strategic mindset to agile product delivery. This individual will work closely with engineers, product managers, and internal and external stakeholders to manage competing priorities, remove blockers, and streamline project execution.
Key Responsibilities
Product Management & Development
- Maintain and update the master product roadmap, ensuring alignment with strategic goals.
- Track product milestones and manage the product innovation and development backlog.
- Identify and escalate roadblocks, and prepare timely progress and risk reports.
- Support the creation of templates, tools, and repeatable processes for scalable delivery.
- Facilitate Agile ceremonies including sprint planning, reviews, and retrospectives.
- Assist product managers with backlog grooming, prioritization, and requirements documentation.
- Help coordinate product release timelines and launch plans.
- Define and track project success metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Advocate for sustainable team velocity and guard against scope creep or burnout.
Project Coordination
- Lead day-to-day coordination across multiple concurrent product efforts.
- Manage scope changes in coordination with product and engineering leads.
- Maintain clear change logs, assess impact, and re-align timelines and resources accordingly.
- Facilitate decision-making around trade-offs (e.g., time vs scope vs quality) with stakeholders.
- Monitor dependencies and proactively mitigate risks or delivery delays.
- Coordinate with internal teams and external partners to ensure cross-team alignment.
- Create and manage launch checklists, including stakeholder communications, training, and support resources.
- Support tool adoption and optimization (e.g., Monday.com) to enhance tracking and collaboration
- Support data collection and reporting for grants or funders when product delivery is tied to specific outcomes.
Process Optimization
- Continuously improve project and product delivery processes for efficiency and impact.
- Identify bottlenecks, gaps, or inefficiencies and implement timely solutions.
- Conduct project retrospectives and recommend actionable improvements.
- Champion best practices in agile, lean, and hybrid methodologies as appropriate.
Communications:
- Provide regular, concise project updates to leadership and key stakeholders.
- Proactively communicate changes to scope, risks, and timelines with appropriate context.
- Build trust and alignment across teams through transparent and collaborative communication.
Executive Support:
- Provide direct support to the VP of Product Management on strategic initiatives and special projects.
- Assist with preparation of presentations, dashboards, and executive updates.
Qualifications & Experience
- 4+ years of project management experience overseeing cross-functional teams and complex product lifecycles.
- Prior experience in ed-tech, nonprofit, or mission-driven organizations is highly desirable.
- Demonstrated experience managing budgets, risks, resources, and timelines across multiple projects.
- Strong organizational and problem-solving skills with a track record of on-time delivery.
- Experience with business process mapping and workflow improvement (preferred).
- PMP certification preferred; Agile/Scrum certification a plus.
Preferred Tools & Skills
- Proficiency in Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides).
- Familiarity with project management tools such as Monday.com, Asana, or Trello.
- Understanding of Agile frameworks and change management principles.
Why Join Us?
- Make a meaningful impact on the lives of students and families.
- Collaborate with a passionate team committed to equity and access.
- Help shape strategy and communications for one of the largest college promise programs in the nation.
- Competitive benefits package, including:
- Competitive salary (commensurate with experience)
- Bonus opportunity
- 12 days of paid time off
- 14 paid holidays
- 403(b) retirement plan with company match.
- Hybrid work schedule based in Dallas, TX (75247)