As a Product Operations Manager, you will play an important role in ensuring the seamless coordination between various teams involved in product development, releases, and ongoing operations. You will be responsible for optimising processes, managing timelines, and facilitating communication among cross-functional teams to drive efficiency and successful product outcomes. This role requires a combination of project management skills, strategic thinking, and a deep understanding of product development lifecycles.
In this role, you will report to the Director of PTU Operations, and you are part of the PTU management group (consisting of ~25 managers in the Instapro Group PTU department). You will work closely with the PTU leadership, managers, the Agile Coaches, Program Management as well as with people in other departments.
Over the past few years, our product, technology and UX (a.k.a. PTU) department has grown from 3 small separate teams (30-60 people) into 1 larger department of ~200 people. We have ~20 cross-functional teams that work predominantly remote and are distributed across our 4 office locations (Germany, France, The Netherlands and the UK).
This growth has come with many different challenges, ranging from the way people communicate with each other, deciding which processes we may or may not need, the level of guidelines and clarity our people require, and the impact the larger scale has on our support activities (recruitment, management, HR, agile coaching).
Your role includes the following:
Process and tooling optimization: continuously assess and improve operational processes and tooling related to product development, release management and ongoing maintenance. Streamline workflows and implement best practices to improve productivity and quality
Stakeholder management: build and maintain strong relationships with internal stakeholders, including leadership, managers and team members. Solicit feedback, address concerns, and advocate for the needs of Product and PTU as a whole
Data analysis and reporting: utilise data analytics tools (like Looker & Nave) to gather insights into product teams and overall department performance. Create reports to communicate key findings and inform decision-making by PTU leadership and other stakeholders
Continuous improvement: stay updated on industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in product management and product operations. Identify opportunities for innovation and proactively propose initiatives to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the Product team and PTU as a whole
Support skills development: support managers by providing tools, processes and resources for mentorship, guidance and skill enhancement opportunities for team members
Advise on organisational strategy: be a sparring partner for the PTU Leadership Team and PTU Management Group when discussing organisational changes, restructuring and other optimisations
Example projects
Improve the recruitment and onboarding process for new Product team members, allowing these new joiners to start adding value far sooner than is now possible.
Assess and bring improvements in how teams share information (releases, experiments, learnings from incidents, etc.)