Product Manager

Reports to: Director, Research and Development

Responsible for determining information requirements for software development projects. Defines, translates, and documents user requirements for development and client implementation projects according to established standards and best practices. The Product Manager will manage development projects with rapid timelines and evolving requirements. This includes participating in all phases of the application development lifecycle with emphasis on project planning, requirements gathering and definition, driving resolution of requirements, design, testing and coordinating tasks involving dependencies on cross-functional teams.

Primary Tasks/Activities:

• Requirements gathering and validation: Ensuring scope of work is clearly defined and signoff is done by key stakeholders. Responsible for documenting all requirements in Azure DevOps.
• Systems Development: Translate business requirements documents into functional/technical specifications; conduct gap analysis and estimate resources required to execute system configurations for clients
• Apply effective communication and collaboration skills within Project team to perform qualitative/quantitative risk analysis and identify critical success factors and contingency steps to mitigate risks associated with client projects
• Task management: Identify and manage critical path activities. Coordinate with resources and leverage work through other analysts to provide technical response to client change orders or production defects
• Track and review testing statistics and issues identified by Auditors through all testing phases - ensuring use cases and impact areas are represented in the scope and strategy for testing
• Execute test plans when required to meet project timelines
• Primary point of contact for support of specifically assigned R&D projects.
• Coordinates user review and approval at all stages of system development and delivery.
• Manage system implementation, tracking the timing of deliverables, and developing conversion and migration plans for moving from existing systems to enhance or more effective new systems. Providing meeting minutes and project status reporting.
• Identifies opportunities to utilize existing, enhanced, or new technologies or business methods to streamline work processes and improve business margins within individual business units.
• Maintains awareness of systems, products, and expertise available both within apexanalytix and elsewhere to use in addressing business unit needs.
• Develops and maintains a functional expertise in the various apexanalytix businesses and anticipates business and system needs based upon changing industry conditions.
• Coordinate implementation projects through their complete lifecycle including publishing complete timelines, managing dependencies, and tracking milestones. Provide weekly/daily status on issues, milestones, and timelines.
• Understand the impact of scope changes and adjust project plans and communication accordingly. Report issues and risks with recommended mitigating actions.
• Manage shifting timelines and priorities while maintaining project scope.
• Work closely with developers, managers, and executives to ensure the release of high-quality products.
• Work with users and information system development staff to determine data storage and access requirements.
• Responsible for the overall security of systems they will be administering including protecting client data and reporting situations which may provide unintentional elevated access. The employee will regularly review corporate policies and will enforce apexanalytix security policies and manage new data that may complement our existing databases.
• Define and prioritize data product requirements and develop and maintain a product roadmap for the specifically assigned R&D projects.
• Looks for cross-product learnings and opportunities for collaboration, integrate product into new business and use cases
• Have visibility into goals and roadmaps of other relevant pods
• Influences insight development and measurement frameworks and key performance indicators (KPIs), leads KPI development and meetings
• Able to deliver intent independently and own end-to-end process from intent creation to delivery
• Keeps informed of latest innovations to develop new tests for product(s)

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

Knowledge Components:

• Ability to communicate at all levels with clarity, poise, maturity, and precision both written and verbal.
• Ability to create and document functional requirements for development team.
• Excellent problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.
• Technical expertise in data, its standardization and transformation.
• Must understand data flows, data profiling, and statistical analysis.
• Software implementation experience
• Good understanding of Accounts Payable & procurement principles, including Accounts Payable best practices, especially Supplier setup
• Project Management skills, including creation of project plans and regular executive status reporting

Experience (Years and types):

• 3+ years of Product Management experience with customer or supplier information management or data product.
• 5+ of experience with data and business insights analysis which identify and drive ongoing excellence in data quality practices.
• Experience with SQL and BI tools.
• Experience managing products through their entire life cycle with a track record of successful delivery of commercial products.
• Experience in Supply Information Management is desirable.
• Experience in Managing the product with more dynamic and configurable complex business rules.

Education Levels/Credentials (Degree types and Emphasis):

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Computer Science, IT, Engineering, or related discipline or equivalent experience. Master's degree preferred.

Skills and Abilities and Other Characteristics:

• Results-oriented, diligent, and works with a sense of urgency. Assertive, responsible for his/her own work (self-directed), have a strong affinity for defining work in deliverables, and be willing to commit to deadlines.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, including ability to communicate effectively with both business and technical personnel, both inside the apexanalytix organization and within client organizations, at both peer and senior levels.
• Influential, focused, and versatile team player that is comfortable under pressure.
• Data literacy and analytical mindset.
• Creativity and drive, coupled with a desire to grow through thought leadership, initiative, and strategic thinking.
• Demonstrated comprehensive knowledge and application of standard software development methodologies and practices such as SDLC, RUP, Agile, XP, or Scrum
• Demonstrated experience in defining scope, vision, requirements analysis and documentation, project estimation, planning, and resource allocation
• Experienced in Project Management process, methods, and tools; Experience writing detailed project plans using MS Excel or Project
• Must be able to work in a time-critical environment and be decisive when faced with complex problems
• Strong professional skills, including delegation, negotiation, prioritization and load balancing; Solid, demonstrated analytical and problem-solving skills
• Must be able to work on/manage multiple tasks concurrently
• Azure Devops/TFS/SQL experience
• Travel: No
• Power BI Reporting experience a plus!

Physical Work Environment:

• Work from our corporate headquarters in Greensboro, NC

apexanalytix is the leading provider of trusted supplier data; supplier portal software; controls, audit and analytics software; and AP recovery audit services. We protect over $5 trillion in spend and prevent or recover over $3 billion in overpayments annually, and our client portals actively support over 3 million suppliers. Our software and audit services are built on our SmartVM® database of over 20 million supplier records with contacts, scored for accuracy and age, based on integration with over 650 external data sources and over 10 million communications with suppliers each year. apexanalytix Archimedes™, an advanced cognitive technology and innovation system, supported by IBM Watson®, is integrated into apexanalytix software and services to harness the power of the future through smarter recoveries, controls, analytics, working capital and supplier data. We serve over 250 Fortune 500/Forbes Global 2000 clients around the world and are fluent in languages covering 98 percent of global trade.

Our Culture:

At apexanalytix, our culture drives everything! We live our culture of performance, respect, candor, and fun-in that order. Performance is measured by delivering value to our clients, generating goodwill, trust, and partnership. Sincere respect for each other, our diverse backgrounds and our well-being are our cornerstones. We value open and honest relationships with each other, our clients, and our communities. And life is too short to not have fun! We look for team players who possess the qualities of being humble, hungry, and smart. We recruit candidates who will strive for accountability in performance and career growth, serving our clients in long-term respectful relationships, and working in a diverse and caring environment.

The Perks:

We owe our growing success to our team of bright, passionate, and innovative individuals. We truly value our associates and strive to provide the highest quality benefits program, offering competitive compensation packages with tailored bonus plans and generous benefits. Our benefits include health and insurance plans (medical, dental, optical, life insurance, disability insurance, FSA, HSA employee assistance program, supplemental insurance options and pre-paid legal), a generous paid time off plan, 401k plan, flexible work schedules, wellness programs (company fitness and weight loss challenges, financial wellness software tool, and gym membership stipend), associate and customer referral bonus programs, and paid community hours. And here at apexanalytix, you won't get lost in the shuffle. Our focus on internal training, growth, and development results in annually filling over a quarter of our open positions with internal promotions! With resources such as a strong Mentor Program, Internal Training Portal, plus Education, Tuition, and Certification Assistance, we provide tools for our associates to grow and develop. If you are looking for a place to shine, come join the team!