Product Owner, DonorsChoose Bookshop

DonorsChoose engages the public in public schools by giving people a simple, accountable, and personal way to address educational inequity. In this clip, board member Stephen Colbert tells our story.

To date, teachers at 87% of all the public schools in America have posted classroom project requests on our site. Projects range from paper and markers for a poetry writing unit to violins for a school recital. More than 4 million “citizen philanthropists” have supported such projects, channeling books, field trips, technology, and other resources to more than 40 million students nationwide. In all, we’ve generated $970 million for learning experiences designed by our country’s most dedicated public school teachers.

GOOD Magazine highlighted us as one of 30 Places We Want to Work, while Fast Company named DonorsChoose. one of the 50 Most Innovative Companies in the World—the first time a charity has made this list. Through our dedicated team and culture, DonorsChoose earned recognition as the #1 "Best Nonprofit to Work For" by the Nonprofit Times.

The DonorsChoose Bookshop is a new expansion for our organization, made possible by a grant from a generous partner. The mission of our bookshop is to bring more representative books into America’s classrooms and homes. Imagine being able to purchase a bundle of books about friendship, each book offering a different, underrepresented vantage point on the topic. Imagine a book bundle about Black joy and adventure. Imagine a bundle featuring different winter holidays or types of families. Then, imagine that any of these purchases unlocks a donation of those same books to a classroom in one of America’s highest need schools. This is a bookshop unlike any other that you would help build as a member of this brand new team.

As the Product Owner of the DonorsChoose Bookshop, you’ll report to our EVP, Marketing & Growth. We are looking for a savvy entrepreneurial spirit to lead the charge in developing this new product, managing the P&L to raise funding for classrooms through this effort, identifying the most compelling teacher-recommended titles, and launching this new business to our existing 1M+ audience and the greater world. 

We have a strong initial concept for this product but know it will evolve as we learn and iterate. In this role, you’ll be responsible for the product launch, business oversight, and long term direction and profitability of this initiative. You’ll:

• Manage the product development lifecycle from ideation to launch to optimization and iteration, infusing equity and driving towards our mission at every turn. 
• Finalize and manage the financial model for this business, owning P&L and ultimately the funding this raises for classrooms.
• Lead the day-to-day work needed to get this product off the ground, collaborating across internal and external stakeholders to bring the best version of the bookshop to life. 
• Key projects in the first year will include: 
• Launching experiments and a MVP to confirm product market fit and evolve the product to meet customer needs.
• Building the online store for the bookshop, using Shopify or another platform you’ve identified that better suits our needs.
• Setting cost and revenue targets for years 1-2, forecasting profits/sales, and planning budgets.
• Identifying and collaborating with a fulfillment partner to bring orders to life.  
• Overseeing sourcing and building relationships with publishers and developing a purchasing strategy to secure the best prices for books and potentially other items.
• Developing and managing the product calendar and timeline, including new bundle launches and seasonal campaigns. 
• Measuring and reporting on results, analyzing ongoing customer behavior
• Providing strategic updates to our leadership team and advocating for resources as needed. 

As the Product Lead, you know the work is just getting started after launch. You’ll oversee iteration and strategic changes on everything from sourcing/production to product offerings to price.

To thrive in this role, you:  

• Have 8-10 years of experience with product development, merchandising, product management, supply chain operations, or brand management, preferably with children's products or with an ecommerce site that ships physical products.
• Are a proven leader who has comfort overseeing P&L and can guide projects across teams. 
• Build products that sell: you listen to customer feedback, know how to release and build on an MVP, and have a creative sensibility about what items to put on the market based on trends, seasonality, and a proven instinct for what people want. 
• Are an entrepreneurial spirit and visionary leader who constantly dreams up a bigger and better future for yourself, your work, and for the world. 
• Are passionate about equitable access to a quality education and energized by the Bookshop’s focus on lifting up marginalized voices and perspectives.
• Are willing and able to engage in conversations about race, representation, and equity. You are comfortable lending your voice and perspective, and listening to learn.

Compensation for this role is competitive with equivalent roles at other nonprofits of our size. In addition, we offer full-time staff 25 paid vacation days per year and 11 paid holidays, a rich employer-paid individual and family health plan, a matching 401(k) plan (up to 5% of base salary), annual professional development stipend, and casual and flexible work environment. To learn more about what it is like to work for DonorsChoose, visit our careers page.

In this role, you’ll have the option to work a flexible hybrid schedule in our NYC office, or to work as a fully remote employee within the United States.

DonorsChoose is a fully vaccinated workplace and all new employees, regardless of their work location, will be asked to share proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 within two weeks of their hire date or request an exemption from this policy due to a disability or sincerely held religious belief or practice.

Please submit your resume online and answer the application questions. A cover letter is optional and may be addressed to Abby Feuer, EVP, Marketing & Growth.

The DonorsChoose team works toward a nation where students in every community have the resources needed for an excellent education. To do this we hire and support a diverse team of the best and the brightest talent available.

We are an organization increasingly representative of the varied races and ethnicities, genders and sexual orientations, religious and political beliefs, and abilities that comprise our nation. DonorsChoose focuses on attracting, retaining, and advancing diverse talent because it makes us more effective, high-performing, creative, and resilient.  

If you are passionate about our mission, highly skilled in your field, and looking for a place where you can bring all of yourself to work, we want you.