Product Owner

About APDS 

 

Founded in 2014, APDS’s mission is to prepare every justice-impacted individual for a living wage job. APDS is the career readiness platform for all justice impacted individuals to attain a living wage job. APDS has proven success through its “Whole Human Framework” which is a proprietary curriculum delivering assessments and plans that motivate, engage, educate, and equip these individuals in their pursuit to empower themselves and strengthen society. APDS leverages innovative technology to create a managed learning environment that fosters growth and certifies career-readiness. 

 

APDS is a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) and certified B-Corporation, with a business model that never charges incarcerated individuals or their friends and families for its technology or services. Currently, APDS products and services are deployed in over 150+ facilities across 17 states -- and growing. You can learn more about APDS work by visiting: www.apds.works. 

 

About the Position 

 

The Opportunity 

APDS is growing and we are looking for an experienced Product Owner to roll up their sleeves to achieve the following outcomes: 

 

1. Collaborate and execute on the product strategy resulting in significant increases in product adoption, outcomes, and renewal. 

2. Increase the quality and timeliness of product delivery by writing and vetting high quality requirements, user stories, business rules and acceptance criteria 

 

The Product Owner will own key elements of strategy, execution, delivery, and growth for APDS’s platform that will accelerate APDS’s position as the transformative provider of digital programming services for justice-involved individuals. The Product Owner will report to the Director of Product and work closely with development, implementation, and support teams to analyze, define and manage product development. 

 

The Product Owner will ensure that APDS prioritizes, builds, and delivers our product suite in a cohesive and timely manner to create growth and traction of our solution in Departments of Corrections, Jails, Parole, Probation, and alternatives to incarceration across the country. 

 

Responsibilities 

• Own the agile product lifecycle for assigned product(s), delivering on the product roadmap 

• Define, prioritize, and release user product features in the form of user stories, requirements, and specifications working closely with the Scrum team

• Develop high-quality documentation, including requirements, release notes, product training, user support, and sales support materials 

• Define and analyze metrics that inform the success of the platform 

• Continually develop and refine an understanding of the market, end user, and customer needs 

• Collaborate with Technology teams to develop products on release schedules

• Collaborate with other product teammates in feature definition, cross-product planning, and joint release planning 

• Support go-to-market activities including launch planning 

 

Qualifications and Experience 

• 2+ years in B2B/enterprise Product Ownership experience or commensurate experience being responsible for backlog creation, management and prioritization. 

• In-depth knowledge of Scrum and Agile Software Development Methodologies

• Exceptional judgment in weighing the tradeoffs among time to market, budget, and product features that maximizes ROI 

• Very strong communication, written and verbal 

• Excellent project management skills, particularly the ability to handle multiple priorities, stakeholders and workstreams 

• Product Owner certification is preferred but not required (e.g. CSPO, PSPO).

• Experience and understanding of education in a correctional context is preferred but not required. 

• Experience managing education platforms (e.g., learning management systems, student information systems, educational assessment and/or analytical systems) preferred but not required. 

• Track record of being conscientious, reliable, and a self-starter. 

• Belief in APDS’s mission to reduce recidivism and improve the life chances of incarcerated learners and returning citizens 

 

Salary and Benefits 

• ADPS offers competitive compensation commensurate with experience and a generous benefits package. 

• Salary Range $75-80k 

 

Basic Expectations for All APDS Employees

• Belief in APDS’s mission to reduce recidivism and improve the life chances of incarcerated learners and returning citizens 

• Honesty

• Responsibility

• Communication - clear, concise, and timely communication is essential.

 

Equal Opportunity Employer 

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, APDS is committed to creating a workplace that respects and values diversity of cultural, ethnic, and experiential backgrounds. We strongly encourage candidates who represent the communities we serve to apply.