Manager, Product Operations

Why Hearst Magazines

Hearst Magazines is one of the largest publishers in the world, with more than 25 brands, including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Harper's BAZAAR, Popular Mechanics, and O the Oprah Magazine. We reach more than 150 million people every month in the United States alone. 
But we're more than just our magazines. We engage our audience across all mediums and channels - print, digital, video and social – with sophisticated content creation, distribution and data capabilities. We create, package and sell products with cutting-edge technology and proprietary platforms. Together, we are reinventing publishing for the 21st century.

Manager, Ad Product Technical Operations

• Develops and leads advertising product operations process that improve efficiency and drive key results
• Creates new processes for ad product operations and improves existing processes to match changing objectives and key results
• Works closely with executive product owners to understand process challenges and inefficiencies and communicates changes across the product organization
• Partners with Design, Engineering, Sales, and Marketing to capture a full picture of the goings-on across Hearst Magazines advertising
• Develops dashboards for product teams tied to advertising-wide goals
• Streamlines tasks and processes, and continually validates and improves them to ensure delivery and achievement of team key results
• Builds out a standard communication process for key team members and ensures documentation is updated and accurate
• Identifies a process to make feedback available for product teams and incorporates it into product development
• Works closely with program/project managers to communicate product updates internally and externally

Key Responsibilities

• Tactic Planning and Execution:
  • Collaborate with Product Managers and business stakeholders to ensure product development is aligned with strategic goals. This includes development of product briefs, discovery briefs and production timelines
  • Streamline the path to product delivery ensuring clarity and efficiency.
  • Promote thoughtful execution of projects, balancing continuous discovery with consistent delivery.
• Team Leadership and Development:
  • Plan and facilitate team and project meetings where needed.
  • Work with product managers to align the program around strategic goals.
  • Establish and refine team processes to ensure a unified understanding of the end user, focusing on how product increments deliver value.
• Risk Management:
  • Utilize analytical and problem-solving skills to identify potential risks and implement mitigation strategies.
  • Anticipate potential problems, maintaining a resourceful approach in dynamic environments.
  • Surface impediments to teams as well leadership
• Performance Monitoring:
  • Maintain transparent records of the team's delivery plans and progress.
  • Utilize key performance indicators (KPIs) and other metrics to measure success, making adjustments as necessary.
• Team and Stakeholder Management:
  • Develop effective communication and coordination methods within and between teams, as well as with leadership and stakeholders.
  • Provide quarterly and yearly recaps outlining team progress and future planning
  • Manage the intake process - including managing responses to our stakeholders when new items are submitted, documenting statuses, setting up meetings as needed

Qualifications

• 3+ years of program or project management experience
• Experience defining and implementing process improvement initiatives
• Experience working cross functionally with tech and non-tech teams
• High level understanding of technical requirements for building and executing new ad product formats
• Expertise in high-visibility product delivery.
• Skilled in managing multiple stakeholders.
• Strong in analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent in communication and interpersonal abilities.
• Familiar with dual track agile methodologies, particularly in continuo