Senior Director, Technology and Innovation

Compensation Range:

Position Summary

The Senior Director, Technology and Innovation is a senior, revenue-driving leader responsible for the strategic development, commercialization, and scaling of NU Academies’ print and digital product portfolio across Harmony Academy and Fundraising Academy.  The Senior Director owns the end-to-end product strategy for Harmony Curriculum (School, OST, Home), Professional Learning (including pathways into the university), and Fundraising Academy offerings – ensuring products are designed, delivered, and optimized to support market expansion, donor contracts, renewals, and new revenue growth.  The Senior Director drives innovation, operational efficiency, and growth through an integrated approach to product development, content management, and technology infrastructure, with a clear mandate to translate innovation into measurable business results.  As a member of the senior leadership team, the Senior Director partners closely with Sales, Strategic Partnerships, Marketing, and Operations to align product roadmaps with revenue strategy, pipeline priorities, and customer demand.

The Senior Director, Technology and Innovation manages teams dedicated to Curriculum, Professional Learning, and technology infrastructure to create and refine products that engage learners, foster skill development, and meet the needs of diverse user groups across both print and digital platforms.  The Senior Director leads the build of scalable, market-responsive products that engage learners, meet contractual commitments, and positions NU Academies for sustained growth.  The Senior Director requires a strong commercial mindset, deep understanding of digital learning ecosystems, and the ability to balance mission impact with financial performance.

Essential Functions:

Product Development: Vision and Process

       Revenue-Aligned Product Strategy

• Leads the overall product strategy for both print and digital product lines, ensuring alignment with the mission and vision of Harmony Academy and Fundraising Academy.
• Develops a comprehensive product roadmap aligned to revenue goals, market expansion priorities, donor deliverables, and renewal opportunities.  Identifies and prioritizes product investments that support new sales, upsell opportunities, and long-term sustainability, ensuring products support pipeline development and close rates.

End-to-End Product Lifecycle Management

• Leads the full product lifecycle across product teams, from ideation through to design, development, launch, and ongoing optimization, and sunset, with clear accountability for ROI, adoption, and revenue performance.  This includes creating detailed timelines, setting clear milestones, and ensuring products are delivered on time, within scope, and within budget, with defined success metrics tied to market uptake and financial outcomes.

Cross-Functional Revenue Enablement

• Collaborates with Sales, Marketing, and Partnerships teams to ensure products are packaged, priced, and positioned effectively for the market.
• Supports sales enablement through clear product narratives, use cases, and feature alignment with district and donor needs.

Content Oversight

• Oversees the creation, curation, and enhancement of content across both print and digital mediums, ensuring it is engaging, relevant, and aligned with the pedagogical and contractual goals of the Academies.
• Establishes clear content guidelines and editorial processes, ensuring consistent quality, ton, and style across all platforms and products.

Market Research and Commercial Insight

• Leads comprehensive market research to understand emerging trends, learner needs, and competitive landscape within educational products that impact sales strategy and revenue growth.
• Analyzes competitor products and benchmark performance to ensure NU Academies’ offerings remain at the forefront of the market to meet donor deliverables, market expansion, and revenue growth.
• Uses customer insights, win/loss data, and competitive benchmarking to inform product decisions and pricing strategies.

User-Centered Design

• Champions a user-centric approach to product design, ensuring that all products are developed with the learner’s experience in mind, while also accounting for buyer needs and purchasing dynamics.
• Works closely with UX/UI designers and instructional designers, as well as user feedback, to create products, features, and functionality that are intuitive, engaging, and accessible to diverse audiences, while also addressing decision-maker priorities around outcomes, scalability, and value.

Product Development: Technology & Digital Learning Solutions Expertise

       Technology as a Revenue Multiplier

• Leads the integration and implementation of technology solutions that increase engagement, improve retention, and unlock new revenue models.
• Oversees digital infrastructure (LMS, dashboards, interactive tools) to ensure scalability, reliability, and market readiness.

Robust Technology Infrastructure to Support Scale and Growth

• Works closely with IT and technology teams to develop and maintain a robust infrastructure of digital product offerings, including Learning Management Systems (LMS), interactive learning tools, and other educational technologies.
• Ensures the seamless integration of technology with existing content and product offerings to create an optimal learning environment for users.

Innovation with Commercial Intent

• Fosters innovation in educational technology, evaluating and adopting emerging tools (AI, gaming, adaptive learning, data analytics) that can enhance the Academies’ digital learning solutions, increase user engagement, provide clear market differentiation, and drive new and renewal revenue.

Leadership and Team Accountability

       Team Leadership and Development

• Leads, mentors, and retains a high-performing, results-driven team across content, product, and technology.
• Provides clear direction and sets performance goals tied to delivery, quality, and revenue outcomes, ensuring that the team is equipped with the resources and knowledge needed to execute product initiatives effectively.
• Encourages a collaborative, creative, and problem-solving mindset among the team to drive the development of innovative and high-quality products, while also building operational discipline and prioritization.

Data-Driven Decision Making

• Establishes KPIs tied to product adoption, revenue contribution, renewals, and customer satisfaction.
• Uses data to inform product decisions (e.g., new feature development, potential product discontinuation), resource allocation, and go/no-go investment choices.
• Builds a culture of accountability where innovation is measured by impact and results, not activity alone.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Supervisor duties to include: 3-6 direct reports at Director and Senior Manager levels over major functional areas

Requirements:

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Advanced degree in Education, Publishing, Instructional Design, Technology, or a related field, preferred.
• Minimum of twelve (12) years of experience in a senior publishing role, ed tech, content, or digital solutions role, with a focus on educational products or services, required.
• Educational technology experience required (e.g., app, game-based, curriculum, professional learning).
• Leadership experience required.

Competencies/Technical/Functional Skills:

• Strong senior level leadership experience, with a demonstrated ability to manage cross-functional teams, develop and retain teams, and drive complex projects to successful completion.
• Deep understanding of publishing process, product development, instructional design, content creation, and educational technology in both print and digital formats.
• Expertise in the creation of digital learning experiences and platforms, with an understanding of current trends in ed tech and learner engagement strategies.
• Exceptional strategic thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
• Ability to build relationships with internal stakeholders, external partners, and vendors, driving collaboration and alignment across teams.
• Proven success in developing and managing high-value strategic accounts at the national, state, or district levels.
• Established network of relationships with K-12 district leaders, state officials, and national organizations.
• Experience engaging with strategic advisors and leveraging advisory groups or similar networks to advance organizational objectives.
• Ability to establish and maintain relationships with key decision-makers, including district leaders, state education agencies, and advocacy organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with senior leadership to define and align on overarching sales strategies.
• Expertise in navigating multi-stakeholder deals and long sales cycles with high levels of customization and coordination.
• Proficiency in Salesforce CRM, with experience managing pipelines, forecasting, and ensuring deal visibility across cross-functional teams.
• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and presentation skills, with the ability to influence and build trust with high-level stakeholders.
• Experience collaborating with marketing, professional learning specialists, and other teams to deliver tailored solutions and campaigns for strategic accounts.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a passion for creating meaningful impact in education.
• Willingness to travel nationally sometimes.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Confident in representing the organization at national conferences, presenting to high-level stakeholders, and advocating for educational partnerships.

Location: Remote, USA

Travel: Some travel required; requires approximately 25% travel, including visits to various clients, partner organizations, and key industry events.  Travel will be essential for building relationships, overseeing product development initiatives, attending conferences, and ensuring alignment with stakeholders across multiple locations.  The ability to travel as needed is a key component of this position.

#LI-Remote

Candidate receiving offers will be offered a salary/pay rate commensurate with experience that vary based on a candidate’s qualifications, skills, and competencies.  Absent exceptional circumstances, candidates will be offered a salary within this range for this position. The minimum salary will be offered based on the minimum exemption threshold based on state of residency. Base pay is one component of National University’s total rewards package, as we are dedicated to supporting the needs of the “whole you” with our holistic approach to employee benefits by offering comprehensive well-being benefits for you and your family.  For full details about our benefit plan offerings, please visit benefits.nu.edu. For Part-time benefits, please click here.

National University is committed to maintaining a high-quality workforce representative of the populations we serve. National University employs more than 4,500 faculty and staff and serves over 45,000 students. We are united in our mission to meet the global education demands of the 21st Century and are dedicated to creating a supportive academic and work environment that allows students, faculty and staff to develop their interests and talents while experiencing a sense of community. With programs available both online and at our many campus locations, National University is a leader in creating innovative solutions to education and meeting the needs of our student population, including adult learners and working professionals.

National University (NU) is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant per applicable federal, state and local laws. At NU, a mix of highly talented, innovative and creative people come together to make the impact of a lifetime for each of our student learners. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment, education, and admission at National University.