Description
As an Engagement Manager (EM) you are both a team leader and contributor. You will collaboratively drive strategy and delivery of a product that meets client expectations and user objectives. You will own and be accountable for the entire project lifecycle from contracting through delivery, including maintenance and/or the transition to a client-side team. While balancing the day-to-day responsibilities of managing your project teams, you will also be accountable for meticulously tracking your project’s budgets, expenses, and overall profitability.
What You’ll Do:
EMs wear a variety of hats depending on the needs of our clients and products. Our core philosophy is delivering software as Lean/Agile as we can – prioritizing, eliminating waste and continuous improvement are integral to this role. That said, you should approach our process with clarity in what the outcomes are but flexibility in how we achieve those – and always an openness to collaborate.
As an advocate for the Substantial approach to design and development, you will ensure clients are read into our process and feel a part of our product teams. You are an enthusiastic evangelist for the products we build and the problems we solve and you embody and model the Substantial values.
Your work will focus on four key areas:
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT: Product strategy is a collaborative effort with our clients and discipline leads. Tracking our activities towards the expected outcomes is owned by the EM.
- Balancing short-term product objectives with long-term product vision
- Maintaining the backlog and regular prioritization
- Assurance of quality user stories and product acceptance when appropriate
- Outlining the key milestones and release dates
- Driving responsible trade-offs in our clients’ and users’ interest
- Evangelizing for what makes the product/experience/technology interesting
- Unblocking critical paths of work
ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT: The EM is the primary point of contact with clients. While open communication with the team is encouraged, it is ultimately the EM who ensures we have a transparent and healthy relationship with our clients.
- Establishing communication cadence and healthy boundaries
- Keeping focus on business and user objectives
- Managing expectations and scope creep
- Providing context and insight into our process
- Encouraging client participation as a valued team member
- Creating a common language and translating when needed
TEAM LEADERSHIP: EMs are project leads and work closely with Design and Development leads to provide opportunities for continuous improvement and growth, as well as flagging resourcing or personnel issues.
- Building accountability into the team activities
- Providing direction for breaking down work into smaller chunks
- Facilitating meetings, team collaboration and alignment on the product experience
- Encouraging responsible risk taking and enable distributed leadership opportunities
- Administratively overseeing timecards and resourcing changes, including vacation and outages
REVENUE & OPPORTUNITY DEVELOPMENT: An EM’s primary objective is to both deliver a high quality product that exceeds our client’s expectations and build a long-term positive relationship with our clients that results in positive referrals, case studies and opportunities.
- Ensuring an efficient use of the client’s budget
- Meticulously tracking project budget burn and profitability
- Managing to budget constraints and forecasting projected revenue
- Ensuring the team is properly utilized
- Leading contract renewal conversations and contracts
- Scouting other opportunities for account growth
For more details on this position (Requirements, Benefits, etc.), please see the full listing at https://careers.substantial.com.