Product Manager

Description

Discover the Westmark Difference!!

Are you looking for a career? Do you want to be valued as an individual on a team? Do you want to learn, grow, and make a difference in your community? Westmark offers outstanding stability, a variety of career opportunities and exceptional work/life balance.

· 60 % of our employees have been part of the Westmark family for 5+ years.

· 71% of our employees who have been part of the Westmark family for one year or more have received at least one promotion.

· 85% of our managers were promoted from within the company.

· Westmark has been in business since 1954 and has recently grown to over $1.6 billion in assets, 15 branches, and over 70,000 members!

We also have some of the most impressive benefits in the industry:

· Paid Time Off (3 to 5 weeks per year, depending on tenure) PLUS 11 paid holidays.

· Excellent health insurance options for employees and family with shared premiums

· 401k with 75% company match and 2% profit sharing contribution

· Tuition Reimbursement and Scholarships

· Employee Assistance Program (Free counseling and legal services)

Position Summary: The Product Manager is a mid-level role and the highest individual contributor position within the Credit Union's Product organization, reporting directly to the Director of Product Management. This role operates with a high degree of independence, owning the end-to-end product strategy, roadmap, and lifecycle for assigned platforms. The Product Manager manages vendor relationships, leads cross-functional product initiatives, and drives meaningful improvements to member-facing experiences and operational workflows.

Working with minimal day-to-day oversight, this individual independently prioritizes work within organizational objectives, makes informed platform-level decisions, and is accountable for delivering measurable business and member outcomes.

Schedule: Approximately 40 hours within a Monday through Friday work week 

Responsibilities

Platform & Product Ownership

• Own the end-to-end product strategy and roadmap for assigned platforms, making independent prioritization decisions aligned with the Credit Union's organizational goals and member needs. 
• Serve as the primary internal and external point of contact for assigned platforms, managing vendor relationships, coordinating releases, and overseeing issue resolution in partnership with technology teams. 
• Conduct ongoing member discovery and research to identify pain points, unmet needs, and opportunities for product enhancements. 
• Define, monitor, and report product success metrics, providing regular updates on platform performance and member impact to the Director of Product Management. 
• Coordinate user acceptance testing (UAT) for platform enhancements and new features, partnering with Technology, Operations, Lending, Compliance, and Member Services to ensure successful implementation. 

Product Execution & Delivery

• Maintain a prioritized product backlog for assigned platforms by developing clear user stories, acceptance criteria, and functional requirements. 
• Attend sprint planning, backlog refinement, and delivery coordination meetings to ensure technology teams have the information needed to execute effectively and on schedule. 
• Track and communicate product delivery progress, proactively identifying risks, dependencies, and opportunities while providing regular updates to the Director. 
• Maintain comprehensive product documentation, including process flows, feature specifications, release notes, and knowledge resources.

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Build and maintain strong collaborative relationships with stakeholders across Lending, Operations, Compliance, Technology, and Member Services to ensure product decisions reflect organizational priorities. 
• Lead vendor meetings, platform evaluations, contract support activities, and product planning discussions within assigned areas of responsibility. 
• Champion the member experience by advocating for intuitive, efficient, and user-centered product solutions. 
• Contribute product expertise and platform insights to strategic planning, portfolio discussions, and roadmap development. 

Growth & Development

• Stay informed on emerging trends, technologies, regulations, and best practices within financial services, digital banking, payments, and member experience. 
• Develop broad knowledge of the Credit Union's technology ecosystem, products, and services. 
• Proactively identify opportunities to improve products, processes, and organizational effectiveness while providing strategic recommendations to leadership.

Requirements

Required Qualifications

• Minimum three years of product management experience with demonstrated ownership of a product, platform, or product line. 
• Bachelor's degree in Business, Information Technology, Computer Science, Product Management, Marketing, or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education, professional certifications, and directly related product management experience. 
• Industry certifications such as Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO), Certified Product Manager (CPM), Pragmatic Institute certifications, or comparable credentials may be considered in lieu of a bachelor's degree when combined with relevant experience. 
• Demonstrated ability to independently develop, prioritize, and execute a product roadmap. 
• Experience managing vendor relationships with accountability for product performance and business outcomes. 
• Proven ability to conduct member or user research and translate insights into product improvements. 
• Strong communication, collaboration, and facilitation skills with the ability to influence stakeholders and present recommendations to leadership. 
• Experience defining, tracking, and reporting product performance metrics. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Over five years of progressively responsible product management experience. 
• Experience leading products through the full product lifecycle, including discovery, planning, delivery, measurement, and continuous improvement. 
• Experience working within financial services, banking, fintech, or another highly regulated industry. 
• Demonstrated experience managing vendor relationships, software implementations, platform upgrades, issue resolution, and contract support. 
• Experience developing product management standards, documentation, governance, or team best practices. 
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies, backlog management, sprint planning, and user story development. 
• Experience supporting or managing core banking systems, digital banking platforms, lending origination systems, payment solutions, or similar financial technology platforms. 

Key Competencies

• Product strategy and end-to-end platform ownership 
• Product discovery and member research 
• Roadmap planning and prioritization 
• Vendor relationship management 
• Cross-functional leadership and collaboration 
• Stakeholder engagement and executive communication 
• Product performance measurement and analytics 
• Financial services and digital product expertise 
• Strategic thinking and problem solving 
• Change leadership and continuous improvement 

Physical Requirements

• Manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination sufficient to operate computers, office equipment, and other standard business tools. 
• Ability to sit for extended periods while performing computer-based work. 
• Visual and auditory ability to effectively communicate with members, employees, vendors, and the public. 
• Ability to perform repetitive hand, wrist, and finger movements associated with keyboard and mouse use. 
• Occasionally lift and carry up to 15 pounds as required for departmental activities. 

Westmark Credit Union is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.