Head of Product, Early Literacy Curriculum

November 5, 2025

<div> <h4>Job Details</h4> <div>Job Location: Mount St Joseph University - Cincinnati, OH</div> <div>Position Type: Full Time</div> <div>Education Level: Graduate Degree</div> <div>Salary Range: Undisclosed</div> <div>Job Category: Education</div> </div> <h4>Description</h4>Location: Remote (with periodic travel to Cincinnati, OH) Position Type: Full-time, senior role About the Role The Center for Reading Science at Mount St. Joseph University is seeking a Head of Product to support the development of a new, print-first K–5 comprehensive literacy curriculum, with an initial focus on grades K–2. This groundbreaking product is in early development and pilot stages. It is designed to help teachers put the science of reading into practice by integrating foundational literacy skills, ELA, writing, and content-rich science and social studies, while providing built-in materials to support a robust Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS). As Head of Product, you will serve on the leadership team for the curriculum alongside university-based researchers and content experts at the forefront of literacy education. You will champion the needs of the end users—teachers and students—ensuring usability, clarity, and consistency across all materials and setting up the product for scale. This role is a renewable grant-funded position. <div align="center" class="BobsHeader" style="text-align:center;"> <hr align="center" size="0" width="100%"></div> Key Responsibilities <ul> <li class="BobsHeader" style="margin-bottom:8px;">Product Leadership & Strategy <ul style="list-style-type:circle;"> <li class="BobsHeader">Serve on the senior leadership team, guiding decisions around product usability and plans to scale. </li> <li class="BobsHeader">Ensure translation of instructional content into clear, engaging teacher and student-facing materials. </li> <li class="BobsHeader">Advise leadership on product best practices and print curriculum trends. </li> <li class="BobsHeader">Lead growth strategy, including the development of marketing and training materials, approach to pricing and printing consumables, and development of a website to disseminate open-source materials to educators. </li> </ul> </li> </ul> <ul> <li class="BobsHeader" style="margin-bottom:8px;">Design & Usability <ul style="list-style-type:circle;"> <li class="BobsHeader">Apply UX design principles to a print-first curriculum to maximize clarity and ease of use.</li> <li class="BobsHeader">Define design direction and SOPs with content leads; maintain a comprehensive style guide ensuring consistency in tone, language use, design, and structure.</li> <li class="BobsHeader">Oversee templates and layouts, ensuring high editorial quality. </li> <li class="BobsHeader">Develop overviews and onboarding materials to help educators navigate the curriculum seamlessly.</li> <li class="BobsHeader">Lead user testing and synthesize feedback from early pilots to inform continuous improvement. </li> </ul> </li> </ul> <ul> <li class="BobsHeader" style="margin-bottom:8px;">Collaboration & Communication <ul style="list-style-type:circle;"> <li class="BobsHeader">Partner with content developers (academics and literacy experts) to understand the instructional vision and translate with integrity into streamlined and user-friendly formats.</li> <li class="BobsHeader">Lead the editorial process to ensure smooth collaboration and on-time delivery. </li> <li class="BobsHeader">Manage relationships with a collaborative, solutions-oriented approach.</li> <li class="BobsHeader">Design systems that enable rapid iteration on materials, particularly during the pilot phase. </li> <li class="BobsHeader">Oversee third-party contractors as needed to support publishing needs.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <ul style="margin-bottom:8px;"> <li class="BobsHeader" style="margin-bottom:8px;">Continuous Improvement <ul style="list-style-type:circle;"> <li class="BobsHeader" style="margin-bottom:8px;">Leverage partner data and market insights to strengthen adoption, scalability, and impact. </li> </ul> </li> </ul> <h4>Qualifications</h4> <div style="margin-left:0in;margin-right:0in;text-align:center;"> Required <ul> <li class="BobsHeader" style="text-align:left;">7+ years of experience in product management, ideally within K-12 educational publishing or curriculum.</li> <li class="BobsHeader" style="text-align:left;">Expertise in print-first product design with a strong understanding of graphic design and UX.</li> <li class="BobsHeader" style="text-align:left;">Experience collaborating with subject matter experts to synthesize complex concepts into user-friendly formats.</li> <li class="BobsHeader" style="text-align:left;">Track record of leading user testing cycles and applying feedback to improve usability.</li> <li class="BobsHeader" style="text-align:left;">Exceptional project management and organizational skills, with a keen eye for editorial and design detail.</li> <li class="BobsHeader" style="text-align:left;">Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.</li> <li class="BobsHeader" style="text-align:left;">Highly collaborative, with excellent relationship management and cross-functional leadership skills.</li> </ul> Preferred <ul style="margin-bottom:8px;"> <li class="BobsHeader" style="text-align:left;">Experience with products designed for early elementary-aged children and educators. </li> <li class="BobsHeader" style="text-align:left;">Background in graphic design. </li> <li class="BobsHeader" style="text-align:left;">Comfort playing multiple roles and working at varying levels of detail in a startup environment. </li> <li class="BobsHeader" style="margin-bottom:8px;text-align:left;">Prior work with mission-driven organizations and/or open-source products. </li> </ul> Benefits Mount St. Joseph University offers a wide array of benefit options, to meet the financial, educational, health, and wellness needs of you and your family. Eligibility varies by position and FTE. <ul> <li style="text-align: left;">Tuition Remission for you and your family.</li> <li style="text-align: left;">403b Retirement</li> <li style="text-align: left;">Excellent benefits including medical, employer HSA contributions, dental, vision, life, parental leave.</li> <li style="text-align: left;">Generous PTO.</li> <li style="text-align: left;">16 paid holidays.</li> <li style="text-align: left;">Competitive salaries.</li> <li style="text-align: left;">Opportunity to work in a dynamic and collaborative educational environment.</li> <li style="text-align: left;">Professional development opportunities.</li> </ul> To apply, please upload a cover letter, resume, and contact information with three professional references via Paycom. A review of resumes will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. <a href="http://www.msj.edu/non-discrimination-policy/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Please click here to review the University's policies on E-Verify, Equal Opportunity, and Non-Discrimination.</a> Mount St. Joseph University is an Equal Opportunity Employer </div>

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