Product Manager

Summary

The Library of Congress shares its vast collections of books, manuscripts, photographs, maps, audiovisual materials, and priceless artifacts to cultivate curiosity and spark imagination. We engage, inspire, and inform Congress and the American people with a universal and enduring source of knowledge and creativity. We seek highly talented professionals to join a vibrant and collaborative community. Your work here will have lasting impact on the Library and its users well into the future.

Duties

• The incumbent works in the Product Management and Acceptance Section within the Program Delivery Division of the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS). The incumbent functions as a Product Manager and a Product Owner for development, deployment, operation and maintenance of new products and services for delivery of the NLS braille and talking book program. As the Product Manager, you will: Carry out duties and responsibilities for the acquisition, development, and life cycle management of products for delivery of the NLS braille and talking book programs. Plan, obtain and manage the full product life cycle (design, development, production, operations, maintenance, disposal and replacement); and coordinate with other NLS divisions, Library of Congress (LoC) program offices and external stakeholders. Have responsibility for the management of data and processes used in design, production, deployment and support of NLS braille and talking book program delivery products. Create product development and product deployment project plans and schedules; estimate resource requirements; define milestones and deliverables; monitor project activities; and evaluate project progress. Create plans for the development of products for delivery of the NLS braille and talking book programs. Establish product development project strategies that integrate the efforts of engineers, business analysts, technical SMEs, contractors, LoC patrons, and other stakeholders from other organizations, agencies, and external contracted facilities into an effective project team. Coordinate the work efforts of subject matter experts and technical specialists charged with the development of products for delivery of the NLS braille and talking book programs in accordance with established timelines. Function as a Product Owner and lead, facilitate, and chair meetings including requirements analysis, specification development, preliminary and critical design reviews and system integration tests. Create plans for the deployment of products for delivery of the NLS braille and talking book programs. Coordinate the work efforts of subject matter experts and technical specialists charged with the deployment and sustainment of products for delivery of the NLS braille and talking book programs in accordance with established timelines. Have responsibility for the creation and review of formal product deployment documentation, including but not limited to Deployment Plans, Communications Plans, Training Plans, Implementation Plans, and Project Schedules. Plan, direct, and coordinate pilot projects and field tests of new program delivery products in anticipation of release to the greater patron population. Plan and direct the data collection for pilot/field test results and prepares reports to document findings/outcomes. Lead division-wide strategic management planning, initiatives and organizational development efforts for the Program Delivery Division to accomplish strategic objectives in support of delivery of the NLS braille and talking book programs. Lead efforts to develop strategies for achievement of business goals, process improvement, and knowledge management initiatives within the Program Delivery Division and/or across other NLS/BPD business units. Develop and manage processes for management of Program Delivery strategic initiatives and efforts. Initiate contact and provide expert technical advice and direction to contractor professionals on product development issues and requirements. Review and provide oversight of the requirements for contractual support for product development, operations and maintenance. Review and develop statements of work, acquisition packages, market research reports, contract solicitations and coordinates with contracting officers to ensure all Program Delivery Division contracts are issued in a timely manner. The position description number for this position is 415410. The salary range indicated reflects the locality pay adjustments for the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan area. The incumbent of this position will work a Flexitime work schedule. This is a non-supervisory, bargaining unit position. Relocation expenses will not be authorized for the person(s) selected under this vacancy announcement.

Qualifications

Applicants must have had progressively responsible experience and training sufficient in scope and quality to furnish them with an acceptable level of the following knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position without more than normal supervision. Knowledge of product life cycle management.** Ability to create product development strategy plans for the development of products.** Ability to create plans for the deployment of products for delivery of a major program and/or service to end users.** Ability to provide management and contractor oversight for product development projects.** Ability to lead strategic planning, program analysis, and problem solving. Knowledge of braille, talking books and related products and services. Ability to interact collaboratively with others. Ability to communicate in writing. Ability to communicate effectively other than in writing.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment Library of Congress employees are prohibited from using illegal drugs, including marijuana. The Library is part of the Federal Government and abides by federal law, so regardless of individual state or District of Columbia laws, marijuana use is illegal, considered criminal activity, and can affect your employment at the Library. In addition, past or current drug use and activities (e.g., selling or distributing) may deem you ineligible for employment.

How to apply

Please carefully follow all instructions under the How to Apply tab to ensure you are considered for the position. Please note, there is no page restriction to your resume, and you are allowed to upload a resume longer than two pages in the resume section within the application process. When the application system prompts, please proceed to the agency site to complete your application. You are required to apply online for this announcement. We are unable to accept mailed or emailed documents. You must complete the entire application process, including submission of all documents BEFORE this announcement closes. To do so, complete the following steps. Step 1: If you do not already have one, create a resume and upload it to your profile in the "Resume" section. Although you must enter your Social Security Number for USAJOBS, this information will not be provided to the Library of Congress. Step 2: Review the Job Announcement. We recommend you go to the end of the Qualification and Evaluation section of the job announcement to preview the online questions that you will answer in Step 4. You may wish to customize your resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Step 3: Click on the "APPLY ONLINE" button to the right of this announcement. Follow USAJOBS' instructions to access your account. You will be redirected to the Hiring Management website to complete the application process. If this is your first time in Hiring Management, you will be asked to answer questions related to your eligibility for Federal employment. You will be able to update this information and save it to our account for future announcements. Step 4: Once you have completed the eligibility questions, you will be taken directly to the vacancy application questions. Answer all questions honestly and thoroughly. Step 5: Hiring Management offers one option that will electronically attach your documentation to your online application once you finish answering the questions in the job announcement. You may electronically upload a document directly from your computer to your application. Be certain to review your complete application for confirmation of the document uploaded and click on "Finished" to be returned to USAJOBS. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have multiple documents of the same kind, e.g. 2 undergraduate transcripts from different schools or 2 SF-50s, etc., be sure that they are all in the same file on your computer. If you try uploading them individually, only the last one sent will be visible in our system. If you have any questions about this information, please contact the person on this announcement BEFORE the closing date. Step 6: Click on "Finish" after you have completed your application. Once you have submitted your application, you can check your status online through your Hiring Management or MY USAJOBS account. Your complete online application and any required supplemental documentation (e.g., SF-50, etc.) must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the closing date of the announcement. It is your responsibility to ensure that all documents are received on time and that the materials are readable. Failure to do so will result in your application being excluded from consideration for this announcement. If you are experiencing any technical difficulty with the online process, you MUST CONTACT THE POINT OF CONTACT FOR THIS ANNOUNCEMENT BEFORE THE CLOSING DATE. For all technical issues please contact [email protected] , no later than 4:00pm EST of the Closing Date. REQUESTS FOR EXTENSIONS WILL NOT BE GRANTED.