Product Operations (Product Ops) Manager (Volunteer)

Product Operations (Product Ops) Manager (Volunteer)

PromiseStack | Product Operations, Product Excellence & Cross-Functional Execution

Organization: Mentor A Promise (MAP)

Division: PromiseStack

Location: Remote / Hybrid (NYC Collaboration as Needed)

Type: Volunteer Leadership Role

Commitment: Approximately 5–10 Hours Per Week

Minimum Commitment: 6-Month Commitment Required

Reports To: Chief Product & Technology Officer

Works Closely With: Product Owners, Engineering Managers, Delivery Managers, Agile Coaches, UX/UI Teams, Data Teams, PromiseMeasure, PromisePrograms, PromiseLearning, PromisePeople, and Executive Leadership

About Mentor A Promise

Mentor A Promise (MAP) is a New York City–based nonprofit organization supporting children, youth, and families experiencing housing instability through mentorship, literacy, social-emotional learning, educational enrichment, workforce development, technology innovation, housing initiatives, and community-centered opportunity.

As MAP continues to expand its technology ecosystem, effective product development requires more than great ideas and talented teams.

It requires systems.

It requires coordination.

It requires operational excellence.

This role helps create the foundation that allows product teams to perform at their highest level.

About PromiseStack

PromiseStack is MAP's Product, Technology, Data, and Innovation Division.

The division is responsible for building, managing, and continuously improving the digital products, platforms, and systems that support MAP's mission.

PromiseStack develops solutions that help students, mentors, volunteers, educators, families, and staff access opportunities more effectively.

Our product ecosystem includes:

• PromisePath
• PromiseLink
• Volunteer Platforms
• Internal Operations Systems
• Data & Analytics Tools
• Community Engagement Technologies
• Future MAP Innovation Initiatives

Role Overview

Mentor A Promise is seeking a highly organized, analytical, and systems-oriented Product Operations (Product Ops) Manager to help strengthen how product teams operate, collaborate, prioritize, measure success, and deliver value.

The Product Ops Manager serves as the operational backbone of the product organization.

This role helps create alignment between:

• Product Strategy
• Product Development
• Engineering
• Design
• Data
• Operations
• Stakeholders

The Product Ops Manager enables teams to spend less time managing processes and more time creating impact.

This role focuses on:

• Product planning
• Workflow optimization
• Product metrics
• Team coordination
• Operational excellence
• Product governance
• Process improvement
• Organizational alignment

This is a product leadership and operational excellence role focused on helping teams build better products more effectively.

Core Responsibilities

Product Operations & Process Excellence

Design, implement, and continuously improve product operations systems by:

• Standardizing product workflows
• Improving planning processes
• Streamlining communication
• Supporting product governance
• Improving operational efficiency
• Eliminating process bottlenecks

Help create scalable product management practices across MAP.

Product Portfolio Management

Support oversight of MAP's product ecosystem by:

• Maintaining product roadmaps
• Tracking product initiatives
• Monitoring delivery progress
• Managing dependencies
• Supporting prioritization efforts
• Coordinating cross-product initiatives

Help leadership maintain visibility across all active products.

Product Planning & Strategic Alignment

Partner with Product Owners and leadership to:

• Support roadmap planning
• Coordinate strategic initiatives
• Align product priorities with organizational goals
• Track product objectives
• Facilitate planning cycles

Help ensure product investments support MAP's mission and strategy.

Product Metrics & Insights

Partner with PromiseMeasure and product teams to:

• Define product KPIs
• Build product dashboards
• Monitor adoption and engagement
• Analyze product performance
• Support data-informed decision-making
• Track organizational impact

Help transform product data into actionable insights.

Cross-Functional Coordination

Facilitate collaboration among:

• Product Teams
• Engineering Teams
• UX/UI Teams
• Delivery Managers
• Agile Coaches
• Data Teams
• Program Teams
• Executive Leadership

Help ensure all stakeholders remain informed, aligned, and coordinated.

Product Governance & Documentation

Establish and maintain:

• Product documentation standards
• Product requirements repositories
• Roadmap visibility systems
• Product operating procedures
• Decision logs
• Product knowledge management systems

Help build institutional knowledge and operational consistency.

Product Tool Administration

Support and optimize tools such as:

• Jira
• ClickUp
• Asana
• Airtable
• Notion
• Confluence
• Miro
• Figma
• Google Workspace

Help teams maximize the value of their product management tools and workflows.

Product Team Enablement

Support product teams through:

• Onboarding processes
• Training resources
• Workflow guidance
• Product operations support
• Meeting facilitation
• Process coaching

Help create an environment where teams can perform at their highest level.

First-Year Priorities

Within the first year, the Product Operations Manager will help:

• Establish MAP's Product Operations function
• Create standardized product management workflows
• Build product dashboard and reporting systems
• Improve roadmap visibility
• Strengthen cross-functional communication
• Implement product documentation standards
• Support product planning and prioritization processes
• Improve product team effectiveness
• Develop product governance frameworks

Success Measures

Success in this role includes:

• Improved product team efficiency
• Stronger roadmap visibility
• Better product planning processes
• Improved stakeholder alignment
• Increased product delivery effectiveness
• Consistent product documentation
• Strong product performance reporting
• Reduced operational bottlenecks
• Higher product team satisfaction

Qualifications

We welcome candidates from product management, operations, consulting, project management, technology, nonprofit, startup, and business operations backgrounds.

Helpful experience may include:

• Product Operations
• Product Management
• Business Operations
• Program Management
• Project Management
• Strategy & Operations
• Agile Delivery
• Process Improvement
• Technology Operations

Strong candidates often demonstrate:

• Exceptional organizational skills
• Strong analytical thinking
• Process design and optimization experience
• Product lifecycle understanding
• Cross-functional leadership abilities
• Excellent communication skills
• Systems thinking and problem-solving capabilities

Experience supporting product teams within SaaS, technology, startup, nonprofit, education technology, or mission-driven environments is highly valued.

Why This Role Matters

Great products require more than vision.

They require alignment.

They require systems.

They require operational discipline.

The Product Operations Manager helps ensure that MAP's product teams can focus on creating value rather than managing complexity.

This role helps transform product strategy into consistent execution and measurable impact.

What You'll Gain

• Experience building a Product Operations function from the ground up
• Exposure to product strategy, engineering, design, and executive leadership
• Opportunity to shape MAP's technology ecosystem
• Collaboration with high-impact product and technology teams
• Professional references and letters of recommendation
• Meaningful impact supporting children, youth, and families experiencing housing instability

How to Apply

Interested candidates should apply directly through Idealist and submit:

• Resume or CV
• LinkedIn Profile (if available)
• Brief statement of interest

Please share experience involving:

• Product Operations
• Product Management
• Business Operations
• Program or Project Management
• Process Improvement
• Data Analysis
• Cross-Functional Leadership

Help build the systems behind the products.

Because great products are not created by chance.

They are created through clarity, coordination, and operational excellence.

This role holds the pieces together.

From strategy to roadmap to execution—help ensure every product team has the systems they need to succeed before work begins.

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with our organization. At this time, volunteer opportunities are limited to individuals based in the United States due to legal, safeguarding, data-privacy, and programmatic requirements. We appreciate your interest in our mission and your understanding of these constraints.