Project Director

The Project Director (PD), a member of the Product Department’s research and development function, is responsible for the overall management of projects from acquisition through product completion. During the acquisition process, the PD plays a central role in author selection, content mapping, and executive committee (EC) approval. During the development process, the PD plans and adheres to a development cycle/budget and establishes/maintains realistic development schedules.

Directly manages Cross Functional Teams (CFT) in collaboration with staff in Sales, Marketing, Production, and Technology on product acquisition, product development, scholarly marketing, and other related activities. As a psychologist, serves as the primary PAR content specialist/project manager for the development of psychological test products.

The Project Director (PD), a member of the Product Department’s research and development function, is responsible for the overall management of projects from acquisition through product completion. During the acquisition process, the PD plays a central role in author selection, content mapping, and executive committee (EC) approval. During the development process, the PD plans and adheres to a development cycle/budget and establishes/maintains realistic development schedules.

Directly manages Cross Functional Teams (CFT) in collaboration with staff in Sales, Marketing, Production, and Technology on product acquisition, product development, scholarly marketing, and other related activities. As a psychologist, serves as the primary PAR content specialist/project manager for the development of psychological test products.

Serves as a direct supervisor for various support positions on the R&D team in the Product Department as assigned by Director of Product (DP). Provides monitoring and coaching to these positions. When necessary, offers corrective feedback regarding job performance.

• Works closely with the DP and Vice President and Chief Product Officer (CPO) on strategic planning, new business development, and product acquisition. Helps identify internal or external authors, contracts with relevant experts, writes detailed development plans including item development, sampling plan, preliminary budgets and schedules, and submits these plans to the Executive Committee (EC) for approval. Also works with DP and CPO to identify new business opportunities and evaluates how they fit with PAR’s business model.
• Conducts initial reviews of new and existing product ideas and presents a summary of findings to the DP for evaluation. Generate discoveries and competitive analyses to gain insights about existing PAR products. If the product is deemed to meet minimum standards set forth by the R&D team in the Product Department, prepares the necessary paperwork for a formal presentation to the EC.
  
  These reviews include merit of the project, degree of match to PAR product line, projected milestones, proposed budget with direct and indirect costs, and integration of market analysis.
• Directly manages the development of new print and digital products. Directly manages and is the primary stakeholder for the cross functional team (CFT). Works with external authors, internal PAR staff, including the CFT, to maximize the psychometric quality and financial profitability of assigned projects. Translates product features into customer benefits and works with marketing to develop messaging and positioning. Performs psychometric test development procedures such as recruitment of expert panels, item creation, pilot testing, sample planning, and statistical analyses.
  
  Consults with…