Product Manager – Digital Platform

Salary: $33 – $40 per hour

About Student Volunteer Army
Student Volunteer Army (SVA) is New Zealand’s largest youth volunteering organisation. Founded by students after the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010 and 2011, SVA gives students the skills and tools to volunteer, lead volunteers and make a difference in their communities. More than 50,000 students across 250+ schools and universities have taken part, contributing over 3.4 million volunteer hours. Our programmes include the SVA Service Award, student-led SVA Clubs, disaster response and community partnerships.

These programmes run on SVA’s digital platform: a volunteer app, portals for volunteers, teachers and administrators, and our website.

About the role

We are looking for a Product Manager to take ownership of the SVA platform and lead its next stage of growth. You will set the direction for the platform, improve the experience for the students, schools and organisations who use it, and develop ways for the platform to generate income that supports SVA's work. This role suits someone with strong product and design skills who also thinks commercially. You will use research, user feedback and data to decide what to build, work with our development partner to deliver it, and report on the results. You will report to the General Manager and work closely with our external development partner and our small internal team.You will also help tell the platform’s story, creating presentations and content that show funders, partners and schools what it can do.

Key Responsibilities

Product Strategy & Roadmap

• Develop a clear product vision and strategy for the platform over the next one to two years

• Build and maintain a prioritised roadmap in agreement with SVA leadership

• Define success measures such as active users, school retention and volunteering activity, and track progress against them

• Monitor similar platforms and edtech tools to find ideas and opportunities

Revenue & Commercial Development

• Develop and test revenue models for the platform, such as paid features for schools, partner packages and fee-for-service work

• Help build pricing structures and partnership frameworks

• Track and report on revenue activity and pipeline progress

• Manage the platform budget and make sure SVA gets value for its technology spend

Product Design & User Experience

• Review the app, portals and website to find improvements to usability, accessibility and engagement

• Conduct user research with students, teachers, club leaders and staff, and turn findings into clear priorities

• Design or guide the design of new features, from wireframes and prototypes through to testing and release

• Keep the look, feel and function of the platform consistent across all touchpoints

Delivery & Partner Management

• Act as SVA’s main point of contact with our external development partner

• Write clear requirements, review builds and hold the partner to agreed timelines and quality standards

• Track requests, changes and outstanding issues and reporting

• Make sure the platform handles student data responsibly and meets New Zealand privacy requirements

Launch, Adoption & Reporting

• Plan the rollout of new features, including onboarding, guides and support for schools and teachers

• Produce regular reports on platform use, engagement and product progress for leadership and the board

• Prepare data and impact evidence to support funding applications and partner reporting

• Create product presentations, PowerPoint decks, social media posts and visuals for funders, partners, schools and our online channels, working with the communications team

What We’re Looking For

Essential:

• Proven experience in product management, ideally with digital platforms, learning management systems (LMS) or app-based products

• Strong product design and user experience skills, with examples or a portfolio that show your work

• Experience developing revenue models or commercial products in a digital setting

• Experience working with development teams, ideally external or offshore partners

• Confident using data to make decisions and report on results

• Excellent communication skills, including explaining technical matters to non-technical audiences

• Highly organised, proactive and comfortable working independently in a small not-for-profit team with a lean budget

Desirable:

• Proficiency in Figma or similar design tools

• Experience in a tech startup, SaaS, edtech or not-for-profit environment

• Experience with project management tools such as Asana, Basecamp or Google Workspace

• Experience creating presentations, social media content or marketing materials