Fractional Head of Product

About Project Own

Project Own is a small and growing tech nonprofit based in Baltimore, Maryland, dedicated to transforming access to homeownership and wealth creation. We're building innovative solutions at the intersection of technology and financial inclusion, working to break down barriers that prevent individuals and families from achieving their homeownership goals and building generational wealth.

The Role

We're seeking a Fractional Head of Product to lead and scale our product development. This is a unique opportunity to steer product strategy and development with an early stage, in-the-market product at a growing nonprofit with significant social impact potential. You'll work closely with our leadership team and external development partners to drive our product roadmap and ensure we're building solutions that truly serve our community.

This role is perfect for a seasoned product professional who thrives in a startup-like environment, values mission-driven work, and wants to take ownership over every aspect of product development.

Key Responsibilities

Product Strategy & Roadmap

• Steer end-to-end product and feature development, from ideation to launch
• Develop and maintain comprehensive product roadmaps and release schedules
• Make recommendations on feature prioritization and release timing
• Build, manage, and document product development lifecycle processes and best practices
• Continuously optimize existing features

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Serve as the primary liaison with our external development team
• Monitor product performance, user feedback, and key metrics
• Manage engineering budget
• Communicate with key stakeholders and draft key product requirements
• Balance user needs, business objectives, and technical constraints
• Coordinate with leadership on strategic product initiatives and goals

Quality Assurance & Launch Management

• Design and implement QA processes to ensure clean production deployments
• Conduct product testing, UI/UX review, and approval workflows
• Establish quality gates and testing protocols for new features and releases
• Take ownership of the "ship/no-ship" decision-making process

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of product management experience, with demonstrated success leading product and/or feature development from concept to launch
• Strong interest in Project Own’s mission to build new tools for Black wealth creation (starting with access to homeownership)
• Experience managing product roadmaps and release cycles
• Demonstrated ability to thrive in ambiguous, fast-moving environments
• Comfort with and interest in a varied set of responsibilities beyond traditional product management

Preferred Qualifications

• Engineering and/or data science skill set
• Domain expertise in lending, mortgages, or adjacent financial services
• Experience at mission-driven organizations, nonprofits, or social impact companies
• Background working at smaller organizations or startups where you've built processes from scratch
• Hands-on experience with QA processes, user testing, and product analytics
• Some familiarity with UI/UX principles and design review processes
• Understanding of regulatory considerations in financial services
• Experience working with external development teams or vendor relationships

What We're Looking For

We need someone who can be a jack-of-all-trades product leader rather than a highly specialized individual contributor. The ideal candidate will:

• Be energized by the opportunity to build and define product and processes
• Be comfortable making decisions with incomplete information and adapting to new context
• Value mission alignment and social impact

What We Offer

• $125-$175 per hour based on experience
• 10-20 hours per week (flexible scheduling)
• Independent contractor role; strong performance and company growth could lead to full-time hire
• The opportunity to make a meaningful impact on homeownership accessibility and financial inclusion
• Direct partnership with founder/leadership team in a collaborative, non-hierarchical environment
• Remote-first, with option to work in-office in Baltimore, MD 

Project Own is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.