Melissa L.
5.0
Navigate Your Professional Growth - for Lateral or Upward Movement
Studied at Pepperdine University
Works at Skillshare
Hiring Manager
Available Thursday at 4:30 PM UTC
If there is not a time that works from these standard times, please send me a message so that I can fit you in!
Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.
Melissa’s Career Development Qualifications
Experience level: Director
Open to working with clients outside the U.S.
I have personally made numerous specialty movements in my time in the technology sector. From finance to human resources, then project management, and finally settling in product operations, I have navigated through changes with different bosses in different stage organizations. I believe we should all be in sectors or positions that we are passionate about, and most skills can be transferrable to many disciplines. Let's me help you map out where you are and then make a plan to get you to where you want to be.
Melissa can help with:
Interview Prep
Skill Building
Career Planning
Resume Review
Personal Branding
Melissa also coaches for Product Operations and Project Management. View all.
About Melissa
Hi there! 👋 I'm Melissa Lyons, and I'm all about infusing optimism into the dynamic field of product operations. Currently serving as the Director of Product Operations at Skillshare, and previously at Vimeo, my focus is on making strategic decisions a breeze through prioritized OKRs, measurable metrics, and cohesive team collaboration. In this role, I champion clarity, organizational leadership, and cross-functional teamwork. I thrive on strategic communications, collaborative problem-solving, and navigating agile and waterfall methodologies across many teams.
Why do I coach?
Ive greatly benefited from coaches in the past to help me hone my skills and realize my operational potential. They have given me confidence and opened up my opportunities as I grew into it. I'd love to do the same for you and hear about any problems you are experiencing and how we can apply Product Ops Principles to address them. Let's dig in and solve some problems together.
Work Experience
Director of Product Operations
Skillshare
March 2023 - Present
Hiring Manager
Skills: Clarity · Organizational Leadership · Cross-functional Team Leadership · Team Leadership · Strategic Communications · Collaborative Problem Solving · Change Management · Budgets · Product Knowledge · Data Governance · Customer Retention · Program Management · Agile & Waterfall Methodologies · Atlassian Suite · Marketing Communications · Onboarding · Presentations · Project Management · Customer Service · Recruiting
Lead Product Operations Manager
Skillshare
November 2021 - February 2023
Hiring Manager
Skills: Clarity · Organizational Leadership · Cross-functional Team Leadership · Team Leadership · Strategic Communications · Collaborative Problem Solving · Change Management · Product Knowledge · Agile & Waterfall Methodologies · Atlassian Suite · Onboarding · Presentations · Project Management · Recruiting
Lead Technical Project Manager
Skillshare
August 2019 - October 2021
Skills: Clarity · Team Leadership · Strategic Communications · Collaborative Problem Solving · Change Management · Product Knowledge · Agile & Waterfall Methodologies · Atlassian Suite · Project Management
Sr. Project Manager, Marketing Operations
Vimeo
January 2015 - July 2016
Hiring Manager
• Drive planning meetings, update meetings, and other group conversations • Actively communicate updates and statuses of ongoing and planned work to other departments • Clearly set timeline expectations and communicate with internal stakeholders • Translate technical concepts and topics in a way that can be understood by non-technical users (and vice versa) into presentation decks, status docs and / or users stories • Help develop monthly, quarterly and yearly project planning including resource allocation, high level scoping (for design, messaging, development and QA) • Document processes and process changes • Manage a team of PM's and invest in growth opportunities for career and personal development • Triage, ticket, and manage issues in Github alongside lead product manager and lead developers • Manage internal production for client campaigns with Rolex and Charles Schwab and others, alongside account managers • Manage projects in Basecamp, Trello, Github, Zenhub, and Team gantt • Run retrospective meetings post-sprint to adjust and learn to better measure velocity and reduction of unclear requirements • Maintain clarity, efficiency and sanity • Interview candidates and help build out engineering, design, messaging, marketing and project management, product and EA teams for success and company growth Skills: Clarity · Organizational Leadership · Cross-functional Team Leadership · Team Leadership · Strategic Communications · Collaborative Problem Solving · Change Management · Product Knowledge · Program Management · Agile & Waterfall Methodologies · Atlassian Suite · Github · Marketing Communications · Onboarding · Presentations · Project Management · Customer Service · Event Planning · Recruiting
Project Manager
Vimeo
September 2013 - December 2014
• Manage project details and schedules for the creation of marketing campaign deliverables, as well as ensuring high-quality results and on-time delivery • Own the execution of marketing tactics and materials for products, from launch through the life of the campaign • Create team processes to streamline workflow, and oversee creative development for all team member projects; facilitate the review of final proofs. • Develop and manage the daily/weekly planning, scheduling and prioritization of the creative department’s workload. • Ensure all creative projects are delivered on-time and within budget. • Improve workflow and streamline processes • Quality assurance of all creative assets delivered Skills: Clarity · Cross-functional Team Leadership · Team Leadership · Strategic Communications · Collaborative Problem Solving · Change Management · Product Knowledge · Agile & Waterfall Methodologies · Atlassian Suite · Github · Marketing Communications · Onboarding · Project Management
Project Coordinator
Vimeo
June 2013 - August 2013
Supporting the Project Management Team as well as managing project activity and status reporting across multiple projects within Vimeo. Project-specific • Coordinate all meetings for assigned projects, including preparing and distributing meeting agendas and minutes, and managing action items. • Assemble and manage project documents and reports, as related to assigned projects as needed including competitive analysis, gantt charts, project plans • Assist in the management of projects from start to finish, with direction from the Dr. of PM and Project Managers. • Communicate daily/weekly status on all assigned projects. • Ensure that assigned projects are delivered on time, within budget (if applies), resourced properly, adhere to quality standards, and meet customer/stakeholder expectations. • Facilitate discussions and consensus among various project stakeholders. Department-specific • Research Project Management best practices, technologies and share with the team • Gather and organize data on product releases and launches • Manage Master Project List and Launch Calendar– obtain updates from relevant parties and ensure list is up to date Assist the Program Management Team with various process improvements projects across the company. Assist in documenting and rolling out the process improvements. • Assist the PM Team in templates, tools, and methodologies. • Identify areas for project process improvements. • Prepare meeting agendas and meeting minutes for PM meetings. • Manage basecamp and ensure it is being utilized appropriately • Google analytics and team gantt utilization Skills: Clarity · Strategic Communications · Collaborative Problem Solving · Change Management · Agile & Waterfall Methodologies · Atlassian Suite · Project Management
Education
Pepperdine University
Theatre Arts, Technical Theatre, Sociology, Literature
2003 - 2007
Activities and societies: John Raitt Theatre Scholarship Program, Walk Forward Day, Kappa Alpha Theta
5 Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
Knowledge
5.0
Value
5.0
Responsiveness
5.0
Supportiveness
5.0
Melissa has helped Leland clients get into Uber