Product Owner
Remote with ad hoc travel to either Reading or Havant office
Inside IR35
The role of a Product Owner is to be the outcome owner, focused on ensuring the product delivers both business and customer value. Accountable for the value delivered and responsible for the entire product lifecycle, including design, delivery and operations. Empowered to make decisions and able to negotiate in making decisions around priority scope and requirements with impacted stakeholders.
This role sits within Group IT, Infrastructure & Platforms. The Microsoft 365 team form a key part of our Workplace function to deliver core collaboration, communication, content management, citizen development and productivity services to our client's global business.
Key Accountabilities
* Define the vision of the product in Content Managemwith key stakeholders and socialise with the team
* Evolve the product roadmap based on customer, product team and business feedback, linked to business outcomes
* Determine developments to the strategic roadmap based on business strategy changes
* Work with portfolio team to set funding and investment requirements
* Oversee product priorities, resource requirements, development stages working with leadership to attain further funding as required
* Anticipating customer needs, managing the product backlog and prioritising needs based on value delivered
* Act as primary liaison for business stakeholder and maintain business engagement to educate on the product's growth, strategic value and investment case
* Turning the product vision into an actionable backlog
* Provide business subject matter expertise and authority on product decisions
* Remove impediments to product progress and assist with work dependencies, risks and issues
* Act as the voice of the customer to the product team, constantly providing feedback on delivery
* Providing business readiness support - supports business leaders in preparation for implementation and change management in product rollout & enhancements
* Determine developments to the strategic roadmap based on business strategy changes
* Evaluating the product's progress against defined business outcomes
* Secures investment and resource to continue Product development and growth
* Proactive sharing of knowledge to drive technology learning, understanding and appreciation across the business
* Management of 3rd parties, acting as a routine contact point between organisation and supplier.
* Monitor contract performance, manage underperformance and escalate where necessary.
* Ensure that IT/business strategy, policy and standards are adhered to, thus achieving commonality and ease of maintenance.
* Analyse problems, action and progress issues as appropriate, ensuring follow through to resolution.
* Providing input into the governance process itself, including the methods and tools to be used
* Applying lessons learnt process and actively elicit relevant feedback
Experience
* Experience with defining strategic business-technology outcomes and applying product management techniques
* Microsoft 360
* Experience with having financial responsibilities and ability to demonstrate value from investments
* Proven track record of setting strategic direction for a set of initiatives
* Understanding and working experience of agile process and principles
* Experience with defining and prioritising a portfolio of work
Functional and Technical Skills
* Ability to translate business strategy and requirements in technology context
* Ability to apply portfolio management good practice and concepts in practice
* Ability to effectively apply financial management and planning skills in a product environment (including capex vs opex budgetary structures)
* Ability to negotiate requirements, timelines and other delivery metrics across product lifecycle
* Ability to identify and manage key stakeholders.
* Application of the concepts of delivery risks and issues.
* Ability to develop counter measures and contingency plans associated with significant delivery risk.
* Shows a high level of planning aptitude
* High level knowledge of work management technology and tools
Communication and Personal Attributes
* Articulate with outstanding written, interpersonal and analytical skills.
* Able to articulate the why at all levels of the organisation
* Team leader, player and collaborator.
* Ability to delegate appropriately and effectively.
* Ability to effectively manage conflicting stakeholder needs
* Resilient, with the ability to work well under pressure.
* Strong influencing skills and attention to detail.
Additional capabilities
* Understands how architecture/ technology solutions fit within strategic roadmaps
* Able to provide or source the right resources to enable teams to deliver on strategic goals
* Able to provide direction on the sourcing mix for a defined solution
* Able to oversee development staged within the product lifecycle
Key Projects/Activities Managed (Identified Impact, Effort, Cost, Time Invested)
* Responsible for the overall Product Roadmap - building this in collaboration with the business.
* Responsible for the delivery of all value outcomes linked to the Product Roadmap.
* Responsible for participating in the financial processes linked to budgeting and responsible for sourcing any additional spend required.
* Product Owner is the outcome owner, focused on ensuring the product delivers both business and customer value. Accountable for the value delivered and responsible for the entirety of the product lifecycle, including design, delivery and operations.
Decision Making Authority
* The Product Owner is a senior role that must be empowered and have the ability to negotiate, particularly in making decisions around priority scope and requirements with impacted business stakeholders.
* The role holder would be expected to remove roadblocks and impediments and make the required decisions to do this.
* They would be expected to follow any governance in place as part of the Agile Delivery Framework and use the appropriate guard rails in place to drive their own personal decision making.
* Be the key interface between the business and technology. The role holder will require exceptional stakeholder management skills, by ensuring they are clear on customer needs and can effectively prioritise to ensure a continuous valuable flow from the team.
* Plan, own and ensure the delivery of the product roadmap.
* Collaborating closely with the Delivery Lead and the Architecture Lead to ensure the product roadmaps have a right balance of delivering business outcomes, technology enablement and operational requirements.
* Lead and manage the operational aspects of the delivery team, ensuring risk, legal, security and other compliance requirements are met.
ersg are an equal opportunities employer; we are committed to promoting equality of opportunity for all job applicants. We do not discriminate against applicants on the basis of age, sex, race, disability, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or religious background; all decisions are based on merit.
