Product Owner, Contractor, Temp to Perm

The Product Owner for CustomBooks™ software (cloud ERP) has a passion for accounting and inventory software and translates customer needs into solutions through product development. This position requires someone who understands that good software solutions make our partners and business owner’s lives more uncomplicated. This position works closely with the Product Director, Product Analysts/Owners/Managers, QA Manager, Customer Success Team, Sales Team, and multiple Software Engineers. The Product Owner will talk to and understand the needs of customers, and is knowledgeable with product design and UI/UX principles. Daily duties include conducting market and industry research; competitive analysis; testing bug fixes, new features, and improvements in prototype and development bases; Jira and Zoho Desk research and analysis - tickets, filters, dashboards, statistics/metrics; compilation for scope work; and customer interviews/discussions. The candidate will then convert this activity into actionable insights for the product. The Product Owner works closely with our engineering team to ensure bug, feature, and project deliverables are on time and with product marketing, sales, and success teams to gain a deep understanding of the needs of our current and future customers. They will identify and solve problems that deliver true benefits. Also responsible for: internal Training on the product, internal and external product demonstrations, writing Knowledgebase Articles, and Release Notes. Responsibilities Manage existing product features and assist in timely new project deliverables in our annual product roadmap. Define requirements, specifications, and design/ for new features, improvements and bugs. Lead/Host Product and Developer meetings, drive projects forward and address issues in a timely manner. Articulate/communicate to the development team, proactively addressing any native language constraints, cultures or differing work time zones. Conduct internal and external training sessions/demos, write Knowledgebase Articles and Release Notes. Draft Project Scopes to include: Goals, Business Requirements, Competitive Analysis, Workflows, pose and answer questions/comments. Draft Project Product Descriptions (PD’s) documents from Scopes. Contribute and test to ensure an easy-to-use, intuitive user experience for core product, integrations, mobile and web applications. Moderate level experience in: Jira, Confluence, Asana, Zoho Knowledgebase, Zoom. Identify fresh opportunities for innovation and enhancements in our existing SaaS. Conduct market research, competitive analysis and customer, subject matter expert, consultant interviews and feedback sessions. Help the Product team compile findings into actionable insights. Participate in our development process and contribute to the priority of product enhancements. Work with QA Manager and team/contractors to: develop, document and test solutions and business cases, keep abreast of projects and timeframes. Provide subject-matter expertise on our existing solutions for the organization. Other assignments and tasks as assigned. Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Accounting, with related work experience (not less than 5 years). (Required) Experience/knowledge of business operations/workflows and inventory. (Required) Project Management skills/experience required, meeting deadlines, driving results and milestones. Expertise in market research, competitive analysis, and customer interviews with positive/solid people skills. Strong technical background with understanding of software development and web/mobile technologies. Exceptional analytical skills, attention to detail, as well as ability to grasp multiple product requirements. Strong multi-tasker with a need to be productive and meet deadlines. Software as a Service (SAAS) product experience is strongly preferred. Experience working side by side with hardware technology or software development. Proficient with: Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, with an emphasis in Excel). Preferred proficiency with: Jira, Confluence, Asana, Slack, Service Desk Software - Zoho Desk preferred. Excellent presentation, written and verbal skills. Keen sense of user experience and ability to empathize with customers. Ability to work with others of different nationalities and in multiple time zones (including overseas). We are a 100% remote company. This is a Contract position, temporary three to six months, may be extended in temporary capacity or may be made permanent. This role may also move into full time employment opportunity with full benefits available if in the US. If working outside the US, must commit to working one of the continental US time zones (Eastern, Central, Mountain or Pacific).