Product Owner

Role: Product Owner

Location: Chicago, IL (Onsite)

Product Owner


An individual contributor that serves as the customer proxy to the Agile team within the agile process and is the final authority for decisions regarding priority, business value, and functionality for all the work done by the Agile development team. The Product Owner has the ability to analyze complex cross functional business processes and define integrated user stories using industry standard techniques and is able to apply modified approaches and techniques to meet different circumstances. In partnership with their Scrum Master, the Senior Product Owner will monitor metrics and suggest new ways of increasing quality and verify the business value delivered by the team. The Product Owner will directly work with one to two Agile teams dependent upon initiative complexity. The Product Owner may be working on a Scaled Agile Release Train as part of the Product Management team, or they may work on independent Agile teams and have Feature as well as story ownership.

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Performs a combination of duties in accordance with departmental guidelines:

• Supports one to two Agile Scrum teams on initiatives of medium to large complexity
• Owns, defines, and prioritizes the team backlog, establishes story acceptance criteria, drives content via prioritized user stories, obtains customer validation and accept stories, ensuring that the solution effectively addresses overall program priorities.
• A thought leader in Scrum ceremonies (such as daily standups, sprint review meetings, retrospective meetings, cross-team coordination, and etc.), alongside the Scrum Master, ensuring that Scrum Teams adhere to the Scrum values of courage, focus, commitment, respect and openness in delivering high quality solutions. Fosters an environment of continuous improvement / learning.
• Leading by example, facilitates Product Backlog Refinement including reviewing and updating backlog item definition and developing acceptance criteria and value statements, providing information to the team so they can establish technical feasibility and scope estimates, analyzing ways to split backlog items into smaller chunks of incremental value, helping to inform the enablers required to support new features and capabilities, and establishing their capacity allocation.
• Builds customer and user insights into all stages of the Scrum planning and execution process, ensuring the continuous validation of stories with Customers and business users.
• Proactively analyzes metrics, and recommends changes to the product based on data from feedback loops
• Inspire and motivate a team where the members constructively challenge each other, have a sense of ownership, and advocate for the right long-term decision making. Builds a trusting and safe environment within the team, customers, and other stakeholders.

Skills, Knowledge & Abilities:

• Strong executor, proven across complex initiatives
• Champion for the adoption of new Agile technologies and methodologies
• Ability to build and maintain collaborative relationships with stakeholders
• Highly collaborative with good conflict resolutions skills
• Proven ability to enact change quickly
• Willingness to develop Agile team members by inspiring, encouraging and providing constructive feedback
• Solid leadership skill
• Proven ability to work directly with Product Management, business stakeholders and technical/product teams
• Domain knowledge of solutions being developed

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience
• Typically, a minimum of five years as a Product Owner or equivalent role
• Experience with Mid to Large Size Commercial / P&C Insurance
• Successful track record with Agile methodologies
• Applicable certifications preferred (e.g. SAFe PO/PM, CSPO or PSPO)

• May collaborate with Product Managers and other Senior Product Owners and other Product Owners, to ensure Stories align to value, goals and objectives of overall program priorities.