Product Owner Lead

Advance Thinking; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Advance Thinking is seeking an experienced Product Owner Lead to join a major insurance modernisation programme with flexibility across Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne. This contract to 30 June 2027 focuses on leading end-to-end delivery and prioritising the backlog across multiple insurance product lines.

You will align business needs with technology delivery, manage stakeholders, and coordinate with analysts and offshore partners to drive value.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering technology or business change across multiple teams.
• Strong backlog management, prioritisation and requirements skills.
• Experience with implementation partners and offshore delivery teams.
• Insurance or financial services domain experience.
• Guidewire experience is beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Own and prioritise the backlog for shared capabilities across multiple insurance product lines.
• Translate business needs into clear outcomes, requirements and delivery priorities.
• Negotiate competing demands across stakeholders in finance, pricing, data and analytics, underwriting, product and distribution.
• Coordinate dependencies, release opportunities and delivery constraints across teams and implementation partners.
• Challenge requests to understand the underlying business need and identify effective solutions.
• Work closely with Business Analysts and delivery specialists to take changes through to implementation.
• Communicate priorities, decisions, risks and progress clearly to business and technology stakeholders.
• Support Agile delivery and continuous improvement as the stream evolves.

Skills

Backlog management

Stakeholder negotiation

Delivery leadership

Prioritisation

Requirements gathering

Insurance domain knowledge

Offshore delivery collaboration

Job description

Product Owner Lead | Contract to 30 June 2027 | Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne | Flexible hybrid

05th November, 2026

Lead product priorities and end-to-end delivery within a major insurance modernisation programme.

Advance Thinking is seeking an experienced Product Owner Lead to join one of our clients, a major insurer, and lead the delivery of capabilities used across multiple insurance product lines.

The role combines product ownership, stakeholder negotiation and delivery leadership. You will work across business functions, technology teams and an implementation partner to turn competing requirements into achievable delivery priorities.

Contract: To 30 June 2027

Location: Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne

Working arrangements: Flexible hybrid, with office attendance agreed with the successful candidate

About the Role

Working within a commercial insurance modernisation programme, you will lead a stream delivering shared platform functionality, enhancements and remediation through shorter delivery cycles. The work spans business processes, policy and billing systems, data and finance. Examples include on-demand customer documentation and functionality supporting portfolio transfers between partners.

You will work with two Business Analysts, a predominantly offshore implementation partner squad and other delivery streams. Technical platform specialists will provide guidance, while you focus on business outcomes, prioritisation and coordinating delivery.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and prioritise the backlog for shared capabilities across multiple insurance product lines.
• Translate business needs into clear outcomes, requirements and delivery priorities.
• Negotiate competing demands across stakeholders in finance, pricing, data and analytics, underwriting, product and distribution.
• Coordinate dependencies, release opportunities and delivery constraints across teams and implementation partners.
• Challenge requests constructively to understand the underlying business need and identify effective solutions.
• Work closely with Business Analysts and delivery specialists to take changes through to implementation.
• Communicate priorities, decisions, risks and progress clearly to business and technology stakeholders.
• Support Agile delivery and continuous improvement as the stream evolves.

About You

You will bring strong product ownership skills alongside practical experience managing delivery in complex environments. We’re interested in candidates with backgrounds in product ownership, delivery leadership or business analysis who can demonstrate:

• Accountability for delivering technology or business change across multiple teams.
• Strong backlog management, prioritisation and requirements skills.
• Confidence negotiating with stakeholders whose needs and priorities differ.
• Experience working with implementation partners and offshore delivery teams.
• The ability to manage dependencies and find practical ways through delivery constraints.
• Sound judgement when balancing business value, risk, compliance and delivery effort.
• Experience implementing systems or platform capabilities within insurance, banking or a comparable financial services environment.

Insurance experience is highly regarded. Guidewire experience is beneficial. Candidates with relevant banking or broader financial services delivery experience are encouraged to apply.

Why Join?

You’ll have the opportunity to influence priorities and deliver capabilities used across multiple business areas within a major modernisation programme. The role offers scope to apply your product and delivery experience, work closely with business decision-makers and shape how an evolving stream delivers value.