Product Owner

Softcat; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Flexible hours

Diversity & inclusion

Job summary

Softcat is seeking a Product Owner to join a cross-functional product squad and maximise value delivered by the team. Working closely with the Product Manager, you will translate product strategy into prioritised, actionable work that helps deliver measurable customer and business outcomes.

As Product Owner, you will be the day-to-day owner of the squad backlog, collaborating with designers, engineers, QA, Scrum Masters, and stakeholders to define, prioritise, and deliver high-impact product

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a Product Owner or similar agile role.
• Experience in cross-functional squads with engineering, design and delivery teams.
• Strong understanding of Agile/Scrum principles and product development practices.
• Ability to write clear user stories and define acceptance criteria.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Ability to translate strategy into squad execution.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Own and manage the product backlog for your squad.
• Prioritise items within product goals and guardrails.
• Balance customer value, business priorities, and technical constraints.
• Refine backlog items to be ready for development.
• Ensure delivered work meets acceptance criteria and desired outcomes.
• Use metrics, feedback and product performance data to identify improvements.
• Translate product direction, customer needs and business requirements into well-defined user stories and acceptance criteria.

Skills

Product ownership

Agile / Scrum

Backlog management

User stories

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional collaboration

Prioritisation decisions

Job description

Would you like to kick start your career in a supportive, collaborative and innovative company

Do you enjoy working as part of an enthusiastic, passionate, and collaborative team?

About Softcat

There is a uniqueness to Softcat - what we do, how we do it and why we do it.

At the heart of our operations are our core values: Passion, Intelligence, Fun, Responsible and Community. These values guide our every action.

As one of the UK's leading IT infrastructure providers and a FTSE 250 listed company, we have built a reputation for excellence. Our strategy is simple - we believe that highly engaged employees are the key to building customer trust and loyalty over the years. This trust and loyalty, combined with our market‑leading growth and performance, enables us to invest in our technology and services capabilities.

This investment in turn drives even more engaged employees. We are committed to giving everyone the opportunity to step up and show how much they can achieve. Our success is truly a collective effort - we succeed when all our people succeed.

Role Purpose

We are looking for a Product Owner to join a cross‑functional product squad and maximise the value delivered by the team. Working closely with the Product Manager, you will translate product strategy into prioritised, actionable work that helps deliver measurable customer and business outcomes.

As Product Owner, you will be the day‑to‑day owner of the squad backlog, working closely with designers, engineers, QA, Scrum Masters, and stakeholders to define, prioritise, and deliver high‑impact product improvements. You will support the Product Manager in executing the product roadmap and ensuring the squad is focused on the highest‑value opportunities.

As Product Owner, you'll be responsible for:

• Own and manage the product backlog for your squad, ensuring priorities are clear, aligned, and well understood
• Make day‑to‑day prioritisation and scope decisions within agreed product goals and guardrails
• Continuously balance customer value, business priorities, technical considerations, and delivery constraints when making prioritisation decisions
• Ensure backlog items are sufficiently refined, understood, and ready for development
• Ensure delivered work meets agreed acceptance criteria and contributes to the desired customer and business outcomes
• Use delivery metrics, customer feedback, and product performance data to identify opportunities for improvement
• Translate product direction, customer needs, and business requirements into well‑defined user stories and acceptance criteria

We'd love you to have

• Proven experience as a Product Owner or in a similar product role within an agile environment
• Experience working in a cross‑functional product squad with engineering, design, and delivery teams
• Strong understanding of Agile / Scrum principles and product development practices
• Ability to write clear user stories, define acceptance criteria, and manage competing priorities
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills
• Ability to work closely with a Product Manager and translate strategic direction into squad execution
• Comfortable making decisions, balancing trade-offs, and working in a fast‑paced environment

We also acknowledge that the confidence gap and imposter syndrome are a real thing and can get in the way of us meeting fantastic talent, so please don't hesitate to apply – we would love to hear from you!

Work in a way that works for you

We recognise that everyone is different and that the way in which people want to work and deliver at their best is different for everyone too. In this role, we can offer the following flexible working patterns:

• Hybrid working
• Working flexible hours – flexing the times you start and finish during the day
• Flexibility around school pick up and drop offs

Working with us

Wherever you work, we want you to experience the freedom and autonomy to realise your potential. You will feel supported by a team that celebrates individuality, encourages different perspectives, and embraces every background.

Join us

To become part of the success story.

If you have a disability or neurodiversity, we can provide support or adjustments that you may need throughout our recruitment process or any mitigating circumstance you wish for us to consider. Any information you share on your application will be treated in confidence. You can find out more about life at Softcat and our commitments to diversity and inclusion at jobs.softcat.com/jobs/our-culture/

Here at Softcat, we don't prohibit the use of AI (artificial intelligence) in our application process, as we understand how far it can go to creating a truly equitable candidate experience. That being said, as a culture-driven organisation, we believe that the genuine essence of each person is what truly matters, so we highly encourage you to be as authentically you as possible when submitting your application to showcase your true and whole self.