Product Owner

Pontoon; Gloucester; Hybrid; GBP 92,000 - 148,000; Part time

Job summary

Pontoon is seeking a Contract Product Owner for 6 months with hybrid on-site requirements at Bristol Harbourside or Edinburgh (2 days a week on site). The role focuses on owning and prioritising a backlog for a process or component, bridging Operations, stakeholders and delivery teams to realise high-value outcomes.

Experience in Agile environments, Jira/Jira Align, and Pega Studio is preferred, with strong stakeholder management and the ability to translate strategy into deliverable outcomes.

Qualifications

• Strong Product Owner experience in Agile environments.
• Experience managing product backlogs and prioritisation.
• Articulate benefits and business value to support prioritisation.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Ability to translate strategy into delivery outcomes.
• Experience with Jira and Jira Align.
• Experience working with cross-functional Agile teams.
• Knowledge of Insurance, Pensions and Investments products and customer journeys.
• Experience with Pega technology, including App Studio.
• Experience in process modernisation, workflow or automation delivery.
• Understanding of Cloud migration and operational transformation programmes.

Responsibilities

• Define and communicate a clear product vision.
• Translate business strategy into prioritised outcomes, epics, features and stories.
• Own and manage the team backlog.
• Ensure delivery aligns to MVP principles and maximises value.
• Measure and report benefits realisation and product performance.
• Prioritise, refine and manage the team's backlog.
• Lead discovery, refinement and planning activities.
• Ensure work is well-defined, sized and ready for delivery.
• Maintain alignment between Lab priorities and Feature Team priorities.
• Work closely with Heads of Function, Business Product Owners, SMEs and Operations teams.
• Facilitate decision-making and obtain relevant sign-offs.
• Manage competing priorities and resolve ambiguity.
• Build strong relationships across Operational and Engineering teams.
• Lead initiatives through the end-to-end lifecycle.
• Deliver change safely in line with Platform 3.0 and PCF standards.
• Own governance, reporting, risk and issue management.
• Working with operations to ensure business readiness, communications, training and operational handover activities are completed.
• Work with Integrators and Engineering Leads to manage cross-team dependencies.
• Support release planning and implementation planning.
• Ensure successful deployment and adoption.

Skills

Product Owner

Backlog management

Stakeholder mgmt

Translate strategy

Jira/Jira Align

Agile teams

Insurance products

Cloud migration

Process modernisation

Cross-functional team

Tools

Jira

Jira Align

Pega App Studio

Job description

Product Owner (Contract)

Duration: 6 Months (Possibility for extension)

Location: Bristol Harbourside or Edinburgh (2 days per week on site)

Rate: A highly competitive Umbrella Day Rate or Salary is available for suitable candidates

Role Profile

The Product Owner is responsible for owning and prioritising a product backlog for a specific process, journey, feature or technology component, ensuring the team delivers the highest-value outcomes for customers, colleagues and the business. The role acts as the bridge between Operations, stakeholders and delivery teams, translating strategic objectives into deliverable outcomes.

The PO works alongside the Lab Product Owner, Engineering Lead, Integrator, Customer Journey Managers and developers/testers to deliver modernised customer and colleague journeys on Pega Cloud.

Key Responsibilities:

• Define and communicate a clear product vision.
• Translate business strategy into prioritised outcomes, epics, features and stories.
• Own and manage the team backlog.
• Ensure delivery aligns to MVP principles and maximises value.
• Measure and report benefits realisation and product performance.
• Prioritise, refine and manage the team's backlog.
• Lead discovery, refinement and planning activities.
• Ensure work is well-defined, sized and ready for delivery.
• Maintain alignment between Lab priorities and Feature Team priorities.
• Work closely with Heads of Function, Business Product Owners, SMEs and Operations teams.
• Facilitate decision-making and obtain relevant sign-offs.
• Manage competing priorities and resolve ambiguity.
• Build strong relationships across Operational and Engineering teams.
• Lead initiatives through the end-to-end lifecycle.
• Deliver change safely in line with Platform 3.0 and PCF standards.
• Own governance, reporting, risk and issue management.
• Working with operations to ensure business readiness, communications, training and operational handover activities are completed.
• Work with Integrators and Engineering Leads to manage cross-team dependencies.
• Support release planning and implementation planning.
• Ensure successful deployment and adoption.

Skills & Experience:

• Strong Product Owner experience in Agile environments.
• Experience managing product backlogs and prioritisation.
• Articulate benefits and business value to support prioritisation.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Ability to translate strategy into delivery outcomes.
• Experience with Jira and Jira Align.
• Experience working with cross-functional Agile teams.
• Knowledge of Insurance, Pensions and Investments products and customer journeys.
• Experience with Pega technology, including App Studio.
• Experience in process modernisation, workflow or automation delivery.
• Understanding of Cloud migration and operational transformation programmes.

Candidates will need to show evidence of the above in their CV in order to be considered.

We will respond to all successful applicants ASAP however, please be advised that we will always look to contact you further from this time should we need further applicants or if other opportunities arise relevant to your skillset.

Pontoon is an employment consultancy. We put expertise, energy, and enthusiasm into improving everyone's chance of being part of the workplace. We respect and appreciate people of all ethnicities, generations, religious beliefs, sexual orientations, gender identities, and more. We do this by showcasing their talents, skills, and unique experience in an inclusive environment that helps them thrive.

As part of our standard hiring process to manage risk, please note background screening checks will be conducted on all hires before commencing employment.

We use generative AI tools to support our candidate screening process. This helps us ensure a fair, consistent, and efficient experience for all applicants. Rest assured, all final decisions are made by our hiring team, and your application will be reviewed with care and attention.