Agile Product Owner – EDW

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona; United States; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona is seeking an Agile Product Owner who partners with business and IT to plan strategic technology initiatives. You will own the product backlog, write user stories, and collaborate with the Scrum Master to ensure successful sprints.

The role requires strong ability to decompose initiatives, communicate with diverse groups, and deliver value through prioritized features within an Agile framework.

Qualifications

• Required Education: High school diploma or GED in a general field of study.
• Must achieve Agile Product Owner certification within 12 months of placement.
• Communication with diverse groups inside and outside the business is essential.

Responsibilities

• Maintain accountability for the product backlog and prioritize user stories with team members.
• Partner with the Scrum Master to support the Scrum framework.
• Create business user stories and decompose features into nontechnical stories.
• Review test cases against acceptance criteria and reprioritize backlog as needed.
• Lead backlog grooming sessions and participate in sprint planning and reviews.

Skills

Agile product ownership

Backlog management

User story writing

Stakeholder communication

Prioritization

Sprint planning

Requirements analysis

Education

High school diploma or GED

Bachelor’s degree in CS/IS/Business or related field

Tools

Microsoft applications

Windows Server

Networking concepts

Job description

Purpose of the Job

This leader works with key business and IT partners to develop strategic plans for technologies that impact the company. The Agile Product Owner delivers features and provides methodology, processes, policies, practices, guidance, and tools to the organization.

Required Qualifications

• Three years of experience in the healthcare or insurance field, with an emphasis on business analysis and/or computer technology, including electronic data interchange.
• Two years of experience in a role demonstrating the ability to communicate with diverse groups of people inside and outside the business.
• Three years of experience decomposing high-level initiative information and evaluating components to forecast the required work effort.

Required Education: High school diploma or GED in a general field of study. Applies to all levels.

Required Licenses: None.

Required Certifications: Achievement of an Agile Product Owner certification within 12 months of placement.

Preferred Qualifications

• Eight years of experience in the healthcare or insurance field, with an emphasis on business analysis and/or computer technology, including electronic data interchange.
• Five years of experience in a role demonstrating the ability to communicate with diverse groups of people inside and outside the business.
• Three years of experience working in Agile or Scrum environments as a product owner, including writing user stories and following the development process through user story acceptance.

Preferred Education: Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, business, or a related field. Applies to all levels.

Preferred Licenses: None.

Preferred Certifications: Agile Product Owner certification.

Essential Job Functions and Responsibilities

Level 1 - Agile Product Owner I

• Performs job functions with minimal supervision.
• Plan, direct, and coordinate projects to ensure goals and objectives are accomplished within prescribed time frames and funding parameters.
• Maintain accountability for the product backlog and prioritize user stories with team members.
• Create business user stories.
• Partner with the Scrum Master to support the Scrum framework.
• Share and decompose features into nontechnical user stories.
• Develop a deep understanding of customer and product needs.
• Serve as the recognized voice of the business to the team.
• Work closely with project managers to represent capabilities and features at the team level.
• Ensure traceability from requirements to features and user stories.
• Review test cases against user story acceptance criteria.
• Periodically reprioritize the product backlog based on customer feedback, market changes, and business priorities communicated by the Product Manager.
• Participate actively in product backlog grooming sessions, retrospectives, defect management, and project team release-planning sessions.
• Remain accessible to answer team questions and participate in sprint-planning sessions and daily Scrum meetings.
• Maintain acceptance criteria that support the business value of user stories.
• Create and deliver presentations.

Level 2 - Agile Product Owner II

• Performs job functions in a lead capacity with general management oversight.
• This level includes the responsibilities of Agile Product Owner I and the following: Lead, instruct, direct, and review the work of other team members.
• Provide input for team member performance reviews.
• Formally accept user stories after all acceptance criteria have been met.
• Assist management with project support and resource planning.
• Facilitate and/or create new procedures and processes that support advancing technologies or capabilities.
• Evaluate high-level project information and assess project components to forecast the required work effort.
• Ensure service-level agreements between the department and operational or technical areas are met.
• Provide peer-level review and mentoring to Agile Product Owner I employees.

All Levels

• Each progressive level includes the ability to perform the essential functions of lower levels and mentor employees at those levels.
• Participate in corporate quality and data-governance programs.
• Maintain a full-time work schedule. Full-time is defined as working at least 40 hours per week, plus additional hours as requested or needed to meet business requirements.
• Perform all other duties as assigned.

Required Competencies

Required Job Skills

• Intermediate PC proficiency.
• Intermediate proficiency with spreadsheet, database, project-management, and word-processing software.
• Advanced knowledge of and experience with developing business requirements, conducting user acceptance testing, and using supporting toolsets.
• Intermediate knowledge of Microsoft applications and suites, Windows Server, and networking applications.
• Strong understanding of project-management and Agile best practices and quality-improvement principles.
• Intermediate understanding of information technology.

Required Professional Competencies

• Ability to effectively remove barriers and maintain progress on initiatives.
• Strong analytical skills that support independent and effective decision-making.
• Ability to prioritize tasks and manage multiple priorities, sometimes under limited time constraints.
• Perseverance when facing resistance or setbacks.
• Creativity and innovative problem-solving abilities.
• Effective interpersonal skills and the ability to maintain positive working relationships.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to interact professionally with diverse groups, executives, managers, and subject-matter experts.
• Systems research and analysis skills.
• Ability to write and present business documentation.
• Experience working with and managing third parties.
• Extensive experience and judgment necessary to plan and accomplish goals.
• Knowledge of business-requirements development and user acceptance testing.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and privacy.
• Analytical ability to generate reports using available data and make decisions based on reported information.

Required Leadership Competencies

• Facilitate and resolve customer requests and inquiries for all levels of management within the corporation.
• Build synergy within a diverse team in an ever-changing environment.

Preferred Competencies

Preferred Job Skills

• Advanced skill in using office equipment, including copiers, fax machines, scanners, and telephones.
• Advanced PC proficiency.
• Intermediate knowledge of company applications.

Preferred Professional Competencies

• Strong project-leadership skills.
• Solid technical ability and problem-solving skills.
• Knowledge of internal departments and operations.
• Strong technical-documentation skills.
• Ability to translate technical concepts so they are easily understood by nontechnical audiences.

Preferred Leadership Competencies

• Mentor team members and peers.
• Develop lesson plans and deliver instruction to team members.

Our Commitment

AZ Blue does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status or any other protected group.

Thank you for your interest in Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona.

For more information on our company, see azblue.com.