Product Owner

Jobtailor; New York (NY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

WoodmenLife is seeking an Agile Product Owner to drive the program vision within an enterprise project team. You will manage the backlog, refine user stories, and coordinate with stakeholders to plan increments and releases.

You will participate in PI planning, sprint ceremonies, and cross-functional collaboration, translating business needs into valuable features while ensuring timely delivery and quality.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent with 2+ years of experience as an Agile Product Owner or as an Agile Business Analyst in a product-facing capacity.
• Knowledgeable and experienced with agile user story management, user story elicitation, stakeholder management, and backlog grooming /management, and change management.
• Ability to create meaningful features and user stories that are independent, negotiable, verifiable, estimable, small, and testable (I.N.V.E.S.T standards).
• Possesses an understanding of techniques for applying splitting patterns to larger stories to produce user value within each iteration or release.
• Solid understanding of Agile practices and principles which includes but is not limited to the ability to create meaningful user stories that align with the I.N.V.E.S.T Standards and possess a strong understanding of techniques for applying split patterns to larger stories to provide value within iterations or releases.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and product management skills required.
• Proficiency in MS Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio; ability to work with appropriate technical tools and methods to effectively fulfill responsibilities.
• Experience with solution development with cross-functional teams using Scrum, Kanban, or hybrid of the two.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a team environment and with business customers. Must be able to quickly establish credibility while working in new subject areas and with various areas of business.

Responsibilities

• Drives the execution of the program vision as a participant within a support or enterprise project development team.
• Reviews and contributes to the program vision, Roadmap, and content presentations in preparation for Program Increment Planning.
• Assesses product usefulness and explains functionality to users.
• Coordinates resolutions that involve system or application-level changes for incidents reported by the business.
• Monitors new features and releases, and coordinates with Business Technology and stakeholders to plan and initiate upgrades.
• Acts as a liaison between the development team, stakeholders, and senior leadership in defining product features and user stories necessary to execute the program vision.
• In partnership with the Product Manager, System Architect/Engineering and key Stakeholders, responsible for managing the backlog and prioritizing stories for future implementation.
• Negotiates scope, priority, commitments, and schedule as needed in relation to all work within the backlog from multiple stakeholders and subject matter experts.
• Inspects and evaluates product progress through each iteration- demos and determines whether the final product is acceptable.
• Participates in agile ceremonies such as program increment planning, sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and sprint reviews to provide input on sprint accomplishments.
• Collaborates with other WoodmenLife product owners to exchange ideas on necessary product features.
• Understands how related project risks, assumptions, dependencies, or constraints can impact the delivery team and overall release plan.
• Based on the platform, may perform functional level configurations within the product. Sets and adapts administrative rules for product usage; monitors and reports on product usage, performance, and productivity.
• Sets up users and assigns rights to users within the product. Creates user level and administrative level workflows within the product.
• Meets expectations for attendance and punctuality in accordance with the expectations established by your manager and WoodmenLife policy.
• Performs other duties as assigned by management and/or occasional tasks to help the dev team meet their release commitments.
• Abides by all company security policies and procedures.

Skills

Agile Product Ownership

User Story Management

Backlog Grooming

Stakeholder Management

Analytical Problem-Solving

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

MS Excel

MS Word

MS PowerPoint

MS Visio

Scrum

Kanban

Job description

• Drives the execution of the program vision as a participant within a support or enterprise project development team.
• Reviews and contributes to the program vision, Roadmap, and content presentations in preparation for Program Increment Planning.
• Assesses product usefulness and explains functionality to users.
• Coordinates resolutions that involve system or application-level changes for incidents reported by the business.
• Monitors new features and releases, and coordinates with Business Technology and stakeholders to plan and initiate upgrades.
• Acts as a liaison between the development team, stakeholders, and senior leadership in defining product features and user stories necessary to execute the program vision.
• In partnership with the Product Manager, System Architect/Engineering and key Stakeholders, responsible for managing the backlog and prioritizing stories for future implementation.
• Negotiates scope, priority, commitments, and schedule as needed in relation to all work within the backlog from multiple stakeholders and subject matter experts.
• Inspects and evaluates product progress through each iteration- demos and determines whether the final product is acceptable.
• Participates in agile ceremonies such as program increment planning, sprint planning, daily stand-ups, and sprint reviews to provide input on sprint accomplishments.
• Collaborates with other WoodmenLife product owners to exchange ideas on necessary product features.
• Understands how related project risks, assumptions, dependencies, or constraints can impact the delivery team and overall release plan.
• Based on the platform, may perform functional level configurations within the product. Sets and adapts administrative rules for product usage; monitors and reports on product usage, performance, and productivity.
• Sets up users and assigns rights to users within the product. Creates user level and administrative level workflows within the product.
• Meets expectations for attendance and punctuality in accordance with the expectations established by your manager and WoodmenLife policy.
• Performs other duties as assigned by management and/or occasional tasks to help the dev team meet their release commitments.
• Abides by all company security policies and procedures.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent with 2+ years of experience as an Agile Product Owner or as an Agile Business Analyst in a product-facing capacity.
• Knowledgeable and experienced with agile user story management, user story elicitation, stakeholder management, and backlog grooming /management, and change management.
• Ability to create meaningful features and user stories that are independent, negotiable, verifiable, estimable, small, and testable (I.N.V.E.S.T standards).
• Possesses an understanding of techniques for applying splitting patterns to larger stories to produce user value within each iteration or release.
• Solid understanding of Agile practices and principles which includes but is not limited to the ability to create meaningful user stories that align with the I.N.V.E.S.T Standards and possess a strong understanding of techniques for applying split patterns to larger stories to provide value within iterations or releases.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and product management skills required.
• Proficiency in MS Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio; ability to work with appropriate technical tools and methods to effectively fulfill responsibilities.
• Experience with solution development with cross-functional teams using Scrum, Kanban, or hybrid of the two.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a team environment and with business customers. Must be able to quickly establish credibility while working in new subject areas and with various areas of business.
• Ability to meet established deadlines and be proactive in achieving desired outcomes with supporting technology applications across a broad user base.
• Excellent communication and customer service skills, including the ability to interact and collaborate professionally with a diverse group including executives, management, project team members, subject matter experts and front-line users.
• Willingness to learn and take on new challenges, with ability to work effectively with little or no supervision yet be an integral part of the team.
• Ability to provide seamless, trustworthy, attentive, and resourceful (S.T.A.R.) customer service.
• Engages well with others and are passionate about providing an exemplary customer experience.
• Ability to maintain highly confidential and sensitive information (Include in jobs that work with customer and/or employee personal information).

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in Agile Product Ownership, including user story management, backlog grooming, and stakeholder collaboration. Proficient in utilizing Agile methodologies to drive product development and enhance user experience.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Agile Product Ownership
• User Story Management
• Backlog Grooming
• Stakeholder Management
• Analytical Problem-Solving

ATS Optimization Keywords

Hard Skills

• Agile Practices
• User Story Elicitation
• Change Management
• Product Management
• Functional Level Configurations

Soft Skills

• Excellent Communication
• Customer Service Skills
• Team Collaboration
• Proactive Problem-Solving
• Credibility Establishment

Industry Keywords

• Program Increment Planning
• Product Features
• I.N.V.E.S.T Standards
• Iteration Evaluation
• Cross-Functional Teams

Tools & Technologies

• MS Excel
• MS Word
• MS PowerPoint
• MS Visio
• Scrum
• Kanban