Product Owner

North Dakota Information Technology (NDIT); North Dakota; On-site; USD 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

North Dakota Information Technology (NDIT) seeks a Product Owner to join the SPACES team supporting the North Dakota Department of Health & Human Services. The Product Owner will collaborate with the Executive Product Owner and Senior Product Manager to manage the backlog, define dependencies, and guide user stories through the SDLC and agile ceremonies.

The role requires collaboration across stakeholders, strong knowledge of agile practices, and the ability to adapt to a rapidly changing

Qualifications

• Knowledge of product owner as a practice, SDLC, and agile frameworks.
• Experience with coordinating across stakeholders and teams.
• Ability to elicit and write user stories and manage backlogs.

Responsibilities

• Interact with diverse stakeholders to advocate needs.
• Demonstrate knowledge of product ownership and agile practices.
• Oversee product development through planning, refinement, and sprints.

Skills

Product ownership

Agile methodologies

SDLC

Stakeholder collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Associate degree

Tools

Azure DevOps (ADO)

Job description

NDIT does not provide employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future. Applicants must be independently authorized to work in the United States.

Help change the world and improve the lives of North Dakota citizens by partnering with our customers to meet business needs and deliver transformational customer and state constituent experiences across Team ND.

North Dakota Information Technology (NDIT) is seeking a Product Owner to join a product team supporting the North Dakota Department of Health & Human Services’ Self-Service Portal and Consolidated Eligibility System (SPACES). The Product Owner will collaborate with the Executive Product Owner and/or Senior Product Manager, to be a trusted partner to the business unitsand use expertise to manage prioritized user stories through the development process to conclusion,, including defining dependencies, event sequences and expected outcomes. This position supports the business unit(s) in the definition and maintenance of the Product Backlog and must possess strong interpersonal skills with the ability to listen, build rapport, and earn credibility as a strategic partner within the business unit(s), stakeholders and Scrum or Kanban Teams which include Vendor developers.

To succeed in this position, you will:

• Interact across a diverse set of stakeholders, spanning multiple organizational levels with empathy and advocacy of their needs within a technology-based organization.
• Demonstrate a knowledge of product owner as a practice, SDLC (software development life cycle) and agile frameworks.
• Oversee the development of the product through all its stages, including the planning, refinement, review, and sprint for each event.
• Plan releases and upgrades, monitor progress of work and address production issues during sprints, and provide feedback to refine our agile methodology based on results and client feedback.
• Communicate through spoken word and in writing to a variety of stakeholders.
• Be flexible and able to learn quickly in a rapidly changing technology landscape.
• Utilize your strong negotiation skills and understand data for decision-making and influence.
• Be with people in a collaborative environment and who embody the core values that we follow as public servants for the State of ND: Gratitude, Humility, Curiosity, and Courage.

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, computer science, or a closely related field, and two years of current and progressively responsible professional-level practical work experience with agile, customer relationship management, business and technical requirements analysis and elicitation, and writing and reviewing user stories.

OR

Associate degree in business administration, computer science, or a closely related field, and four years of current and progressively responsible professional-level practical work experience with agile, customer relationship management, business and technical requirements analysis and elicitation, and writing and reviewing user stories.

OR

Six years of current and progressively responsible professional-level practical work experience with agile, customer relationship management, business and technical requirements analysis and elicitation, and writing and reviewing user stories.

This position must be based anywhere in North Dakota (or a border community such as Moorhead, MN, East Grand Forks, etc). If selected candidate lives within a 50 miles radius of NDIT offices in Bismarck or Fargo, they will work on site one day a week. Otherwise, this position will work remotely.

Application materials must clearly show an address in the selected recruiting area or confirm the candidate’s ability to relocate within 30 days of an offer being made. Applications that do not show they meet the location requirement will be declined.

Subject to legislative approval, this position, along with the entire SPACES team, may be transferred from North Dakota Information Technology (NDIT) to the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the next biennium.

Preferred Requirements:

Agile Experience in Scrum or Kanban specifically.

Experience working with contractors, vendors and/or system integrators.

Experience with ALM tools such as Azure Dev Ops (ADO).