Technical Product Owner

Shoprite; Western Cape; On-site; ZAR 30 000 - 70 000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a dynamic Product Owner to join their agile team. In this role, you will define user stories, prioritize the backlog, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver exceptional products. Your expertise will drive digital omnichannel customer engagement, ensuring a seamless experience across all touchpoints. With a focus on customer-first design and strategic improvements, you will play a crucial role in enhancing acquisition and retention. If you are self-motivated, analytical, and passionate about product development, this is the perfect opportunity for you.

Qualifications

• 4+ years as a Product Owner in an agile environment, launching successful features.
• Experience with multidisciplinary teams and analytics/big data.

Responsibilities

• Define user stories and prioritize team backlog to streamline program priorities.
• Collaborate with teams on backlog refinement and ensure readiness for iterations.

Skills

Agile Methodologies

User Story Development

Stakeholder Engagement

Problem Solving

Analytical Skills

Customer-Centric Design

Education

Degree in Business

Degree in IT

Certified Product Owner

Job description

Role Purpose

The Product Owner II is a member of the agile team responsible for defining user stories and prioritizing the team backlog to streamline program priorities while maintaining the integrity of features or components. The role involves owning products of varying complexities, engaging with product management to execute the product vision, strategy, and roadmap.

Role Description

1. Provide input into refining the program backlog, ensuring team familiarity with features for PI planning, and keeping management informed of progress towards PI objectives.
2. Continuously refine and sequence the product backlog:

• Provide clear direction to the team.
• Gather requirements and capture them as user stories with acceptance criteria.
• Ensure all user stories are written with acceptance criteria.
• Prioritize work for stakeholders, balancing demands from various sources.
• Ensure backlog readiness for the next iteration with sufficient user stories and enablers.
• Include the team in backlog refinement to ensure familiarity before the next iteration.
• Collaborate with BEM/Product Manager/Team on backlog refinement.
• Keep management informed of progress towards sprint objectives.

Provide transparent, clear direction to the development team:

• Offer solution direction and apply economic decision-making.
• Sequence user stories based on PI objectives.
• Balance PI objectives with local team requirements.
• Ensure backlog readiness for upcoming iterations.

Participate in ART and team-level events:

• ART sync, Scrum of Scrums, Inspect and Adapt, PI Planning, daily stand-ups, system demos, iteration planning, reviews, and retrospectives.

Track product release progress and drive digital omnichannel customer engagement, ensuring a consistent and delightful customer experience across all digital touchpoints.

Support strategic customer experience improvements that enhance acquisition, retention, and conversion, advocating for customer-first design and continuous service level improvements.

Qualifications and Experience

• Degree in Business, IT, Engineering, Marketing, or related field.
• Certified Product Owner / SAFe Product Owner certification.
• At least 4 years in a Product Owner role within an agile team, successfully launching features and translating strategy into products.
• Experience working with multidisciplinary teams and analytics/big data.
• Commercial experience in digital business development and customer loyalty.
• Knowledge of legal compliance (POPIA, Electronic Information Act).

Key Competencies and Work Ethic

• Self-motivated, focused, and determined to succeed in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills, with a focus on prioritization and value maximization.
• Strong product focus, translating feedback into requirements and managing product delivery.
• Customer-centric with a proactive approach to anticipating needs.
• Business acumen with understanding of company goals and profitability.
• Collaborative, building strong relationships and managing stakeholder expectations.
• Effective stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, with leadership qualities.
• Strong communication skills, confident in delivering presentations and written reports.
• Curious, adaptable, and comfortable with technological and organizational change.