Lead Associate- Product Owner

The Product Owner is responsible for maximising the value delivered by the Agile Scrum team through effective backlog ownership, client engagement, and product delivery. You will act as the voice of the client, translating business needs into clear, actionable user stories and ensuring delivery aligns with strategic objectives.

This role plays a key part in shaping product outcomes within the UK&I IT department, supporting high-quality, user-centered digital products that meet client expectations, drive operational efficiency, and contribute to Davies’ long-term technology strategy.

Key Responsibilities

Product Strategy and Alignment

• Own and manage the product backlog, ensuring alignment with client needs and business priorities.
• Translate business objectives into clear, actionable delivery items for the Scrum team.
• Ensure product vision and goals are well understood across teams and stakeholders.
• Contribute to product planning and lifecycle activities alongside senior leaders.

Backlog & Requirements Management

• Create, refine, and prioritise user stories, features, and epics.
• Develop acceptance criteria using the Given-When-Then Gherkin format.
• Ensure backlog transparency, clarity, and readiness for development.
• Work with design and engineering teams to support UI/UX wireframes and prototype development.

Client Engagement & Insight

• Build a deep understanding of client roles, needs, and pain points.
• Facilitate requirement gathering and translate insights into product deliverables.
• Act as the client advocate within the Scrum team, ensuring solutions meet expectations.
• Support benefits realisation by tracking outcomes and validating delivered value.

Agile Delivery & Team Collaboration

• Actively participate in Agile ceremonies: sprint planning, reviews, stand-ups, and retrospectives.
• Work closely with engineers, designers, and architects to ensure shared understanding of priorities.
• Promote a user-centred mindset and champion best practices in software development.
• Support the team in breaking down complex problems into actionable increments.

Continuous Improvement & Product Performance

• Monitor product performance and use data-driven insights to guide improvements.
• Identify opportunities to optimise delivery processes and enhance product quality.
• Collaborate with technical leaders to ensure modern engineering practices and technology use.
• Support the ongoing evolution and optimisation of digital products across the portfolio.

Scope of Influence/Portfolio Coverage

The Product Owner will influence:

• End-to-end product discovery, refinement, and delivery cycles.
• Client-facing and internal workflows supported by the assigned product area.
• User story creation, acceptance criteria, and technical requirement clarity.
• Collaborative work with engineering leads, architects, designers, and business stakeholders.
• Product performance tracking, optimisation, and continuous improvement activities.

Key relationships

Internal

• Agile Coach and Senior Leadership
• Product Delivery teams
• Engineering, Architecture & Technical Leads
• UX/UI designers
• Operational Leaders and Client-facing teams
• Data, Cyber, and Cloud teams

External

• Clients and end users
• Technology and integration partners
• Cloud service providers (Azure, AWS)
• Industry experts, advisors, and innovation partners

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Desirable

• Experience working with engineering teams on software development best practices.
• Exposure to workflow or case management systems.
• Understanding of DevOps, integration patterns, and cloud-native technologies.
• Experience supporting product delivery across multiple business units or regions.

Required Attributes

• Collaborative, open, and able to work confidently with both technical and non-technical teams.
• Outcome-focused and driven by delivering value to clients and the business.
• Structured thinker with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communicator, able to simplify complex requirements for diverse audiences.
• Innovative mindset with a passion for modern technology and continuous learning.

Essential

• Proven experience as a Product Owner or similar role in an Agile environment.
• Strong understanding of Agile Scrum methodologies and product management principles.
• Ability to deconstruct problems and translate them into user stories and requirements.
• Background or exposure to technical environments (e.g., .Net, Python, Java, cloud platforms).
• Experience with cloud services such as Azure or AWS.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage stakeholders at all levels.
• Strong client focus with a track record of delivering solutions that meet user needs.
• Data-driven approach to decision-making and feature prioritisation.
• Experience with user-centred design, UI/UX concepts, and prototype collaboration.
• Self-starter with strong work ethic and ability to work independently.