Product Owner

Job description

Product Owner Tasks and accountabilities:

• Tactical Focus:
• Backlog Management: Own and prioritize the product backlog, ensuring that the most valuable features are developed first. Continuously refine the backlog based on feedback from stakeholders, including customers, developers, and the Product Manager.
• User Story Definition: Break down high-level product requirements into detailed user stories that are well-defined and actionable for the development team. Clearly articulate acceptance criteria and provide ongoing clarification throughout the development process.
• Sprint Planning: Collaborate with the development team during sprint planning sessions to select stories for upcoming sprints, ensuring they align with the sprint goals and product roadmap. Actively participate in sprint reviews and retrospectives to ensure continuous improvement.
• Day-to-day Development Support: Be embedded with the development team, ensuring they understand the requirements, priorities, and expectations. Provide real-time support by answering questions, removing blockers, and making quick decisions to keep progress on track.
• Scope and Stakeholder Management:
• Team Interface: Serve as the primary point of contact between the development team and other stakeholders (e.g., marketing, sales, customer support). Communicate product progress, risks, and changes to stakeholders as needed.
• Detailed Requirements Translation: Translate the high-level product vision from the Product Manager into detailed technical requirements for the development team. Ensure alignment with the overall product goals while making necessary adjustments based on real-time technical and business insights.
• Quality Assurance & Delivery:
• Acceptance Testing: Ensure that developed features meet the acceptance criteria by actively participating in testing and providing feedback to the development team.
• Continuous Improvement: Analyze and evaluate the development process regularly to identify areas for improvement in product delivery, development efficiency, and team collaboration.
• Product Roadmap Execution: Drive the execution of the product roadmap by ensuring alignment with development teams, tracking progress, and proactively identifying risks or blockers that could impact delivery timelines.
• Release Management: Ensure product releases are delivered on time by collaborating with cross-functional teams, tracking dependencies, and managing expectations with stakeholders.
• Risk Mitigation & Issue Resolution: Identify potential risks to project timelines early and take proactive steps to mitigate them, including engaging relevant stakeholders to resolve bottlenecks.

Technical/professional qualifications:

• Agile Methodology Expertise: Deep understanding of Agile methodologies (e.g., Scrum, Kanban) and experience working in an Agile development environment.
• Backlog Management Skills: Proficiency in managing and prioritizing a product backlog with a focus on maximizing value delivery.
• Communication Skills: Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to collaborate effectively with development teams, stakeholders, and the Product Manager.
• Attention to Detail: Strong ability to translate broad product visions into detailed user stories and acceptance criteria, ensuring clarity and feasibility for the development team.
• Decision-Making: Quick decision-making skills to provide clarity to the development team in a fast-paced environment, resolving any roadblocks that could delay progress.
• Execution & Delivery Excellence: Ability to drive product execution by coordinating efforts across teams, ensuring accountability, and maintaining momentum to meet deadlines.
• Project & Release Management: Strong understanding of Agile delivery processes, release planning, and the ability to manage dependencies to ensure smooth and timely product launches.
• Strong understanding of APIs, webhooks, payload structures, and integration patterns used in SaaS-to-ERP or SaaS-to-SaaS connectivity.
• Experience: Minimum of 4 years of experience in product ownership or a related role within Agile development teams, preferably within the fintech or SaaS sectors.

Skills

API, APIs, Agile, Backlog, Kanban, Scrum, Webhooks