At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead product development by understanding client needs and refining user outcomes.
- Company: Join activpayroll, a forward-thinking company focused on delivering impactful solutions.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive pay, flexible working options, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with a focus on innovation and career advancement.
- Why this job: Make a real difference by shaping products that enhance user experiences.
- Qualifications: Strong analytical skills and experience in product management or HCM solutions.
The predicted salary is between 50000 - 65000 £ per year.
Our Product and Development teams at activpayroll continually strive to deliver the outcomes that matter most to our customers. The role of Product Owner at activpayroll is critical as it involves working with clients (both external and internal) to refine user outcomes, generate user stories, and capture measurable key results that confirm success. The Product Owner is responsible for confirming the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ for work committed to the development team, which includes gathering, prioritising, and setting activities to be delivered, accepting completed work, and ensuring successful delivery within the agile scrum methodology.
On a typical day, it looks like this:
- Being the voice of the customer and an expert in the product delivered and the value it provides to our clients.
- Taking all steps required to understand the end-to-end client and user experience of the solution, any integrations, and any dependencies impacting a great experience.
- Working with the Head of Product to refine the Product Roadmap over time against the Product Vision.
- Focusing and aligning prioritisation of Objectives, Key Results, and Deliverables around the targeted priorities set at a strategic level for the organisation.
- Working with internal/external customers to analyse needs and align delivery to the product roadmap.
- Developing scope and defining backlog items (e.g. epics, features, and user stories) to guide the development team.
- Developing and maintaining a prioritised backlog of user stories for the product.
- Meeting with clients directly (in-person or virtually) to understand and solve their challenges where appropriate and in line with the product vision.
- Making judgements on the value and cases for activity and recommendations on inclusions for each quarterly plan in partnership with the Head of Product Management to maximise value to clients and alignment with our product strategy and vision.
- Communicating proactively with stakeholders to ensure outcomes, activity, and delivery are clear.
- Working closely and successfully with a multi-disciplinary development team, stakeholders, and domain teams (including clients and partners) locally and internationally.
- Reporting on the status of product developments and initiatives as required (formally at least every 2 weeks).
- Ensuring any escalation requiring action in the product is assessed, prioritised, and actions clearly communicated and visible to stakeholders as required.
- Supporting and ensuring the success of both product (value) delivery and operational readiness to ensure clients maximise their value.
- Tracking the key result success measures for everything delivered to clients.
- Articulating and communicating the product roadmap to any stakeholder internally or externally, including clients, partners, and market analysts interested in our solutions.
- Demonstrating the product for clients, partners, and stakeholders where required.
What attributes typically make someone brilliant in this role:
- Ability to translate user and business needs into solutions that work for users and deliver outcomes for clients, with some understanding of the technical considerations that need to be made.
- Strong analytical and creative thinking skills.
- Brilliant interpersonal skills required to communicate and coordinate activities across a diverse set of cross-functional engineering, product management, UX, support, and customer-facing professional teams.
- A motivator of those around you and a driver of making positive change happen.
- Ideally, experience working with HCM/Payroll solutions.
- Experience with Azure Dev Ops (or similar) is desirable.
- Understanding of user experience and how to communicate experience and process improvement ideas to developers and UX teams.
- Experience of working and managing 3rd party partners and their roadmap requirements and relationships.
- Experience working in a high growth, highly successful business environment and the cultural and professional expectations that come with that.
Product Owner employer: activpayroll
As a Hybrid UK Payroll Specialist, you'll join a dynamic team at the forefront of our payroll operations, where accuracy and customer satisfaction are paramount. With a supportive work culture that embraces hybrid working in both Aberdeen and Edinburgh, we prioritise employee growth and development, offering opportunities to enhance your skills while enjoying a flexible work-life balance. Our commitment to delivering best-in-class service ensures that you will be part of a collaborative environment that values your expertise and contributions.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Product Owner
✨Join Product Management Meetups
Get involved in local product management meetups or workshops. These events are perfect for meeting industry folks, sharing ideas, and staying updated on trends. Plus, you never know who might be hiring—it's a fantastic way to make connections that could lead to a job at places like activpayroll!
✨Show Off Your Product Sense
Create case studies or mini-projects showcasing your product management skills, and share them on platforms like Medium or LinkedIn. This not only puts your skills on display but also boosts your visibility in the product community. Imagine how impressed the hiring team at activpayroll would be by your initiative!
✨Utilise Online Communities
Dive into online product management communities like Product Coalition or Mind the Product. Engage in discussions, ask questions, and share your insights. These platforms are goldmines for networking and finding hidden job opportunities—many companies often scout talent from within these circles.
✨Leverage Your University Network
If you’ve recently graduated or are still in uni, tap into your alumni network for connections in product management. Many universities have their own job boards and affinity resources to help graduates land roles. Don't forget to keep an eye out for job openings at activpayroll through your school's career services!
We think you need these skills to ace Product Owner
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Off Your Product Passion:When applying for a product management role like Product Owner, let your passion for developing products shine through in your cover letter. Share specific examples of products you've managed, how you solved user needs, and any successful outcomes you've achieved. This is your chance to showcase your understanding of the product lifecycle!
Highlight Your Cross-Functional Skills:Product management isn't just about understanding the product; it’s about collaborating with different teams! Make sure to emphasise your experience working with developers, designers, and marketers. Use your CV to showcase your ability to bridge gaps between these areas, and include relevant experiences that demonstrate your communication and leadership skills!
Include Your Metrics and Achievements:In a full-time product management application, data speaks volumes! Quantify your achievements wherever possible. Did you increase user retention by a certain percentage? Launch a product ahead of schedule? Include these metrics in your CV to paint a picture of your impact and effectiveness in previous roles.
Tailor Your CV to the Role:Make sure your CV is tailored for the Product Owner position at activpayroll. Use keywords from the job description and ensure your relevant experiences are front and centre. Highlight any certifications or relevant training you’ve completed that will make you stand out as a strong candidate for the role. And remember, we’re excited to see your application on our website!
How to prepare for a job interview at activpayroll
✨Understand the Product Life Cycle
As a product management candidate, we need to get our head around the complete product life cycle. Be prepared to discuss real-world examples of how you’ve managed product development from ideation to launch. Bring specific insights on tools like JIRA or Trello that can help streamline these processes.
✨Showcase Your Cross-Functional Skills
Product management is all about collaboration. We should be ready to highlight how we’ve worked across teams—think marketing, engineering, and design. Prepare to discuss scenarios where you had to mediate differing opinions and how you got everyone on board with a shared vision.
✨Prepare for Case Studies
In a full-time role, we can expect to encounter case study questions during our interviews. Practise solving hypothetical product problems on the spot, such as prioritising features for a new app or improving user engagement metrics. This will show our analytical thinking and decision-making skills.
✨Know Your Metrics
Let’s face it, numbers are our best friends in product management. We should prepare to discuss key performance indicators (KPIs) and how we've used analytics to inform product decisions. Dive into examples where data has driven our strategy for improvements or justified product changes.