At a Glance
- Tasks: Own and manage the product backlog, ensuring smooth delivery and clear communication.
- Company: Join ePass, Scotland's ambitious GovTech scaleup making a positive impact.
- Benefits: Enjoy hybrid working, 30 days annual leave, and professional development opportunities.
- Other info: Be part of a dynamic team focused on meaningful public service delivery.
- Why this job: Shape public services and influence real change in a collaborative environment.
- Qualifications: Experience in agile delivery and strong communication skills are essential.
The predicted salary is between 40000 - 50000 £ per year.
About ePassePass is Scotland's most ambitious GovTech scaleup, originally born out of CivTech Scotland, now growing its digital licensing platform across public sector markets. We provide reusable digital infrastructure for licensing, permitting and registration services. These services are often complex, policy-driven and operationally fragmented, affecting citizens, businesses, local authorities, regulators and central government.
As our delivery capability grows, we are looking for a Product Owner who can keep that delivery grounded, moving and well-organised. Someone who is close to the backlog, close to engineering, and close enough to clients and users to make good product decisions daily. You’ll be joining a focused team of AI enthusiasts, product evangelists, senior engineering talent, political strategists, and go to market specialists, in an organisation that is looking to make massive positive impact on the world.
The role is an operational product ownership role. You will own the day-to-day running of the backlog, keep delivery moving, and make sure the engineering team always has clear, well-defined work in front of them. You will sit inside the delivery team, attend standups, run refinement sessions, write stories, resolve blockers and make the decisions that keep sprints on track. You will be the person engineering turns to when something is unclear, and the person who ensures that what gets built reflects what users and clients need.
The role sits at the intersection of service design, engineering and client delivery. You will work closely with our CTO to shape and prioritise the backlog. You will work closely with the engineering team to ensure those items are well-scoped, understood and deliverable.
What you will do:
- Own product delivery operations across ePass client engagements, particularly around licensing, permitting and registration services.
- Own and maintain the product backlog: groomed, prioritised and ready for delivery at all times.
- Write and refine user stories with clear, testable acceptance criteria.
- Run and facilitate backlog refinement, sprint planning and sprint review sessions.
- Work with engineering daily to clarify requirements, unblock delivery and support sprint execution.
- Triage incoming requests from clients and internal teams and translate them into well-defined backlog items.
- Work with service designers and user researchers to ensure delivery is grounded in user needs and service evidence.
- Distinguish between product configuration choices, service design issues, policy constraints and engineering decisions.
- Manage and communicate sprint progress clearly to the wider team and to clients.
- Support testing and acceptance of completed work before release.
- Flag risks, dependencies and scope creep early and clearly.
What we are looking for:
- A reliable, organised and delivery-focused product owner who can keep a team moving without losing sight of what matters.
- Proven experience owning a backlog in an active agile delivery team.
- The ability to write clear, well-scoped user stories that engineers can act on without ambiguity.
- Strong facilitation skills for refinement, planning and review ceremonies.
- Strong communication skills with both technical and non-technical colleagues and clients.
- An organised, dependable working style, things don't fall through the gaps.
- The ability to work across product, service design, engineering and client teams without losing focus on delivery.
Experience with Scottish Government, local government, UK public services, regulated services, GovTech delivery or digital licensing and permitting would be particularly valuable.
Join an impact led, highly driven organisation with benefits such as:
- Company pension scheme.
- Enhanced maternity / paternity leave.
- Hybrid working (2 days per week in Edinburgh office).
- Company meetups and fun culture.
- Highly collaborative and supportive work environment.
- Professional development and training opportunities.
- 30 days of annual leave, plus your birthday off!
This is an opportunity to shape product ownership capability inside a growing and innovative Scottish GovTech company. ePass is working on practical public services where licensing, permitting and registration affect citizens, businesses, public bodies and frontline operations. The work is complex, meaningful and close to real public service delivery.
For a Product Owner who wants to work close to users, stakeholders and delivery teams, this role offers a serious opportunity to influence how public services are understood, shaped and improved.
Product Owner employer: ePass
ePass is an exceptional employer, offering a dynamic and collaborative work environment where innovation meets public service. With a strong focus on employee growth, we provide professional development opportunities, a generous benefits package including enhanced parental leave and 30 days of annual leave, and a vibrant company culture that values teamwork and impact. Located in Edinburgh, our team is dedicated to making a meaningful difference in the GovTech sector, ensuring that every employee has the chance to contribute to transformative public services.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Product Owner
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with people in the GovTech space. Attend meetups, webinars, or even local events. You never know who might have a lead on your dream Product Owner role!
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio that highlights your experience with backlog management and agile delivery. Use real examples to demonstrate how you've kept teams organised and focused. This will make you stand out when chatting with potential employers.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for those interviews! Research ePass and understand their mission in the GovTech space. Be ready to discuss how your experience aligns with their needs, especially around licensing and permitting. Tailor your answers to show you're the perfect fit for their team.
✨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website! We love seeing candidates who take the initiative. Make sure your application reflects your passion for product ownership and your understanding of user needs. Let’s get you on board at ePass!
We think you need these skills to ace Product Owner
Some tips for your application 🫡
Know the Role Inside Out:Before you start writing your application, make sure you really understand what a Product Owner does at ePassePass. Dive into the job description and think about how your experience aligns with the responsibilities and skills mentioned. This will help you tailor your application to show us you're the perfect fit!
Craft Clear User Stories:Just like in the role, your application should tell a clear story about your experience. Use specific examples that highlight your skills in backlog management and agile delivery. Make it easy for us to see how you've tackled similar challenges in the past!
Show Your Passion for GovTech:We’re all about making a positive impact through technology. In your application, let us know why you’re excited about working in the GovTech space and how you can contribute to our mission. A little enthusiasm goes a long way!
Apply Through Our Website:We want to hear from you! Make sure to submit your application through our website. It’s the best way for us to keep track of your application and ensure it gets the attention it deserves. Plus, it shows us you’re serious about joining our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at ePass
✨Know Your Backlog Inside Out
As a Product Owner, you'll be managing the backlog daily. Make sure you understand how to prioritise tasks and what makes a well-defined user story. Be ready to discuss your experience with backlog management and how you've kept teams on track in previous roles.
✨Communicate Like a Pro
Strong communication skills are key for this role. Prepare to demonstrate how you've effectively communicated with both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Think of examples where your clear communication helped resolve blockers or clarified requirements.
✨Show Your Agile Expertise
Since this role is all about agile delivery, brush up on your agile methodologies. Be prepared to talk about your experience running sprint planning and review sessions, and how you've facilitated these processes to keep teams aligned and productive.
✨Understand User Needs
This position requires a focus on user needs and service evidence. Come equipped with examples of how you've worked with service designers or user researchers to ensure that product decisions are grounded in real user feedback. Highlight your ability to translate user needs into actionable backlog items.
