Product Owner [Maternity Cover - 9 Month FTC] in Birmingham

This position is mostly remote, but will require occasional travel when necessary.

About us

At Halfords, our mission is to inspire and support a lifetime of motoring and cycling. As a specialist retailer, we lead the market through customer-driven innovation and a distinct product range. We are dedicated to providing our customers with an integrated, unique, and convenient service experience—from e-bike and electric vehicle servicing to on-demand solutions. Our commitment is to foster customer loyalty by offering compelling reasons to keep coming back to our stores, ensuring a lifetime of motoring and cycling enjoyment.

Halfords is quickly becoming a digital services business. In addition to being a leading UK retailer, Halfords has now developed a market leading field service management platform that enables businesses to deliver their complex services to customers through an end-to-end digital solution. The platform is deployed throughout Halfords stores, garages and their mobile business. The platform has now been taken to market to enable other businesses in our sector and other industries globally to deliver market leading service delivery and an unrivalled customer experience. This SaaS division is called Avayler (Avayler.com).

The role

As a Product Owner at Avayler, you will play a key role in shaping our global Garage Management and Mobile Van software platform. Reporting to the Product Manager, you will work closely with developers, testers, and stakeholders to define, prioritise and deliver high-quality features that meet customer needs and business goals. From managing your product backlog and leading sprint planning sessions to supporting release notes and helping to resolve bugs, you will be at the heart of how ideas turn into reality.

You will bring proven experience in a Product Owner or similar role within a SaaS environment. Comfortable working in an Agile setup, you will know how to balance competing priorities, manage stakeholder expectations and keep communication clear and consistent across teams. You will have a sharp eye for detail and a structured approach, confident working on your own initiative while collaborating closely with developers and testers to make sure what is built matches what is needed. Above all, you are someone who can turn complexity into clarity and help teams move fast without losing focus.

This is an exciting time to join Avayler as we scale rapidly across the UK, Europe and the US. You will be part of a growing, supportive team where no job is too big or too small. If you thrive in a fast-paced SaaS environment, enjoy variety, and want to see your work have a tangible impact for customers worldwide, we would love to hear from you.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and maintain a well-structured product backlog for the Point of Sale area, clearly defining user stories, acceptance criteria and priorities.
• Act as the voice of the customer, ensuring that all development delivers meaningful value and aligns with business goals.
• Work closely with the Product Manager, developers, and testers to manage sprints, prioritise tickets, and ensure the right work is being delivered at the right time.
• Support the QA team by helping test new features, identify bugs, and ensure all releases meet expected quality standards.
• Create and maintain clear and concise product release notes to support communication with internal and external stakeholders.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to gather feedback, manage expectations, and ensure everyone is aligned on priorities and progress.
• Conduct regular backlog clearing, lead sprint planning and review sessions, and ensure delivery aligns with the product roadmap.
• Monitor and analyse product performance, using insights and feedback to drive continuous improvement.
• Stay up to date with industry trends and best practices to help keep Avayler's products innovative and competitive.

About you

• You have proven experience as a Product Owner within a SaaS or technology-led business, ideally in a B2B environment.
• Comfortable working in an Agile setting, and confident managing sprints, prioritising backlogs and collaborating closely with developers, testers and Product Managers.
• You have excellent stakeholder management skills, able to balance competing priorities and communicate clearly with technical and non-technical audiences.
• Highly organised with strong attention to detail, capable of managing multiple workstreams and delivering at pace.
• Proven ability to work independently and show initiative, making confident decisions to keep projects moving forward.
• You are a great communicator who is able to bring clarity to complex ideas and keep everyone aligned.
• You are curious and proactive, always looking for ways to improve processes, products and the customer experience.
• Experience working in the automotive or retail technology space would be an advantage, but not essential.

A fair and competitive salary evaluated against market data, annual discretionary bonus scheme, pension, life assurance, 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays and enhanced family leave.

Commitment and dedication to your ongoing personal and professional development. We help you to own and grow your potential so you can be at your best in your current role and to support your future career aspirations.

You will have access to a wealth of employee discounts across the Halfords suite of products and services.

Wellbeing and inclusion are at the heart of our colleague experience. We offer resources and ongoing support to enhance your wellbeing at work and active Colleague Networks supporting inclusion initiatives across Halfords.

Not sure you meet all the criteria? We would encourage you to take the wheel and apply anyway! At Halfords we are committed to creating an inclusive workplace for our colleagues. We are an equal opportunities employer and proud to welcome applications from all backgrounds and embrace diversity within our one Halfords Family.