At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead product backlog management and collaborate with agile teams to deliver innovative solutions.
- Company: Join a forward-thinking insurance company that values collaboration and innovation.
- Benefits: Enjoy hybrid working, competitive salary, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Dynamic work culture with a focus on continuous improvement and career development.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in the insurance industry while working with talented professionals.
- Qualifications: Experience as a Product Owner in Agile environments, with strong communication and leadership skills.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 80000 £ per year.
With a company culture rooted in collaboration, expertise and innovation, we aim to promote progress and inspire our clients, employees, investors and communities to achieve their greatest potential. Our work is the catalyst that helps others achieve their goals. In short, We Enable PossibilitySM.
Responsibilities- Product Backlog Management: Create, maintain, and prioritize multiple product backlogs, ensuring items align with product vision and strategy to meet business objectives, and reflect evolving business needs and priorities aligned to business outcomes. Responsible for ensuring the backlog's content includes user stories, enablers and defects with work ready for the team to execute. Responsible for accepting stories while confirming the story meets approved standards, acceptance test and complies with definition of done to ensure quality. Ensure the backlog supports architectural runway. Coach other Product Owners on backlog management.
- User Story Refinement: Ensure user stories are clear, concise, and well-defined to accurately represent the business need and fit with the product strategy with the clear direction and ability to facilitate development. Responsible for breaking down stories into small parts, clarifies details and ensures usability.
- Prioritization: Collaborate with the product management team to ensure the team is focused on the highest value work based on business needs, product strategy and/or initiative delivery and user feedback. Ensure the backlog reflects the vision and delivery roadmap, addresses solutions and delivery expectations. Responsible for ranking backlog items and ensuring proper sequence based on high value aligned with the product strategy.
- Coaching and Team Collaboration: Provides coaching to Product Owners and acts as a bridge between product management and delivery teams. Facilitate communication and collaboration between the development team, designers, and other stakeholders.
- Sprint and Increment Planning: Collaborate with the domain product managers and development team to define sprint goals, select user stories, and facilitate sprint planning aligned with team capacity each sprint in line with the domain’s priorities and strategy. Communicate with the agile delivery team on the vision during planning to prepare teams to execute and deliver solutions.
- Acceptance Criteria: Define clear acceptance criteria for each user story to ensure quality and delivery expectations are met.
- Release Management: Collaborate with the team to plan and manage product releases in line with the domain’s product and/or initiative delivery strategy as defined by the product manager. Facilitate frequent team conversations to resolve questions, manage dependencies and communicate emerging priorities as stories are implemented.
- Metrics and Analysis: Track and analyze key product metrics to measure success and identify areas for improvement. Regularly check progress toward meeting story acceptance criteria and ensure quality standards are met, like Definition of Done and nonfunctional requirements. Collaborates closely with the team to identify and fix quality issues.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to influence and present complex, technical information to varying stakeholder groups, gather and provide feedback, and effectively engage with diverse teams across the organization.
- Proven experience in playing a product owner role managing multiple products in the development of large scale commercial and specialty systems (DuckCreek, Guidewire, Unqork, UW Platforms, Submission & Clearance Systems, Extraction or AI-driven platforms etc.) and demonstrated value creation and business outcomes.
- Ability to lead, partner and guide multiple Agile teams (Dev, QA, Design) and business teams in achieving product goals and resolving conflicts.
- Experience developing productive relationships across the organization.
- Ability to empathize with users and advocate for their needs as aligned with the domain’s product strategy and ability to translate and articulate aligned user stories for execution with the development teams.
- Advanced technical and business acumen knowledge to effectively articulate the business outcomes and priority and ability to translate into technical user stories for various development teams.
- Ability to convey complex, technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
- Must demonstrate proficiency in Teamwork and Interpersonal Skills, Communication, Technical, Problem Solving, Continuous Improvement and Service Skills.
- Self-starter demonstrating flexibility, accountability, and adaptability.
- Able to balance and drive progress against key domain deliverables across multiple development teams.
- Proven experience Agile frameworks like Scrum and SAFe and tools such as JIRA, Confluence, MIRO and other product management and roadmap tools.
- Deep understanding of commercial and specialty insurance product lifecycle.
- Bachelor’s Degree in related field.
- Certified Scrum Product Owner and/or SAFe POPM certification strongly preferred.
- 8-10 years’ prior experience in Insurance, Product Owner with IT development teams in Agile delivery & execution through software development lifecycle using Agile/Scrum/SAFe frameworks or related/relevant role(s).
Do you like solving complex business problems, working with talented colleagues and have an innovative mindset? Arch may be a great fit for you. If this job isn’t the right fit but you’re interested in working for Arch, create a job alert! Simply create an account and opt in to receive emails when we have job openings that meet your criteria. Join our talent community to share your preferences directly with Arch’s Talent Acquisition team.
Senior Product Owner — Agile Leader in Insurance employer: Mcneil & Co.
At Arch, we pride ourselves on fostering a collaborative and innovative work culture that empowers our employees to reach their full potential. With hybrid working options in vibrant locations like London and Birmingham, we offer competitive benefits, continuous professional development opportunities, and a supportive environment where your contributions truly matter. Join us to be part of a team that not only drives progress in the insurance sector but also values your growth and well-being.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Senior Product Owner — Agile Leader in Insurance
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the insurance and product management space. Attend industry events or webinars, and don’t be shy about introducing yourself. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings!
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for those interviews by practising common questions related to Agile methodologies and product ownership. We recommend doing mock interviews with friends or using online platforms. The more you rehearse, the more confident you'll feel when it’s showtime!
✨Tip Number 3
Showcase your expertise! Create a portfolio that highlights your past projects, especially those involving backlog management and user story refinement. This will give potential employers a clear picture of what you can bring to the table.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets noticed. Plus, we love seeing candidates who are proactive about their job search. So, get your application in and let’s make some magic happen!
We think you need these skills to ace Senior Product Owner — Agile Leader in Insurance
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your Application:Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Senior Product Owner role. Highlight your experience with Agile frameworks and product backlog management, as these are key aspects of the job. We want to see how your skills align with our needs!
Showcase Your Communication Skills:Since excellent communication is a must-have, use your application to demonstrate this. Be clear and concise in your writing, and don’t shy away from showcasing any experience you have in presenting complex information to diverse teams. We love a good storyteller!
Highlight Relevant Experience:Focus on your past roles that relate directly to the responsibilities listed in the job description. If you've managed multiple products or led Agile teams, make sure to bring that to the forefront. We’re looking for proven experience that shows you can hit the ground running!
Apply Through Our Website:We encourage you to apply through our website for a smoother process. It helps us keep track of your application and ensures you get all the updates. Plus, it’s super easy to do—just a few clicks and you’re in!
How to prepare for a job interview at Mcneil & Co.
✨Know Your Product Backlog Inside Out
Before the interview, make sure you understand how to create and manage a product backlog. Be ready to discuss your experience with prioritising items and ensuring they align with business objectives. This will show that you can hit the ground running.
✨Master User Story Refinement
Brush up on how to break down user stories into clear, concise parts. Be prepared to explain how you've ensured usability in past projects. This demonstrates your ability to facilitate development effectively.
✨Showcase Your Coaching Skills
Think of examples where you've coached other Product Owners or facilitated communication between teams. Highlighting your collaborative approach will resonate well with their company culture focused on teamwork and innovation.
✨Be Ready for Metrics and Analysis Questions
Familiarise yourself with key product metrics and how to track them. Be prepared to discuss how you've used data to measure success and identify areas for improvement in previous roles. This shows you're results-driven and analytical.