Product Owner in Manchester

Working pattern: Hybrid – 3 days in the office, up to 2 days from home

A well-established, international organisation is looking for a Product Owner to join its Technology Operations function and play a key role in shaping and improving the technology that supports the wider business.

The organisation operates across multiple divisions, including specialist packaging and goods-not-for-resale, with a broad range of products and services supporting customers across different markets.

This is a newly important and highly visible position within the technology function, offering the opportunity to work directly with senior stakeholders, understand how different areas of the business operate and turn business challenges into practical technology solutions.

You will take ownership across two important areas of the technology estate:

• ERP – Sage X3
• Warehouse Management – Blue Yonder

You don't need previous experience with either platform to be successful. What's far more important is your ability to understand people, ask the right questions, challenge where necessary and translate business needs into clear requirements for technical teams.

What You'll Be Doing

As the link between the business and technology teams, you'll be responsible for making sure the right things are being built for the right reasons.

Your role will include:

• Working closely with stakeholders across the business to understand their requirements, challenges and priorities.
• Building strong relationships with stakeholders and becoming a trusted technology partner.
• Running workshops and conversations to uncover what the business actually needs.
• Turning business requirements into clear, actionable technical requirements.
• Creating user stories, tickets and acceptance criteria for development teams.
• Working closely with developers throughout the delivery process.
• Making sure development teams have the clarity they need to deliver successfully.
• Managing and prioritising the backlog based on business needs and value.
• Challenging requirements and helping stakeholders consider the best approach rather than simply taking requests at face value.
• Managing expectations around delivery, priorities and timelines.
• Keeping stakeholders informed and ensuring there is a clear line of communication between the business and technology.
• Identifying opportunities to improve existing systems and processes.
• Helping drive technology change that delivers a measurable impact across the organisation.

What We're Looking For

This role is heavily focused on stakeholder engagement, so we're looking for someone who is naturally comfortable working with people across a business.

You'll ideally be someone who:

• Has experience working as a Product Owner, Business Analyst, Systems Analyst or in a similar role.
• Is particularly strong when it comes to stakeholder management.
• Can confidently engage with stakeholders at different levels of an organisation.
• Knows how to ask the right questions and get underneath a requirement.
• Can take a business problem and translate it into something a technical team can understand and deliver.
• Has experience creating user stories, tickets and acceptance criteria.
• Can work comfortably between business and technical teams.
• Is confident challenging stakeholders and influencing decisions where appropriate.
• Is organised and able to manage competing priorities.
• Enjoys solving problems rather than simply managing a backlog.
• Wants to work somewhere where their contribution will be visible and valued.

Experience with ERP or WMS?

Experience with ERP or Warehouse Management Systems would be beneficial, but it isn't essential.

Experience with Sage X3 or Blue Yonder would be particularly useful, but the organisation is more interested in finding someone with the right Product Owner skillset, particularly around stakeholder management, requirements gathering and delivery.

Why This Role?

This isn't a Product Owner role where you'll be sitting behind a backlog and managing tickets in isolation.

You'll be right at the centre of the relationship between technology and the wider business, working with stakeholders to understand what they need and then making sure technology delivers it.

The role offers significant exposure across the organisation and the opportunity to see the direct impact of your work. You'll have the autonomy to build relationships, influence requirements and help shape how key business systems develop.

For the right person, it's an opportunity to come into an established organisation, make your mark and genuinely improve the way technology supports the business.

Package

• 12% annual bonus – paid every year for the past 10 years
• 25 days' annual leave + Bank Holidays
• Hybrid working – typically 3 days in the Salford office
• Occasional travel to other offices or customer sites where required