Product Owner

This is a 12 month contract with Medica in MN. 100% remote. USC/GC. Top Skillsets: Claims Experience required - (2) are more operational and (1) is more technical (Product Design) - Must have Must have worn a dedicated PO hat for at least 2 years (not a blended role as a BA or a PM). Would ideally love to see experiences in more than one environment. Has familiarity with SAFe but is not puristic in ways of working (this environment is not purist SAFe or Agile, they are still maturing on their ways of working and that is why we are here. We want people who know what good can look like but are going to be flexibility in meeting Medica where they are at right now and that means we can't have dogmatic agilists, SAFe evangelists, etc, Soft Skills: Strong communicator, someone who shows ownership and drive, and is conversationally engaged. Engagement Scope: Medica is on journey to maturing the organization's approach to Enterprise Agility. They have made significant strides over the last 18 months in building and deploying a framework for their agile organization. They have worked to define 14 product families and currently have 76 scrum teams in operation across the IT organization. This next phase in their journey is all about Product Management: developing consistent and scalable ways of working across the teams including Product Definition, Discovery, Delivery, and Assessment. They currently have POs aligned at a ratio of 2:1 of PO to Scrum Teams and so they are actively working to ramp up capacity of POs (14 products). They also recognize that the current POs were grown up within the org and many of them have lacked the training/definition to be successful. Part of our engagement as a consulting team will be to help assess and recommend a talent strategy across the scrum teams, and then to start institutionalizing new ways of working through hands-on training and coaching. They are looking for these roles to be net new additions that will help show by proxy what Product Owner in action looks like, and along with our Coaches, can help influence by behaviors. We will be helping them assess and establish a role definition/responsibilities for the PO and so for now, we are using a market standard description for this and so take it with a grain of salt: Job Description: Overview: As part of their role on a product team, a Senior Product Owner will be responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive approach to deliver one or more products, capabilities, services, or enhancements in accordance with the product roadmap. Works with Product Managers, Business Leaders, and a cross-functional Scrum team to deliver the product to the Client. Manages the overall effort to deliver products, capabilities, services and enhancements using the strategic vision as well as established key performance indicators. Understands the functionality and determines the release sequence. Prioritizes and maintains the product backlog and performs just-in-time story elaboration with the development team. • Managing the product backlog and prioritizing based on changing requirements • Overseeing all stages of product creation including design and development • Developing user stories • Monitoring and evaluating product progress at each stage of the process • Liaising with the product team and end-users to deliver updates • Participating in Scrum meetings and product sprints • Creating product documentation • Partnering with Product Manager and Business Stakeholders to understand market needs and develop requirements that meet those needs • Partnering with the development team and Development Lead to set appropriate expectations about delivery timelines • Partnering with the Business Partner to understand any customer facing bugs / defects, triage and prioritize with the development team, and see resolution through to the end. Product Owner Skills and Qualifications • Ability to prioritize effectively • Excellent oral and written communication • Experience using Jira • In-depth knowledge of Scrum and Agile Software Development Methodology • Working knowledge of product development processes • Analytical, systems mindset • Excellent knowledge of user-centered design principles For example: Planning: • Support Release Train and scrum team(s) via Product Increment (PI) planning, managing the product backlog and software development details, and maintaining velocity. • Prioritize and manage backlog and implementation, ensure product execution meets • strategy and requirements and refine features into user stories and story acceptance criteria. • Partner with Product Managers to understand and influence product strategy and roadmaps, aggregate and conceive ideas for enhancing product performance and achieving product success/KPIs. Development: • Lead multiple scrum teams to build, enhance and manage one or more products, capabilities or services. • Coordinate with other Agile Product Managers to deliver on a vision that crosses multiple delivery streams or release trains. Qualifications: • Requires and applies a broad knowledge of business, product performance and industry principles, practices, and procedures. • Methodology but not rigorous or purist in application • Experience in working cross-functionally with a variety of different domains, including Engineering, Finance, and Business Development. • Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, that can be applied across a diverse set of audiences. • High-level understanding of engineering architecture with experience working with engineering teams to deliver products. • Work experience in design, development and implementation of product plans. • Working experience in full product lifecycle methodologies. • Working experience in a collaborative, cross-functional team environment.