Product Owner

Civica is the UK’s leading public sector software provider, with more than 22 years of sustained growth. We’re developing and delivering the technologies that are transforming our vital public services, across Local Government, Education, Healthcare and beyond. We are currently seeking a Product Owner in our Education Division.As a Product Owner at Civica, you will be instrumental in delivering market leading solutions across the Education sector, enabling Schools, Trusts, Further Education and Higher Education providers to deliver the best student and staff outcomes. As Product Owner for a number of key Education solutions you will play a crucial role in leading the success of the development and delivery of our vision. Being seen as the cornerstone that helps bridge market knowledge and needs with our development teams, you will be responsible for defining, detailing and prioritising product features, collaborating and interfacing with cross-functional teams within Civica, as well as ensuring that the solutions that we deliver meet the needs of our ever changing market. As a strong Product Owner, you will be well-engaged with our customers, as well as prospective customers and the wider Education sector, providing insights, direction and context to support and motivate our development teams to deliver the best solutions. The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of agile methodologies within the Development space, an appreciation of Product Management principles, practices and the product lifecycle, excellent communication skills as well as a keen attention to detail, and an empathetic character that is driven by delivering the best solutions to the needs of our customers. Key Responsibilities:
Define and prioritise product features based on the strategic product roadmap as set out by the Product Manager
Create and socialise detailed User Stories for and with the Development teams to ensure accurate and well-articulated expectations of the product
Play a key role in Development sprints, including sprint planning, playback sessions, retrospectives, and supporting daily stand-ups to ensure that the Development process is smooth and well supported with the required business knowledge
Actively challenge and influence the product roadmap with the Product Management team to ensure that we are continually validating the roadmap and delivering the right solutions at the right time
Contribute to market research and customer feedback gathering by proactive customer engagements
Create and maintain the product backlog, ensuring that it is well-groomed and prioritised for maximum value delivery, in line with the strategic product roadmap
Heavily shape and influence what Minimum Viable Product means for every feature and function, to ensure maximum impact for product development and customer adoption
Collaborate with stakeholders, including customers, product managers, designers, and developers, to gather requirements and define product specifications
Work closely with development teams to prioritise, estimate, and deliver features on time and at exceptional quality, ensuring they meet all product requirements. Remaining accountable for successful, high-quality delivery
Drive a customer centric mindset across the team to ensure that the Development team are empowered to think outside the box to deliver the most impactful product solutions to our customers
Supporting in the production and maintenance of product material, including documentation and videos
Act as the primary point of contact for the product, providing guidance, support and direction to cross-functional teams throughout the development process
Support Product Management with continuous monitoring and evaluation of the product's performance, gathering feedback and making data-driven decisions to suggest and drive improvements
Support Product Management in Communicating the product vision, progress of the roadmap, and priorities to stakeholders and senior leadership, including via webinars, account review meetings as well as in person events
Experience:
Proven experience as a Product Owner, in an agile software development environment
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and experience of working with cross-functional international teams
Experience of working in a customer facing role, with lots of regular face to face individual and group engagements
Strong understanding of agile methodologies, including Scrum and Kanban
Understanding of product management practices and the full software product lifecycle
Demonstrated ability to critically prioritise and manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment
Analytical mindset with a strong focus on data-driven decision-making
Blended working: less commuting, more time with your friends and family. ‘Investors in People’ – Gold: We prioritise the development of our colleagues to match their ambition. Financial Times - Diversity Leader 2022: We’re committed to maintaining an inclusive and supportive culture. Top rated employer – Glassdoor: Our average length of service is 9 years. Societal Impact: Our solutions impact positive societal change, supporting local Authorities, Schools, Police forces and the NHS. Building and maintaining an inclusive and supportive culture Studies have shown that certain underrepresented groups of people are less likely to apply for a job that they don’t 100% match. At Civica, we’re committed to building and maintaining an inclusive and supportive culture where diversity thrives, and all of our people excel. So, if you like the sound of this opportunity but you don’t meet all of the requirements then please apply. You could be the perfect candidate for this or other opportunities within Civica. Mental Health Champions are here for you! We have a team of Mental Health Champions working hard to change the stigma around Mental Health. We routinely run awareness workshops to ensure our colleagues better understand how Mental Health can impact your day to day life. We are available for support when you need it most and actively encourage our people to reach out to us. Affinity Groups Civica has different affinity groups in place, where people can share experiences and put forward their ideas, suggestions and recommendations to make Civica an even more inclusive organisation for everyone. Our groups are for anyone who wants to support and ally with that community and include: Early careers, accessibility, parents and guardians, wellness, LGBTQIA+, race and ethnicity and many more. Civica is a Diversity Leader, ranked as one of the top European companies for workplace diversity and equality - Financial Times 2022. Civica is committed to building and maintaining an inclusive and supportive culture where diversity thrives, and all of our people excel. We believe that diversity stimulates innovation, enables us to deliver better outcomes for people and communities, supports the growth of our people, and delivers great results for our customers. Civica recruit, promote and reward our people based on their contribution, regardless of gender, race, disability, religion/belief, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age or marital status.
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