Senior Product Owner at Ascensus in Chicago, Illinois

Job Description:

Section 1: Position Summary

As a Senior Product Owner at Ascensus, you will be responsible for the roadmap and execution to carry out the vision for the assigned Program (Retirement, Government Savings, and Health Savings). The Product Owner is a member of an Agile team responsible for defining Stories and prioritizing the Team Backlog so as to streamline the execution of program priorities, while maintaining conceptual and technical integrity of the Features or components the team is responsible for. In addition, the ability to build relationships, influence and be a driver of execution in a fast-paced environment is critical to this role.

***This position can be remote in any state***

Section 2: Job Functions, Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Creates and maintains the Scrum Team Roadmap. (or multiple Scrum Team Roadmaps)


• Prioritizes and sequences the Backlog according to business value or ROI.


• Conveys the Vision and Goals at the beginning of every Release and Sprint.


• Represents the customer, interfaces and engages the customer.


• Collaborating with a Scrum team on new Feature development, requests including building and maintaining a Product backlog, contributing to/reviewing/approving user stories, sprint support, and UAT testing.


• Where appropriate, works closely with BAs and Technology to create Behaviors Driven Development (BDD) stories. Assists with the elaboration of Epics, Themes and Features into user stories that are granular enough to be achieved in a single sprint.


• Participates in the daily Scrums, Sprint Planning Meetings, Release Planning, Sprint Reviews and Retrospectives.


• Inspects the product progress at the end of every Sprint and has complete authority to accept or reject work done. If necessary assess and change the course of the project at the end of every Sprint as needed.


• Maintains relationships with the business and the client to understand the current and changing needs.


• Actively involved in Organizational readiness activities.


• Primary point person internally and externally for the team for updates and feedback.


• Identify and maintain the KPIs need to support the team and assigned product.


• Independently leads and manages complex projects and interactions with business partners.


• Staying informed on new technologies and pushing boundaries to introduce new and innovative solutions to build trust and exceed customer expectations and outcomes


• Establish annual goals, objectives and outcomes for product(s); Track and monitor key performance indicators.

Supervision

• No direct reports, but provides critical leadership to drive the scrum team(s)


• Coaches and mentors other Product Owners and/or other Scrum Team members


• Participates in steering Center of Practice meetings for business line and/or firm

Section 3: Experience, Skills, Knowledge Requirements

• Undergraduate degree in business or technology related fields.


• Advanced with Microsoft Office applications and a strong working knowledge of Agile and SDLC methodologies.


• Minimum 10 years' experience in the assigned business domain: 401(k), IRA, 529, etc.


• Minimum 10 years' experience as a Product Owner, or a Technology (Dev or QA) practice.


• Demonstrated experience implementing and executing Agile principles with strong technical skills.


• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment; high quality of work that adheres to all standards, regulatory and audit requirements.


• Strong consultative and well-articulated communication and writing skills with the ability to interact and influence at all levels of the organization.


• Demonstrated experience with facilitation, situational awareness, conflict resolution, change management, continual improvement, empowerment, and increasing transparency.


• Demonstrated experience implementing and executing Agile principles with strong technical skills.


• Naturally curious, detail oriented, with strong analytic, and research skills.


• Knowledge and/or experience with Confluence, JIRA, Azure DevOps, and Aha!. Experience in administering the aforementioned applications a plus.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer

At Ascensus, we aspire to make a difference for others. We are a technology-enabled services company that helps people save for retirement, education, and healthcare through our network of institutional, financial advisor, and state partners. Our culture is guided by sound principles, is committed to high standards, operates with transparency, and welcomes diversity-housed within our Core Values: People Matter. Quality First. Integrity Always.

As a leading independent recordkeeping services partner, retirement plan third-party administrator, and government savings facilitator, we aim to hire associates who find pride in going to work every day knowing that they help more than 12 million people save for what matters.

Ascensus provides equal employment opportunities to all associates and applicants for employment without regard to ancestry, race, color, religion, sex, (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and/or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), marital status, military or veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, criminal conviction record or any other protected category in accordance with applicable federal, state, or local laws ("Protected Status").

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