Product Owner, Accounting and Back Office

Purpose of this Position: The Product Owner represents the customer to the development team and sets the product strategy for the LoadMaster application.  The Product Owner manages and makes visible the prioritized list of requirements for future product development, determines the priority of all product development work that the team is doing.  The Product Owner is always available to the development team to assist with questions that team members have regarding the customer’s view of how they are implementing a product feature.  The Product Owner analyzes the market conditions and competitors to determine why a company should develop a product, when is the best to develop it, and what the product should be, and helps to forecast the product’s performance once it reaches the market. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Advocate for the product through defined customer needs and the associated features to meet those needs (what).
• Clearly communicates priority and business value (why) to the development team.
• Advocates on behalf of the customer for the development team (who).
• Ensures user stories are “ready” for development to start work.
• Ensures each story has the correct acceptance criteria.
• Gathers, manages, and prioritizes the product backlog.
• Ensures close collaboration with the development team.
• Works closely with engineering and quality assurance to ensure the right customer problem is solved. This can involve sharing market research and competitive analysis with the team to best focus their efforts.
• Has technical product knowledge or specific domain expertise.
• Contributes to the work of the Product Manager as they define a product differentiation strategy.
• Tracks progress towards the release of a product.
• Works with a cross-functional team in planning a product release.
• Develops personas either alone or in conjunction with a team including user experience experts.
• Participates in the prioritization of defect or bug resolution.
• Creates and maintains product documentation.

Competencies: 

• Ability to learn internal software and systems.
• Creative and strategic thinker.
• Strong understanding of defining product roadmaps.
• Ability to manage expectations of stakeholders.
• Ability to be a leader and communicator of the product’s vision.
• Ability to work with cross functional teams to deliver on a common goal.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to develop relationships.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Ability to delegate tasks and obtain completion on a schedule.
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education/Experience: 

• Bachelor's degree from a four-year college or university, or three to five year of related experience and/or training, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Excellent detailed written and verbal communication skills, possibly including some user interface documentation skills.
• Demonstrate ability to be (become) a subject matter expert in their aligned product or market and how to develop solutions for this market. Subject matter expertise should include specific industry or technical knowledge.
• Excellent teamwork skills especially with people less skilled in communication.
• Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams without formal authority. The ability to influence and work collaboratively with development teams is especially important.

Why McLeod?

At McLeod Software, we believe that our employees are our greatest competitive advantage. Each employee contributes directly to McLeod Software’s growth and success. With over 650 full-time team members, we’re still growing while staying true to who we are. Our priorities stay where they belong: with our employees, our customers, and the continued growth of our business. When you join McLeod, you’re joining a company that’s built for the long haul—with a clear vision, strong leadership, and a commitment to investing in our people.