About Us
The world isn’t standing still, and neither is Allstate. We’re moving quickly, looking across our businesses and brands and taking bold steps to better serve customers’ evolving needs. That’s why now is an exciting time to join our team. You’ll have opportunities to take risks, challenge the status quo and shape the future for the greater good.
You’ll do all this in an environment of excellence and the highest ethical standards – a place where values such as integrity, inclusive diversity and accountability are paramount. We empower every employee to lead, drive change and give back where they work and live. Our people are our greatest strength, and we work as one team in service of our customers and communities.
Allstate operate a very flexible hybrid working policy that will allow you to design your working week in collaboration with your manager with a blend of remote and office working for NI based employees as well as condensed working patterns (4 day week/9 day fortnight).
Join our team and you’ll find challenge and reward in a culture of innovation, support and balance.
Location
Belfast/ Derry-Londonderry/ Strabane
Your role in the team
The Product Owner within Allstate will lead the development and implementation of the strategic product vision and objectives, ensuring the product outcomes are aligned with business objectives and strategic roadmap provided by the Product Suite Owner.
They will act as the “Voice of the Customer” to ensure the product(s) meets customer and stakeholder needs and expectations and deliver business value through achievement of Key Performance Indicators and goals.
They will be the primary business representative working on the day-to-day development and implementation of product initiatives acting as the liaison between the business stakeholders and IT resources.
Responsibilities include (but are not limited to)
- Fully understand the context, complexity, goals and needs of the product suite vision and roadmap
- Define in partnership with the Product Suite Owner the strategic product vision:
- Business case development
- Opportunity and needs assessment
- Business objectives & outcomes
- Goals & key performance indicators
- Lead, develop and maintain the Product Backlog:
- Define, write, accept and prioritize user stories & actively groom the product backlog.
- Determine the priorities within the backlog and manage stakeholders expectations including collaborate with stakeholders to understand and determine the “value” of the user stories
- Collaborate with the Business Analysts and other stakeholders to determine level of user stories priorities and size including epic(s) and feature(s)
- Communicate prioritization and status to stakeholders
- Participate in, and lead where appropriate, day-to-day Agile Scrum ceremonies which include:
- Daily Stand-Ups
- Sprint Reviews
- Sprint and Product Integration Planning
- Sprint Retrospectives
- Backlog refinement & grooming sessions
- Product demonstrations
- Lead communications:
- Actively participate, collaborate and communicate with all stakeholders at various levels within the organization to ensure everyone understands the roadmap
- Communicate changes, improvements and other important information about the Product as needed
- Communicate changes, improvements and other important information about the Product Suite as needed
- Work with outside vendors as required including sourcing and contract negotiations
- Lead Product Implementation & Operationalization
- Coordinate user acceptance testing to ensure the final product moving to production meets the business requirements provided
- Coordinate all changes to the system with stakeholders through Product Backlog Management
- Plan and deliver product rollout, including training, change management and communication
- Ensure appropriate problem resolution has occurred and that system issues are addressed and communicated accordingly, including making final decisions as appropriate
- Develop and maintain a business continuity plan, including business-operating procedures in the event of a critical application outage
- Evaluate ongoing maintenance and enhancements from a business requirements perspective
Other Responsibilities:
- Work with SCRUM Masters to plan deployments and optimize Product Team resource capacity
- Advocate for the customer and end user; continually de-risk product direction & adjust the user stories to accommodate changes needed within the agile methodology and strategic vision
- In concert with the IT Product Delivery team, work collaboratively with key stakeholders and partners, ensuring the successful definition, execution, and communication strategies for the Product(s)
- Lead the product in-take process
- Manage all resources for Production Support including work within and manage product suite budget as needed.
- Act as the “Voice of the Customer” to ensure products & features address known customer needs.
- Lead cross-functional stakeholder collaboration & communication to ensure completeness of vision and identification of initiatives that will drive the most business value for ACG
- Establish and participate in the sponsor update meetings comprised of leadership team members and appropriate cross-functional leadership and stakeholders
So, what are the essential criteria to apply?
- All candidates must evidence an existing right to work in the UK'
- Must have 3+ years’ experience working closely with IT on delivering Products and Enhancements
- Have recent experience of working in an Agile team as a Product Owner or a Business Analyst
- Solid understanding of Scrum/Kanban Agile frameworks, roles and responsibilities
- Have familiarity with agile management tools like Jira or Pivotal Tracker
- Experience in onshore/offshore model for project delivery
- Ability to triage issues across multiple systems and drive technical issues to resolution
- Experience leading project teams
- Be a self-starter who is able to work unsupervised
We also have some desirable criteria
- Experience working with Billing or Payment systems
- 3-5 years of P&C Insurance Experience
- Outstanding oral and written communication skills
- Ability to communicate complex and innovative concepts to a new product development team
- Experience in coaching, mentoring and guiding team members
What we offer
As Digital DNA’s Workplace of the Year 2020 & 2022 winners, we offer a generous benefits package that includes flexible annual leave entitlement, dental and healthcare insurance, an attractive pension package and discounts on gym memberships, public transport and parking.
Allstate invests heavily in your development, as an employee you will have access to multiple world-class learning platforms and courses from our award-winning in-house Learning & Development team.
We pride ourselves in providing clear career paths and opportunities for internal mobility allowing you to further develop within the organisation.
We encourage a better work life balance and you’ll have the opportunity to apply for various flexible working arrangements.
Statement on Fair Employment and Equal Opportunities
Allstate NI wishes to ensure equal opportunity is given to all job applicants. This company will not discriminate on the grounds of race, gender (including gender reassignment status), sexual orientation, religious belief, political opinion, marital status, age or disability.
We are an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons. However, as women are currently under-represented in our workforce, we would particularly welcome applications from women. All appointments will be made on merit.
Applicants should note Allstate NI complete AccessNI background checks on all candidates offered a position.
The closing date for receipt of applications is Friday 2nd September 2022
