DPD Product Owner

job description:

The Role:

We are looking for an enterprising individual to lead an existing agile delivery team. This role will work on behalf of the DPD Portfolio Owner and be primarily responsible for the day-to-day running of the team. Agile development is an alternative to traditional project management where emphasis is placed on empowering people to collaborate and make team decisions in addition to continuous planning, continuous testing and continuous integration. Agile is intended to deliver adaptive and evolutionary change, encouraging a rapid and flexible response. The Product Owner is accountable for all aspects of delivery

Key Responsibilities:

Run the agile team to deliver the objectives of the Portfolio Owner. The Product Owner is empowered and encouraged to make day-to-day decisions:

• 
  Creates and continually maintains the Product Backlog and ensures that the Product Backlog is groomed prior to planning meetings in order for the team to remain productive.
• Works with the development team to write user stories, and splits stories that are too large.
• Works with the development team to specify and write acceptance criteria for user stories.
• Prioritizes and sequences the Backlog according to business value. Ensures that the Backlog is sequenced (in relative business importance) prior to planning meetings.
• Assists with the elaboration of Epics, Themes and Features into user stories that are granular enough to be achieved in a single sprint.
• Assists with release planning to define the combined set of features that constitute a production release.
• Participates in the daily Scrums, Sprint Planning Meetings and Sprint Reviews and Retrospectives.
• Attends and contributes to the Sprint Planning meeting to help the teams to understand exactly what is required.
• Assists the development team to engage with Business SMEs and provides timely decisions should an SME be unavailable.
• Continuously engages all stakeholders to ensure the team is building the right things and delivering value.
• Continuously reminds the team of business vision and goals at the beginning of every release and sprint.
• Continuously reviews progress and at the end of every sprint and accepts or rejects the work done. Where appropriate, reprioritises any work that is either not complete or not correct.
• Communicates status regularly to stakeholders including progress and rationale for day to day decisions.
• Ensures that all channels of communications are open and that the team has the right amount of support required to succeed.

person specification:

Person Specification:

• Must have detailed knowledge of Direct and Partnership’s insurance products, Underwriting process, Policy Administration life cycle and operational processes.
• Must be an effective communicator and be able to lead by example by capturing ideas and requirements, closely collaborating with the team, analysing feedback from stakeholders and users, and steering the team towards the vision.
• Must be able to facilitate creativity; encourage innovation; and is comfortable with change, ambiguity, debate, conflict, experimentation, and informed risk taking.
• Must be able to inspire confidence and respect from senior business stakeholders.
• Should have experience working as part of a team delivering complex multi-faceted projects
• 5-7 years of project management/coordination preferred
• Awareness of agile methodologies a plus
• Exceptional interpersonal, organizational, business communication and time management skills
• Able to multi-task and be flexible to handle multiple deadlines
• Bachelor’s degree

Hiscox Values

At Hiscox our spirit is in Challenging Convention and everything we do is guided by our Values.

• Courage: Dare to take a risk
• Human: Clear, fair & inclusive
• Ownership: Passionate, commercial & accountable
• Integrity: Do the right thing, however hard
• Connected: Together, build something better

What Hiscox USA Offers

• Competitive salary and bonus (based on personal & company performance)
• Comprehensive health insurance, Vision, Dental and FSA
• 401(k) with competitive company matching
• 24 Paid time off days
• 10 Paid Holidays
• Paid sabbaticals after 10 years of service
• Dynamic, creative and values-driven culture
• Modern and open office spaces, complimentary fruit and drinks
• Spirit of volunteerism, social responsibility and community involvement, including matching charitable donations for qualifying non-profits via our sister non-profit company, the Hiscox USA Foundation

About Hiscox

As an international specialist insurer we are far removed from the world of mass market insurance products. Instead we are selective and focus on our key areas of expertise and strength - all of which is underpinned by a culture that encourages us to challenge convention and always look for a better way of doing things.

We insure the unique and the interesting. And we search for the same when it comes to talented people. Hiscox is full of smart, reliable human beings that look out for customers and each other. We believe in doing the right thing, making good and rebuilding when things go wrong. Everyone is encouraged to think creatively, challenge the status quo and look for solutions.

Scratch beneath the surface and you will find a business that is solid, but slightly contrary. We like to do things differently and constantly seek to evolve. We might have been around for a long time (our roots go back to 1901), but we are young in many ways, ambitious and going places. Some people might say insurance is dull, but life at Hiscox is anything but. If that sounds good to you, get in touch.

About Hiscox US

Hiscox USA was established in 2006 to focus primarily on the needs of small and middle market commercial clients, via both the broker and direct distribution channels and is today the fastest-growing business unit within the Hiscox Group.

Today, Hiscox USA has a talent force of about 420 employees mostly operating out of 6 major cities - New York, Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Hiscox USA offers a broad portfolio of commercial products, including technology, cyber & data risk, multiple professional liability lines, media, entertainment, management liability, crime, kidnap & ransom, commercial property and terrorism.

Diversity and flexible working at Hiscox

At Hiscox we care about our people. We hire the best people for the job and we’re committed to diversity and creating a truly inclusive culture, which we believe drives success. We have also learned through our experience in 2020 that working life doesn’t always have to in the office, and when it’s safe to do so, we will be introducing a more flexible way of working to encourage a healthy work life balance. We see it as the best of both worlds: structure and sociability on one hand, and independence and flexibility on the other.