Product Owner

The Company 

WTW is a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps clients around the world turn risk into a path for growth. With roots dating to 1828, WTW has 39,000 employees in more than 120 territories. 
We design and deliver solutions that manage risk, optimize benefits, cultivate talent, and expand the power of capital to protect and strengthen institutions and individuals. Our unique perspective allows us to see the critical intersections between talent, assets and ideas – the dynamic formula that drives business performance.

The Business 

At WTW, we help clients align their talent and rewards strategy with their business strategy to achieve long-term success. We rely on data, analytics and experience to pinpoint the talent and workforce needs that are vital to their overall performance. We develop strategies and design and implement programs that address these needs, drive higher performance and ensure the right return on their investment in people. Backed by industry-leading technology, global workforce data, research and insights, we help our clients quickly transform ideas into action.

Note: Employment-based non-immigrant visa sponsorship and/or assistance is not offered for this specific job opportunity.

The Role

Role and Responsibilities 

As a Product Owner, you will play a key role in product development projects by ensuring the organization’s needs are articulated as user stories for the Agile Scrum teams. In this role you will practice the fundamentals of scope definition, requirements gathering, as well as system conceptual design. You will be responsible for taking the product’s vision from management to defining scope; working with our UI/UX team to develop conceptual designs and understanding user experience and working with the team to create functional requirements. You will be focused on managing a development backlog and working collaboratively with your Scrum team to successfully deliver product releases. Additionally, our Product Owners assist in communications to announce new features and provide additional analysis support for our Product and business teams. 

• Works closely with Product Managers/Leaders across our business to stay connected to the needs of the users to enable them to articulate the business scenarios across a portfolio of products
• As a key member of a scrum team(s), responsible for continuously grooming the backlog and working directly with Engineering, QA, and Scrum Master to facilitate software development and remove roadblocks
• Prioritizes Release backlog and Sprint backlog to ensure stories are ordered in a logical manner, incorporating feedback from Engineering and Product teams, taking into consideration dependencies and incremental development goals
• Participate in all sprint ceremonies, and lead grooming/backlog refinement meetings 
• Triage bugs and defects during development
• Communicates the technical needs of end users, conducts initial requirement walk-throughs with scrum teams, clarifies requirements daily through each sprint, works directly with all members of the Scrum Team with close consideration of cross-domain topics
• Proactively makes decisions on behalf of the Product team to unblock Scrum Teams 
• Escalates questions or issues to Product Managers or Program team & PMO as needed
• Performs User Acceptance Testing (UAT), where applicable
• Works directly with Business Analysts (when applicable) to distribute work as needed (at times working across multiple product teams outside of Cross Product)
• Responsible for the success of the release
• Problem articulation – no solutioning or implementation – use the teams to help with defining solutions through collaboration
• Use trusted methods – Story mapping, user stories, acceptance criteria

The individual in this role will have the opportunity to gain a large breadth of knowledge by working with experts in the fields of talent management, compensation, employee engagement, workforce analytics, etc. Our Product Owners are empowered to make key product decisions using their research and understanding of the industry to build best in class solutions.
 

The Requirements  

• 4  years of experience in product development activities 
• Requires strong business analysis, requirements gathering, webpage workflow, and writing skills
• Experience working in Agile Development environment 
• Skilled at working with stakeholders to drive decision points and resolutions 
• Self-starter attitude and ability to work well within ambiguity
• Adeptness at learning new technology and tools
• Detail orientated, strong analytical thinker, capable of making key decisions based on solid research and knowledge of the industry
• Demonstrated ability to multi-task and work on virtual teams 
• Process driven with ability to modify approach 
• Excellent time management and ability to meet deadlines
• Understanding of the waterfall and agile methodologies
• Ability to work effectively as an independent contributor or as part of a broader team
• BS / BA degree or relevant experience 
• Verifiable high competency when it comes to stakeholder management, capable of challenging the norm and driving discussions focused on clear problem understanding as well as possible solutions.
• Experience in ensuring teams uphold the highest standards and effectiveness in delivering product roadmap and vision.
• Demonstrated ability to work on virtual global teams, helping navigate the challenges being a global team. Promoting the vision of being ‘ONE TEAM’ for all global resources. 
• Possess high emotional intelligence, self-awareness, empathy, and motivating colleagues is required.
• Excellent verbal and writing skills, including the ability to effectively communicate to non-technical and technical team members and leaders and the ability to proactively provide status on team successes, challenges, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Experience working within an Agile Scrum software development lifecycle.
• Strong work ethic is a must.
• Experience working on both new enhancement and maintenance software development projects.
• Experience working with collaboration and issue tracking tools such as Confluence and JIRA.
• Experience working in HR Management software is a plus.

Towers Watson is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer, M/F/D/V

WTW may be subject to mandatory employment-related COVID-19 vaccination requirements. Therefore, to the extent any such mandates apply, you may be required to certify and provide documentation of full vaccination against COVID-19 if you are hired in the U.S. If you accept an offer from WTW and are subject to a mandate but are unable or unwilling to be vaccinated because of medical reasons or sincerely-held religious beliefs, you may request a medical or religious accommodation. If you require an accommodation, the Company will evaluate your request and work with you to identify reasonable alternatives to vaccination, if available.

EEO, including disability/vets