Product Owner

Position: Product Owner 

Reporting to:  Product Manager - EUX 

Location:  York, Colchester or London 

Type: Permanent  

Band: II 

In Technology Services, our collective goal is to deliver and maintain best-in-class, innovative infrastructure solutions that are sustainable, resilient and inclusive. We do this by understanding the needs of our Hiscox colleagues so that we can create and tailor the tools and services that enable them to deliver on their goals. And this increases our competitive advantage in market.  

We work within an Agile methodology, because that helps us to deliver the right solutions quickly and accurately. It also means that we have the flexibility to pivot and adapt our work, through iterative testing with our Hiscox colleagues.  

We communicate and collaborate effectively with each other every day. This ensures that each of us knows what we need to achieve. And we take individual and team accountability for ensuring that everything we deliver brings value to our business. 

We’re driven to innovate through technology, we’re valued for our skills, our work is varied, and we’re encouraged to take every opportunity to develop and grow.  

In Technology Services, we set you up to succeed, the rest is up to you.  

The Product Owner role 

We’re looking for a Product Owner (PO) to join our Technology Services team, working within our EUX value stream to drive the development and improvement of our products. This is an extremely varied role and will include (but is not limited to) the following activities: 

• Develop and execute the product roadmap, ensuring alignment with the value stream OKRs. 

• Conduct workshops and analysis activities to design and define appropriate delivery iterations – gather requirements, assess value, ensure work is prioritised and focused on delivering maximum value for our colleagues. 

• Write clear and concise user stories, acceptance criteria and product specifications. 

• Prioritise and manage the product backlog, ensuring it is maintained and refined. 

• Work with the Agile Delivery Lead/s (ADLs) to ensure there is a steady flow of work for the squad/s aligned to the product roadmap. 

• Create and own dashboards to track metrics, utilise the data to inform future backlog items that target waste and inefficiency. 

• Be the first point of contact for the squad/s to answer any product related questions, clarify requirements and support the ADL to remove blockers. 

• Act as the voice of the customer to ensure everyone understands the business value of the backlog items. 

• Working with the ADL to coordinate and participate all Agile ceremonies for the product – stand-ups, refinement, planning and retrospectives. 

• Provide feedback on the product roadmap, resolving risks, issues and blockers raised by the squad/s – escalating to the Product Manager as needed. 

• Report on actual vs. expected progress and any knock-on impact to the product roadmap. 

• Manage key stakeholder relationships and communicate effectively to keep them informed. 

• Monitor and analyse product performance, identifying areas for improvement and making data-driven decisions. 

• Coordinate product launches, ensuring effective communication to internal customers and stakeholders. 

• Stay up-to-date with industry best practices and trends in product management, technology and user experience. 

• Work with the other members of the Technology Services Product Chapter to share knowledge, best practices and develop as a team – as a Product Owner, you will coach, and mentor Associate POs to support their career development. 

• Actively participate in the wider product management community to aid continuous learning, innovation, best practice and alignment with Hiscox engineering teams. 

Required skills/experience 

• Prior experience working with Technology Infrastructure tools, systems and platforms.  

• Prior experience in a product-related role or environment – working in Agile delivery teams, managing a backlog to ensure business value is prioritised, delivered and embedded. 

• An aptitude for customer centric problem solving and challenging the status quo. 

• Relevant qualifications (e.g. Certified Scrum Product Owner). 

• Experience working with Agile collaboration (e.g. Jira, Confluence, etc.) and product management tools. 

• Experience of writing business requirements that can be picked up by engineers and implemented. 

• Detail-oriented with a focus on quality and delivering value to customers. 

• Detailed understanding of Agile methodologies (Kanban, Lean, Scrum) and product management frameworks. 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to effectively convey complex ideas to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. 

• Ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced environment and adapt to changing priorities (dealing with any associated conflict due to competing priorities). 

• Demonstrable analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to gather and interpret data to make informed decisions. 

• Highly organised, with the ability to prioritise tasks and meet deadlines. 

Beneficial experience 

• Knowledge of implementing and managing End User Experience technologies and tools is preferred

• Demonstrable experience of ‘lean thinking’ – continuously looking to minimise waste and drive efficiency. 

About Hiscox 

At Hiscox we care about our people. We hire the best people for the work, and we’re committed to diversity and creating a truly inclusive culture, which we believe drives success. 

We embrace hybrid-working practices, balancing the ability to work remotely with the culture and energy we experience when we are face-to-face in our offices. Our focus on collaboration and cross-functional working is supported with virtual tools that minimise physical travel, hot-desking neighbourhoods that create a physical sense of community and Team Charters that our teams co-create to set out how they’ll work together. 

We see it as the best of both worlds: structure and sociability on one hand, and independence and flexibility on the other. We anticipate the successful candidate for this role will be in the office (insert here) per week, on average, you will discuss this as part of your Team Charter. 

This modern way of working has contributed to impressive employee engagement scores across Hiscox and means we’re delivering even better solutions for our Hiscox Colleagues. 

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. 

You can follow Hiscox on LinkedIn, Glassdoor and Instagram (@HiscoxInsurance) 
 
Apply now for further information

#LI-TH1