Senior Product Owner / Business Analyst

As Senior Product Business Analyst / Product Owner for one of our key clients, you will own the technology vision, define and prioritise the product backlog, and translate business needs into clear, actionable specifications for development teams. You will work at the intersection of business, design, and technology—ensuring every deliverable meets client expectations, aligns with the wider technical strategy, and delivers meaningful value. 

You will play a critical role in evaluating designs, validating quality, surfacing risks early, and ensuring what is conceptually delivered can be built accurately and efficiently by Merkle’s technical teams. 

Your ability to analyze requirements, challenge assumptions, and translate insights into precise documentation will directly shape the success of the website.  

This role requires an analytical thinker with strong communication skills—someone who can balance user needs, business priorities, and technical feasibility while acting as the voice of the customer throughout the delivery lifecycle. 

Key Responsibilities 

Product Ownership & Backlog Management 

• Own, refine, and prioritize the product backlog to ensure delivery teams focus on the highest-value work. 

• Build and maintain the product roadmap, ensuring it reflects business priorities and delivers measurable value. 

• Clearly communicate the product vision, upcoming features, and dependencies to business and technical stakeholders. 

• Represent the customer and end-user by translating their needs into clear priorities for the development teams. 

Requirements Gathering & Analysis 

• Conduct workshops, interviews, and discovery sessions to gather business, functional, and non-functional requirements. 

• Perform detailed requirements analysis and translate findings into structured documentation. 

• Create detailed business analyses outlining problems, opportunities, and solutions. 

• Define and validate user requirements and specifications to ensure usability, feasibility, and alignment with business objectives. 

Design Review & Acceptance Criteria 

• Review and validate UI/UX designs delivered to ensure completeness, compliance, and technical feasibility. 

• Act as the gatekeeper for acceptance—identifying inconsistencies, gaps, and potential risks early. 

• Ensure the accepted features meet business requirements, follow established standards, and can be built without downstream rework. 

• Own the critical acceptance & milestone  

Collaboration with Development Teams 

• Work closely with developers, architects, and technical leads to clarify requirements and ensure shared understanding of goals. 

• Provide ongoing support during development, ensuring user stories, acceptance criteria, and requirements are fully understood. 

• Translate business vision into actionable specs that enable accurate, efficient, and high-quality delivery. 

Process Improvement & Solution Design 

• Evaluate current business processes, identify areas for improvement, and recommend enhancements. 

• Partner with stakeholders to design and implement product improvements based on insights, user needs, and data. 

• Support decision-making with structured analysis and clear communication of findings. 

Stakeholder Engagement & Communication 

• Act as the primary link between business teams, partners and technical delivery teams. 

• Communicate clearly, openly, and consistently—ensuring all parties understand priorities, constraints, and upcoming changes. 

• Balance stakeholder needs with the overall product vision and technical realities. 

About You 

• Proven experience as a Product Owner, Functional Consultant, or Business Analyst in a digital or technology-focused environment, Ideally with experience relating to CMS (Content Management Systems).

• Strong experience gathering, analysing, and documenting requirements for complex digital platforms. 

• Demonstrated ability to manage a product backlog, prioritise effectively, and translate business needs into actionable specifications. 

• Ability to facilitate workshops, present findings, and communicate confidently across business and technical stakeholders. 

• Comfortable acting as the voice of the user and advocating for quality throughout the delivery lifecycle. 

• Excellent communication, documentation, analytical, and critical-thinking skills. 

• A proactive problem-solver who thrives in a fast-paced, agency environment. 

Where You’ll Work 

You’ll join a talented, diverse team of professionals in our Amsterdam office and work closely with our client’s teams. At Merkle, we are curious problem-solvers who thrive on collaboration, creativity, and making the impossible possible. We value initiative, celebrate individuality, and never forget to have fun along the way. 

About Merkle 

Merkle is a leading data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company, delivering personalized experiences across platforms and devices for top global brands. With deep expertise in data, technology, and analytics, Merkle helps clients unlock powerful consumer insights and build hyper-personalized experiences. 

As part of the dentsu network, Merkle operates in 145 markets with over 65,000 employees worldwide. In the Netherlands, our 150+ experts work with clients like Albert Heijn, Vattenfall, Odido, and VodafoneZiggo. We’re proud partners of Google, Adobe, Salesforce, and Selligent. 

Diversity and Inclusion 

At dentsu, we believe in the power of diversity. We welcome all applications regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy, race, colour, nationality, religion, sex, or sexual orientation. 

Contact:  
We look forward to receiving your application for any questions, please contact the TA in charge of this role: David Ryall, Senior Talent Acquisition Partner, EMEA, NE. #LI-MERKLE #LI-Hybrid #LI-DR2