Agile Product Owner

Associate Agile Product Owner - BA08BE

We're determined to make a difference and are proud to be an insurance company that goes well beyond coverages and policies. Working here means having every opportunity to achieve your goals - and to help others accomplish theirs, too. Join our team as we help shape the future.

The Hartford is seeking an Associate Agile Product Owner (APO) to support our Middle & Large Commercial vision of being "The Exceptional Underwriter" to deliver better outcomes for our shareholders, customers, and employees. The Associate APO is a critical role that sets the priorities for an agile team, represents the voice of the customer, and links execution to the business vision. This role requires a high performing individual who is a thought leader able to balance multiple responsibilities and collaborate with multiple stakeholders. The individual would play a critical role in advancing MLC's digital acquisition capabilities with opportunities to support Product and Underwriting teams.

• Lead product execution for an agile team(s), typically 1 team depending on line of business
• Engage with business and technology stakeholders to identify product opportunities and implications
• Stay current on internal, competitive, and industry technology trends to be a subject matter expert
• Represent the voice of the customer to the agile team(s)
• Provide perspective on portfolio / value stream vision and roadmap
• Articulate the product vision and roadmap to the agile team(s)
• Guide the agile team(s) in determining sprint goals, linking execution activities to business intent
• Manage the product backlog, breaking down features into stories and prioritizing stories to maximize business value. Accountable for the health and readiness of the team backlog
• Ensure the agile team(s) understand the items in the backlog and their business value
• Write user stories, including defining acceptance criteria, with coaching and oversight
• Accept completed stories that meet the "definition of done" and quality expectations
• Validate that the solution and functionality meet the product vision
• Incorporate feedback from sprint demos
• Partner with the Scrum Master, agile teams, Architects, APMs, Tech Leads, and business stakeholders to ensure solutions will deliver the business vision
• Drive business readiness and change management activities
• Monitor and share execution progress including risks and impediments
• Analyze delivery metrics to identify key trends and opportunities for continuous improvement within the agile team(s)

• Minimum 2 years of experience in product-related role, digital, technology, or related field
• Bachelor's degree required
• Familiarity with the insurance industry preferred
• Familiarity with agile methodologies and frameworks such as Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Scrum, Kanban, XP, etc. preferred
• Experience with agile lifecycle management tools (e.g., Rally, JIRA) preferred
• Experience with Excel, PowerPoint, and MS Teams preferred
• Strong collaboration skills, including ability to work with stakeholders
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability understand audiences and tailor messages
• Familiarity with analyzing data to identify insights and create hypotheses for testing
• Self-motivated individual with ability to handle multiple high-priority demands, manage expectations and achieve objectives
• Business acumen in Middle Large Commercial products and processes, preferred