JOB PURPOSE:
The Junior Product Owner supports the delivery and ongoing development of our core digital products – Mercury v6, Mercury 365, and CAIT, working under the mentorship and guidance of Product Owners, with HR reporting to the Business Systems Director
This role is an excellent opportunity for someone early in their product career to build foundational skills in backlog management, and stakeholder engagement
The Junior Product Owner will learn to act as a voice of the business and client, while championing City's values of collaboration, transparency, and continuous improvement
PRINCIPAL TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Supporting Product Delivery
- Assist Product Owners in maintaining product roadmaps for Mercury v6, Mercury 365, and CAIT, contributing to alignment with City's strategic objectives
- Support the development team(s) by clarifying requirements, answering day-to-day questions, and escalating issues to Product Owners where appropriate
- Contribute to the delivery of new features and enhancements, helping to ensure timely, high-quality releases
- Work alongside the Scrum Master to support ceremonies (e g stand-ups, refinement,retrospectives, sprint reviews)
- Help prepare and participate in product demos
- Build relationships with stakeholders under the guidance of Product Owners, learning how to balance competing requirements
- Promote City's culture of open communication, mutual support, and accountability within the development team(s)
Backlog Management and Planning
- Support the writing, refinement, and prioritisation of user stories and acceptance criteria, with coaching from Product Owners
- Help keep the product backlog up to date with regards to content, detail, and priority
- Contribute to story refinement and estimation sessions with the development team(s)
- Assist with the preparation of delivery plans, ensuring they reflect the agreed product vision and roadmap
- Help ensure there is a shared understanding of upcoming work across the development team(s)
- Learn how to balance new features, enablers, and the clearance of technical debt
Learning & Development
- Work closely with Product Owners, who will provide day-to-day mentoring, coaching,
and guidance on product ownership practices, stakeholder engagement, and decision making
- Actively develop knowledge of City's business processes, products, and clients
- Seek feedback regularly and act on it to improve performance
- Shadow Product Owners in stakeholder meetings, planning sessions, and decision making
- Take ownership of personal development goals, with support from the Business Systems Director and Product Owners
Core Behaviours for Junior Product Owners Collaborating with Development Squads
- Support the development of a strong team culture focused on transparency, and collaboration
- Embrace continuous improvement in your own work and the team's ways of working
- Make time to support other members of the development team when they need assistance
- Take ownership of your personal objectives and contribute positively to those of the development team
- Take ownership of the quality of your own work, ensuring it lines up with the technical and product visions
- Recognise that non-functional requirements are no less important than functional requirements
SKILLS/EXPERIENCE
ESSENTIAL
- Awareness of City’s key business processes & core digital products
- Basic understanding of the software development lifecycle
- Proactive approach and willingness to learn
- Curiosity and a growth mindset
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Good interpersonal skills and a collaborative attitude
- Pragmatic and flexible attitude
- Good organisation and time management skills
- Attention to detail
- Openness to feedback and coaching
DESIRABLE
- Degree level qualification (or studying towards one)
- Awareness of the Agile values and principles
- Exposure to Azure DevOps, Jira, or similar backlog management tools
- Previous experience in a business analyst, project coordinator, or similar role
