Associate Product Manager

State of Washington•Olympia, WA

30d•Hybrid

About The Position

The mission of Washington Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange) is to radically improve how Washington residents secure health insurance through innovative and practical solutions, an easy-to-use customer experience, our values of integrity, respect, equity and transparency, and by providing undeniable value to the health care community. The Exchange is a public-private partnership that operates Washington Healthplanfinder, the eligibility and enrollment portal used by one in four Washington residents to obtain health and dental coverage. Through this platform, and with support from a Customer Support Center and statewide network of in-person navigators and brokers, individuals and families can shop, compare and enroll in private, qualified health plans (as defined in the Affordable Care Act) or enroll in Washington Apple Health, the state Medicaid program. The Exchange embraces the following equity statement adopted by our Board of Directors: Equity is fundamental to the mission of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange. The process of advancing toward equity and becoming anti-racist is disruptive and demands vigilance to dismantle deeply entrenched systems of privilege and oppression. While systemic racism is a root cause of many societal inequities, we must also use an intersectional approach to address all forms of bias and oppression, which interact with and often exacerbate racial inequities. To be successful, we must recognize the socioeconomic drivers of health and focus on people and places where needs are greatest. As we listen to community, we must hold ourselves accountable to responding to recommendations to remedy inequitable policies, systems, or practices within the Exchange's area of influence. Our goal is that all Washingtonians have full and equal access to opportunities, power and resources to achieve their full potential. We will be giving priority to applications received through December 5, 2025. To ensure your application is considered, we recommend submitting your materials as soon as possible within this timeframe. Summary The Associate Product Manager is a team contributor responsible for gathering and documenting business and customer objectives, serving as their team's Product Owner. Working closely with experts and decision makers across the business, this role helps facilitate alignment on desired outcomes and works to build relationships with stakeholders. Associate Product Managers maintain the team backlog and guide team-level decisions, maximizing value from the work of a delivery team.

Requirements

Associate's degree in information technology, business or another related field (one year of experience may be substituted for each year of required education).
Two years of experience in developing business requirements, design, testing, and/or implementation of IT products/systems.
One year of experience serving as an agile team member in an organization that operated within Agile frameworks (Scrum@Scale, SaFe, LeSS, etc), ideally in the Product Owner role.
Foundational project management skillset with demonstrated ability to apply project management techniques in support of planning, execution, and delivery of product initiates.
Proven ability to refine business and system needs into clear and concise requirements that can easily be understood by technical and non-technical groups.
Strong understanding of Agile methodologies and scrum processes.
Experience delivering customer-centered solutions in a technology-driven environment.
Skilled in using visuals, diagrams, and other visual aids to communicate complex ideas effectively to stakeholders and team members.
Critical thinking skills with the ability to take initiative and make sound decisions while working with ambiguity and rapid change in a fast-paced environment.
Stakeholder analysis and management skills (business, technical, leadership, and cross-agency teams).
Strong interpersonal skills and ability to communicate and present to teams, stakeholders, and upper management.
Ability to maintain a high level of professionalism, as well as discretion and confidentiality when working with sensitive information.
Self-motivated, highly adaptable and positive team player with a can-do attitude.
Proficient in Jira and Confluence or comparable tool suite.
Ability to work with remote development teams.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in information technology, business or another related field.
Knowledge of the functionality of Washington Healthplanfinder.
Knowledge and understanding of the Affordable Care Act.
Product Owner certification.
Experience working in the public sector or government field.
Ability to navigate a complex, technology-driven organization with interdependencies on vendors and state and federal agencies.

Responsibilities

Contribute to a team by gathering and documenting requirements and objectives
Define, document, and communicate implementation approaches for change requests.
Coordinate cross-team dependencies, keeping Delivery Management and key stakeholders apprised.
Responsible for stakeholder engagement, expectation setting, and prioritization of requirements.
Align stakeholders around a common outcome and support business by ensuring the objective of a change request is met.
Facilitate discussion and documentation of all requirements.
Maintain the backlog and roadmap
Manage and prioritize the team backlog - create user stories, document acceptance criteria, business rules, tester watchpoints.
Develop a team-level roadmap aligned to the broader Enterprise Product Roadmap.
Responsible for design documentation, ensuring it is maintained, accurate, and up-to-date.
Guide team-level decisions
Participate in team discussions to help evaluate options and recommend solutions.
Use data and stakeholder input to inform prioritization and decisions.
Develop and communicate product and spring goals with clarity, representing the needs of customers and stakeholders.
Participate in Agile ceremonies
Attend and contribute to Agile ceremonies.
Work with the team Scrum Master to identify process improvement opportunities.
Build foundational relationships with stakeholders
Initiate and nurture relationships with key business and technical stakeholders.
Communicate project updates to gather feedback to ensure stakeholder alignment.
Demonstrate effective listening and follow-up to build trust and credibility within the organization.
Other duties as assigned