Product Owner - Affinity Solutions Technology

Securian Financial • St. Paul, MN

21h • $84,000 - $155,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

As a Product Owner in Affinity Solutions Technology (AST) you will lead a cross-functional agile team implementing technology solutions for Securian’s Affinity Solutions and Securian Canada markets. AST teams demonstrate passion for delivering innovative solutions for clients, customers, and internal partners, driven by creative problem-solving skills, strong collaboration, and analytical abilities. You need to be passionate about delivering business value through technology while remaining flexible to adapt to evolving and emerging needs. You will partner with stakeholders to define your team’s strategy and roadmap, owning your team’s prioritization and delivery. You will work closely with your team, other Product Owners, business stakeholders, engineering leaders, and technology partners to deliver solutions using a blend of methodologies.

Requirements

• Working knowledge of agile practices.
• Understands the fundamentals of iterative development, incremental delivery, backlog management, burndown metrics, velocity, and task definition.
• Leadership skills to gain credibility, garner respect, guide the creation of a self-organizing team, being assertive with business priorities and opposing viewpoints while adhering to agile concepts and principles.
• Ability to influence teams to deliver great customer experience without direct authority.
• Working knowledge of Product Management practices.
• Strong communication, facilitation, and interpersonal skills to engage agile team and stakeholders, facilitate discussions, negotiate, and resolve conflict.
• Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills, creative problem-solving skills, and attention to detail.
• Ability to work with minimal direction, flexibility to adapt to shifting priorities and schedules, handle multiple issues simultaneously, and manage stressful situations for self and team.
• Strong knowledge of technology and architectural principles to drive implementation of scalable, maintainable, and resilient solutions.

Nice To Haves

• Proven track record as a Product Owner or individual contributor responsible for value and viability of technology solutions.
• Proven track record working in an agile environment while delivering results based on effective prioritization.
• Experience with stakeholder management and collaboration.
• Ability to quickly learn new domains and adapt to changing business needs.
• Knowledge of product and project and portfolio management best practices.
• Ability to communicate effectively with diverse audiences including executives, customers, and technical teams.
• Experience identifying critical emerging business needs and service challenges and ability to quickly and effectively shift/coordinate resources to deliver immediate impact.
• Proven ability to engage with both individual contributors and leaders of the highest levels in constructive and collaborative relationships.
• Demonstrated results of gaining credibility, gaining respect and building trust, guiding the creation of self-organizing teams and being assertive with business priorities and opposing viewpoints while adhering to agile concepts and principles.

Responsibilities

• Partners with the business to build trust and translate operations, customer needs, and technology into impactful digital solutions—resolving trade-offs, managing risks and dependencies, creating and driving product roadmaps with a focus on measurable outcomes, and communicating transparently.
• Maintains a backlog to prioritize work/stories for the team by synthesizing all relevant data, research and any other available information.
• Engages stakeholders through ongoing collaboration to understand evolving customer needs, advocate for the business, and share insights with teams to drive alignment and optimal outcomes.
• Leverages emerging best practices and market trends to drive operational efficiencies and align technology strategies with business goals.
• Uses all available resources (e.g., analytics, reporting, surveys, ethnographic research, qualitative data, usability testing) to understand product performance and customer satisfaction.
• Effectively communicates product value through storytelling, connecting to business/customer impact and engages stakeholders in strategic decisions to optimize outcomes.
• Cross functional understanding of how their work integrates with other business workstreams and initiatives.
• Understands how to leverage team effectiveness metrics (e.g., velocity/cycle time) to drive value.
• Contributes to strategic product decisions by incorporating total cost of ownership and providing input into operating budget planning.
• Participates in governance meetings and communicates technical and business product status and progress with senior leaders.
• Creates product delivery commitments such as service level agreements and BCM plans to support resiliency requirements.
• Engages in product discovery efforts to identify strategic opportunities.
• Proactively develops and demonstrates advanced knowledge of and experience with the technical product(s) and is conversant in the product architecture to drive growth and improve customer experience.
• Directly responsible for implementation, configuration, and/or continuous improvement of a technical product based on value
• Anticipates and identifies new product opportunities to drive value.
• Provides input and leads the design of meaningful tests and learning opportunities.
• Ensures project delivery is in conformance with company methodologies and standards; leads and provides guidance for project management for initiatives, ensuring business objectives are met and business benefits are delivered.

Benefits

• Paid time off: We want you to take time off for what matters most to you. Our PTO program provides flexibility for associates to take meaningful time away from work to relax, recharge and spend time doing what’s important to them. And Securian Financial rewards associates for their service by providing additional PTO the longer you stay at Securian.
• Leave programs: Securian’s flexible leave programs allow time off from work for parental leave, caregiver leave for family members, bereavement and military leave.
• Holidays: Securian provides nine company paid holidays.
• Company-funded pension plan and a 401(k) retirement plan: Share in the success of our company. Securian’s 401(k) company contribution is tied to our performance up to 10 percent of eligible earnings, with a target of 5 percent. The amount is based on company results compared to goals related to earnings, sales and service.
• Health insurance: From the first day of employment, associates and their eligible family members – including spouses, domestic partners and children – are eligible for medical, dental and vision coverage.
• Volunteer time: We know the importance of community. Through company-sponsored events, volunteer paid time off, a dollar-for-dollar matching gift program and more, we encourage you to support organizations important to you.
• Associate Resource Groups: Build connections, be yourself and develop meaningful relationships at work through associate-led ARGs. Dedicated groups focus on a variety of interests and affinities, including: Mental Wellness and Disability Pride at Securian Financial Securian Young Professionals Network Securian Multicultural Network Securian Women and Allies Network Servicemember Associate Resource Group

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees