Product Owner II

$115,704 - $192,840/Yr

M&T Bank - Buffalo, NY

Full-time - Mid Level

Buffalo, NY

Credit Intermediation and Related Activities

About the position

The Product Owner II at M&T Bank serves as the owner of a large product or set of products, representing the voice of the customer and stakeholders to ensure that the product delivers value while aligning with the business strategy. This role involves defining the product vision and roadmap, prioritizing the product backlog, and anticipating client needs. The Product Owner II acts as the primary communicator between product stakeholders and teams, evaluating product progress at each iteration. This position plays a crucial role in the company's strategic direction by defining and articulating new opportunities and collaborating closely with key stakeholders, including senior leadership and their dedicated agile team. In this role, the Product Owner II is responsible for building and owning the vision and roadmap of the product(s) that align with the overall strategic intent. They prioritize the backlog based on the product vision and strategy, represent the voice of the customer within the team, and convey story details to the team. The Product Owner II makes autonomous decisions to move delivery forward in alignment with the product vision and strategy. They write user stories, groom the backlog in partnership with the team, and specify acceptance criteria for each user story to support Acceptance Test-Driven Development (ATDD). The Product Owner II works directly with the delivery team to create appropriate information radiators and other communication tools to show progress on the product(s). They participate in all team activities and ceremonies, using a matrixed influencing approach to work with essential business partners throughout the organization, often at a senior level. The role requires a focus on outcomes over outputs, incorporating design thinking methods and analytics to inform product design. Given the complexity of the product(s), collaboration across teams and with other Product Owners is essential to align the customer journey and dependent backlogs. The Product Owner II may also act on behalf of the Senior Product Owner as required by absence, while ensuring adherence to the company's risk and regulatory standards, policies, and controls.

Responsibilities

• Build and own the large product or set of products vision and roadmap that aligns with the overall strategic intent and communicate them with the team and all stakeholders.
• Prioritize the backlog(s) based on the overall product vision and strategy.
• Represent the voice of the customer within the team and convey story details to the team; make autonomous decisions to move delivery forward in alignment with overall product vision and strategy.
• Write user stories and groom the backlog in partnership with the team.
• Specify acceptance criteria for each user story in support of moving the team to Acceptance Test-Driven Development (ATDD).
• Work directly with the delivery team to create appropriate information radiators and other communication tools for internal team and stakeholder use to show progress on a large product or multiple products.
• Participate in all team activities and ceremonies.
• Use a matrixed influencing approach to work with essential business partners throughout the organization, often at a more senior level and irrespective of hierarchy or divisions, advocating for the benefit of the customer.
• Understand and engage with your customers.
• Focus on outcomes over outputs, incorporating design thinking methods and analytics to inform product design.
• Collaborate across teams and with other Product Owners to align the customer journey and dependent backlogs.
• May act on behalf of the Senior Product Owner as required by absence.
• Understand and adhere to the Company's risk and regulatory standards, policies and controls in accordance with the Company's Risk Appetite.
• Identify risk-related issues needing escalation to management.
• Promote an environment that supports diversity and reflects the M&T Bank brand.
• Maintain M&T internal control standards, including timely implementation of internal and external audit points together with any issues raised by external regulators as applicable.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree and a minimum of 6 years' business, analytical, technical and/or product experience, or in lieu of a degree, a combined minimum of 10 years' higher education and/or work experience, including a minimum of 6 years' business, analytical, technical and/or product experience.
• Prior experience prioritizing across competing priorities and quickly-changing landscape.
• Prior experience actively seeking out multiple opinions, yet making independent decisions and influencing positive outcomes.
• Understanding of Design Thinking principles.
• Knowledge of product design and development best practices.
• Knowledge of Agile and Lean principles and practices.
• Experience working in partnership with user experience teams on product design.
• Experience developing/managing digital capabilities.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Specific subject matter expertise as required by assigned product.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience working in an agile environment.
• Familiarity with Acceptance Test-Driven Development (ATDD).

Benefits

• Competitive salary based on experience and qualifications.
• Opportunities for professional development and career growth.