Agile Product Owner I

Overview

Our Product Owner is responsible for establishing a vision for an Agile (Scrum/Kanban) team. The Product Owner prioritizes and manages the health of the team backlog and contributes significantly to team quality. Guardian is seeking a multidimensional Agile leader experienced with the following: Requirement elicitation and analysis, Agile story writing, team-level backlog management, decomposition, and Journey & Story Mapping.

You Will

Identify, communicate, and decompose business requirements into small, estimated, functional, and vertical user stories that fit within a single iteration.

Define functional and non-functional requirements in the form of acceptance criteria!

Prioritize and sequence stories to maximize the business value delivered while maintaining a balanced pace for the team.

Accept user stories as done throughout the iteration with multiple define-build-test cycles.

Works with Product Management Team to ensure vision, goals, and objectives are established and achieved.

Participate in team and Agile Release Train (ART) Agile Ceremonies

Apply an Agile approach and behavior to optimally collaborate with the Agile Release Train (ART), team, and stakeholder(s).

Leverage Agile estimation, forecasting, and economic prioritization (WSJF) tools.

Make critical decisions regarding functionality and priority for the team, focusing on delivering value!

Use various tools, including personas to guide design choices, empathy maps to help teams understand user needs, journey maps to describe customer experiences across the operational value stream & story maps to design workflows

You Have

Extensive knowledge of Agile Values, Principles, and mindset with demonstrated ability of 5 years acting in a Product Owner or Product Manager role.

Certified in Scaled Agile – SAFe® Product Owner (PO/PM)

Strong technical competence and system thinking

Proficiency using Confluence, JIRA, Clarity, and Jira Align.

Consumer-centric focus with experience managing user experience components.

An ability to articulate and clearly communicate complex problems and solutions simply and logically.

Excellent critical thinking and communication skills.

Experience serving in an analytical role such as business or system analysis.

Determined, with strong project management and organizational skills.

Experience working on platform migrations and working with vendor partners.

Your Location

Hybrid: Two days a week at our Guardian office in Holmdel, NJ or Bethlehem, PA and three days a week remote.

Salary Range

$79,350.00 – $130,365.00

The salary range reflected above is a good faith estimate of base pay for the primary location of the position. The salary for this position ultimately will be determined based on the education, experience, knowledge, and abilities of the successful candidate. In addition to salary, this role may also be eligible for annual, sales, or other incentive compensation.

Our Promise

At Guardian, you’ll have the support and flexibility to achieve your professional and personal goals. Through skill-building, leadership development and philanthropic opportunities, we provide opportunities to build communities and grow your career, surrounded by diverse colleagues with high ethical standards.

Inspire Well-Being

As part of Guardian’s Purpose – to inspire well-being – we are committed to offering contemporary, supportive, flexible, and inclusive benefits and resources to our colleagues.

Health Care

Choice of [high deductible/copay] medical plans with prescription drugs, including coverage for fertility and transgender inclusive benefits

Dental plan

Vision plan

Health care accounts – flexible spending, health reimbursement, and health savings accounts

Critical illness insurance

Life and Disability Insurance

Company-paid Life and Disability insurance plus voluntary supplemental coverage

Accident insurance

Retirement and Financial

401(k) retirement plan with a company match, plus an annual age/service-based Company contribution and an annual profit-sharing contribution, if applicable

Complimentary 1:1 financial guidance with a licensed Fidelity representative

Time Off and Remote Work

Flexible work arrangements (part in-person/part remote)

Unlimited paid time off for most roles plus time off for volunteering, jury duty, voting, and bereavement

Personal holidays for colleagues to use in recognition of religious, cultural, or civic days

Paid parental leave and paid family and medical leave policies

Emotional Well-being and Work-Life

Emotional well-being, mental health, and work/life resources powered by Spring Health

Wellness programs, including fitness program and equipment reimbursement

Child, adult, and elder back-up care support through Bright Horizons

Adoption assistance

College planning

Tuition reimbursement

Student loan assistance

Commuter benefits in select metropolitan areas

Equity & Inclusion

Opportunities to build inclusive and meaningful connections through involvement in colleague-led affinity groups:

Employee Resource Groups:

Colleague Connection Committees

Community Involvement Committees

A culture that encourages colleagues to bring their authentic selves to work

Voluntary self-ID

Pronunciation and phonetic spelling of names

Benefits apply to full-time eligible employees. Interns are not eligible for most Company benefits.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Guardian is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, marital status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other classification protected by applicable law.

Accommodations

Guardian is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. Guardian also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified job applicants (and employees) to accommodate the individuals known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless doing so would create an undue hardship. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact applicantaccommodation@glic.com .

Current Guardian Colleagues: Please apply through the internal Jobs Hub in Workday.

Every day, Guardian helps our 29 million customers realize their dreams through a range of insurance and financial products and services. Our Purpose, to inspire well-being, guides our dedication to the colleagues, consumers, and communities we serve. We know that people count, and we go above and beyond to prepare them for the life they want to live, focusing on their overall well-being — mind, body, and wallet. As one of the largest mutual insurance companies, we put our customers first. Behind every bright future is a GuardianTM. Learn more about Guardian at guardianlife.com .