Associate Product Owner - Pharmacy Operational Efficiency (Open to hiring at the Product Owner level)

Company Description

Why Wellmark: We are a mutual insurance company owned by our policy holders across Iowa and South Dakota, and we’ve built our reputation on over 80 years’ worth of trust. We are not motivated by profits. We are motivated by the well-being of our friends, family, and neighbors–our members. If you’re passionate about joining an organization working hard to put its members first, to provide best-in-class service, and one that is committed to sustainability and innovation, consider applying today! 

Learn more about our unique benefit offerings here. 

Job Description

The Associate Product Owner is responsible for maximizing the product's value and the agile team's work by ensuring the team’s backlog is prioritized and aligned with customer needs and approved business cases. They build strong partnerships with stakeholders through continuous communication and feedback to ensure their needs are represented, and the product outcomes are achieved. They develop and convey the product’s vision to the agile team, outlining and prioritizing work based on business value realization metrics.  

This opportunity has one opening and will support the Pharmacy - Operational Efficiency product team. Success in this role will require strong cross-functional collaboration and strategic partnerships across the organization. The role will work closely with various business and agile teams and will need to effectively collaborate, build consensus, and drive initiatives with key support teams across multiple departments, as well as partner with various Product teams and ARTs. The ideal candidate will prioritize high-value work and align with our program's performance objectives to maximize impact and efficiency. 

This position will work a hybrid schedule of at least 3 days (Tues-Thurs) in Wellmark’s Des Moines office with 2 days remote option (Mon/Fri).

Qualifications

Associate Product Owner Level

Required Qualifications - Must have:

• Bachelor's degree or direct and applicable work experience.
• Minimum 3+ years’ experience in a combination of:
  • Proven project management experience including managing project scope and schedule, utilizing industry standard project management methodologies.
  • Eliciting detailed business requirements.
  • Experience in a change management capacity aligned to an industry standard methodology.
  • Exposure to the development and execution of user acceptance test plans, scenarios, and cases utilizing industry standard testing methodologies.
  • Wellmark business acumen for specific product or division of this role.
• Demonstrates ownership and commitment to projects; drives tasks and milestones toward successful completion and holds themselves accountable for project performance.
• SAFe agile certification (e.g., Product Owner) obtained within 3 months.
• Possess or is willing to pursue certified Product Owner Certification.
• Experience successfully leading others through change.
• Demonstrated facilitation and influencing skills to drive decision making among stakeholders with diverse perspectives and priorities.
• Ability to work well in a team environment and be capable of building and maintaining relationships with other team members, departments, and customers.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex information in a condensed manner to various stakeholders verbally and in writing to achieve shared vision and goals.
• Strong problem solving and analytical skills.
• Ability to identify risks and deploy appropriate mitigation strategies to meet stakeholder/functional requirements.
• Strong group facilitation skills and presentation skills demonstrated through successful experience.
• Consulting skills required with, excellent communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office suite.
• Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) knowledge.

Preferred Qualifications - Great to have:

• Bachelor's degree.
• SAFe agile certification.
• Prior experience in a Product Owner role operating within a SAFe organization, including demonstrated experience with agile and/or lean product management competencies of value measurement, optimization, and eliminating waste.
• Experience with agile business analysis, including documentation of features, user stories, and acceptance criteria.
• Exposure to negotiation skills and techniques.
• Experience using agile requirements management tools (e.g., Jira or Azure DevOps).
• Proficiency in HROR highly preferred.

Product Owner Level<