Lead Product Owner

About us

At National Grid, we keep people connected and society moving. But it’s so much more than that. National Grid supplies us with the environment to make it happen. As we generate momentum in the energy transition for all, we don’t plan on leaving any of our customers in the dark. So, join us as a Lead Product Owner and find your superpower. 

National Grid is hiring a Lead Product Owner. This role operates under a hybrid working model and is based out of the Warwick, UK office. Hybrid work expectations are subject to business needs and company policy.

About the Role

Lead Product Owner plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between the company’s strategic vision and the teams responsible for delivering on that vision. By managing the product owner team, aligning them with business objectives, and driving collaboration across departments, the Lead Product Owner ensures that the company remains competitive, innovative, and user-centric.

Responsible for driving the strategic direction of the product owner team, aligning product initiatives with business objectives, and ensuring successful delivery of high-value features. In this role, you will oversee the product lifecycle, ensuring cross-functional collaboration with development, marketing, sales, and other stakeholders.

Leading the team of Product Owners, guiding them through agile practices and acting as the key liaison between the business and the development teams. A strong focus on people management, mentorship, and strategic vision is crucial, as you will be tasked with developing your team to deliver product features in line with business goals and timelines.

This role is pivotal in fostering a high-performance culture within the product team while facilitating communication and transparency between business units and technical teams.

What You'll Do

• Ensure that the product owner team's priorities are aligned with the company's overarching business strategy and objectives. Lead the development and communication of the low level product roadmap in collaboration with senior leadership.
• Lead quarterly and sprint planning sessions, ensuring that the product roadmap is clearly communicated and that all team members are aligned on priorities based on customer needs, market research and stakeholder input.
• Collaborate with other Lead Product Owners and the wider and the wider with engineering, design, marketing, and sales teams to remove/navigate blockers and deliver high-quality products on time and adhering to consistency and alignment across the broader product portfolio.
• Champion Agile and Scrum best practices within the team, driving continuous improvement and fostering collaboration across engineering, design, and product teams.
• Ensure that the correct prioritizations of the product backlog in alignment with commercial KPI's and wider business requirements, balancing the delivery of customer-facing features with technical improvements and debt.
• Track and analyze key product metrics, ensuring continuous improvement in product features and team performance. Regularly report on progress to senior leadership, providing insights and recommendations based on data-driven analysis.
• Stay updated on industry trends, competitive products, and technological advancements to continuously innovate and ensure the product meets market demands.
• Act as the lead for agile processes within the product owner team, promoting Scrum best practices and ensuring efficient sprint planning, backlog refinement, and retrospectives.
• Support the team in defining user stories, acceptance criteria, and ensuring alignment to the product vision.
• Collaborate with engineering and design teams to ensure that features are delivered on time, within scope, and with high quality. Facilitate cross-functional communication and remove roadblocks to ensure smooth product delivery.
• Identify potential risks, dependencies, and obstacles that could impact product delivery. Develop contingency plans and manage expectations with stakeholders.
• Manage, mentor, and develop a team of Product Owners, regularly providing feedback, supporting training and career development for the team, ensuring they have the skills and knowledge needed to succeed
• Lead by example in fostering a high-performance culture of innovation, collaboration, accountability, personal development and continuous improvement within the product team.
• Conduct regular performance reviews, defi ne and set key success measures (KPI’s) and set clear objectives (OKR’s) and performance expectations, ensuring individual and team alignments with business area goals.
• Ensure regular insight into your teams performance by obtaining feedback on your teams individual and collective performance ensuring that this is incorporated in regular performance reviews, acknowledging and celebrating successes, and providing constructive feedback and identifying opportunities for growth and development.
• Build and maintain a succession plan to mitigate single points of failure.
• Ensure that the team is adequately resourced and well-balanced, identifying skill gaps and working with HR to fi ll them where necessary.
• Cultivate an open and inclusive environment where team members feel empowered to contribute ideas, collaborate eff ectively, and perform at their best.

About You

• Strong experience in managing and leading product teams. Proven ability to mentor, motivate, and grow team members while fostering a collaborative work environment.
• In-depth knowledge of agile methodologies (particularly Scrum), with experience in implementing and optimising agile processes within product teams.
• Expert understanding of product management processes, including product lifecycle management, user research, backlog prioritization, and stakeholder engagement.
• Ability to connect the product vision with the broader business strategy. Strong capability in translating business goals into actionable product roadmaps and initiatives.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills. Ability to present complex ideas clearly and persuasively to executives, team members, and cross-functional partners.
• Strong understanding of technology trends, software development processes, and data-driven product management. Ability to work closely with engineering teams and understand technical requirements and limitations.
• Awareness of market trends, customer needs, and competitive landscapes, with the ability to adapt product strategy accordingly.
• Confident decision-maker with the ability to analyze complex problems, weigh risks, and make informed choices.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities, with the ability to navigate ambiguity and adapt to changing business needs.

What You'll Get

• Competitive Salary: circa £75,000 – £85,000 per annum (based on capability, and experience)
   

Additional benefits:

• Annual performance bonus opportunity of up to 30% of your earnings
• A competitive contributory pension scheme where we will double match your contribution to a maximum company contribution of 12%
• Flexible benefits such as a cycle scheme, share incentive plan, technology schemes
• Access to apps such as digital GP service for round the clock access to GP video consultations and NHS repeat prescriptions, wellbeing app to support your health and fitness
• Access to Work + Family Space, providing support and resources for work and family life, including paid emergency childcare and eldercare

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