Product Owner, Editorial Excellence

About Springer Nature Group

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Job Title: Product Owner, Editorial Excellence

Location(s): Dordrecht or London - Hybrid Working Model

About the Role

The goal of the Publishing Performance and Intelligence Group (PP&I) is to help deliver next generation digital publishing at Springer Nature and as a result, grow the number of good quality published articles especially in open access (OA). Working closely with the Journals Group, Production, IT, Marketing and Customer Service, PP&I support increasing the number of transfers of articles between journals, commissioning new collections, enforcing research integrity, strengthening editor engagement and delivering enhancements to the end-to-end journal publishing process.

The Centre of Excellence (CoE) team within PP&I creates and drives continuous improvement in PP&I and Journal Publishing teams with their respective stakeholders in order to achieve their strategic goals. With this purpose in mind, we initiate and run several tactical and strategic initiatives with specific business outcomes. We are a team of professionals who embrace and apply best practice Project Management, Business Analysis, Continuous Improvement, Product Management, Product Ownership, and Change Management.

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Product Owner to join our dynamic team. As a key member of CoE, the Product Owner will act as the bridge between business stakeholders and technology providers, including external third-party software vendors and internal development teams, to ensure continuous delivery and improvement of high-quality operational products for the PP&I Editorial Excellence function. These internally facing Products would predominantly support the workflow management and reporting of business-critical teams such as Research Integrity (Prevention, Resolution and Assurance), Policy, Indexing and Abstracting. The ideal candidate is customer-focused, detail-oriented, and skilled in Agile methodologies.

The Product Owner develops a deep understanding of Editorial Excellence with the aim of becoming a trusted partner of such area, offering both support and consulting to any initiative reflecting their strategic priorities. Ultimately the role owns and manages the roadmap of the products associated with this area.

Role Responsibilities:

1. Product Vision and Strategy: Collaborate with stakeholders to define and communicate the product vision and roadmap. Prioritize features and enhancements based on business goals, customer needs, and market trends.
2. Backlog Management: Create, maintain, and prioritize the product backlog. Write clear and actionable user stories, acceptance criteria, and technical requirements. Ensure the development team has a clear understanding of requirements and priorities.
3. Stakeholder Collaboration: Serve as the primary point of contact for internal and external stakeholders. Gather feedback to refine product features and ensure alignment with business objectives.
4. Agile Team Leadership: Work closely with Scrum Masters, developers, designers, architects and QA teams (both internal to SN and third parties) to deliver high-quality products. Participate in Agile ceremonies, including sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, and retrospectives.
5. Performance and Success Metrics: Define and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate product success. Analyze data and user feedback to make informed decisions on product improvements.
6. Risk Management: Identify potential risks and dependencies, proactively addressing issues to ensure smooth delivery.

Experience, Skills & Qualifications:

1. Excellent understanding of the research publishing landscape and how journals and journal publishers serve the research community. A good understanding of the workflows and processes that underpin the submission-to-publication journey.
2. An understanding of all SN brand values e.g., Springer, Nature and other key brands across the Research Publishing business.
3. Desirable experience in Publishing and affinity with Research Integrity.
4. Sound experience as a Product Owner or in a similar role.
5. Proven experience in Agile/Scrum environments and/or agile project management.
6. Proven experience with working with third-party software vendors or system integrators. Familiar with RFI/RFP and Procurement processes.
7. Proficiency in tools such as Jira, Trello, or similar project management software.
8. Familiar with change management concepts and techniques.
9. Willingness, flexibility, creativity, and ambition to improve processes and workflows.
10. Demonstrate a highly analytical and logical approach and can articulate complex concepts in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner.
11. Able to inspire confidence and to maintain a professional attitude in all interactions with colleagues and external partners.
12. Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of colleagues and stakeholders.
13. Strong time-management and organizational skills.
14. Degree: minimum of BSc level or higher (preferably in a Business or Information Sciences discipline) or significant working experience in a similar role.
15. Certification in Product Ownership or Agile practices (e.g., CSPO, SAFe PO/PM).
16. Experience with UX/UI principles and user-centered design.
17. Familiarity with data analytics and visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI).
18. Change Management certification - desirable.
19. Ability to travel.

Note for candidates in the Netherlands: As per our local policy, please be aware that this role will be open only for internal candidates within the first 2 weeks. Afterwards, external applications will be progressed.

At Springer Nature, we value the diversity of our teams and work to build an inclusive culture, where people are treated fairly and can bring their differences to work and thrive. We empower our colleagues and value their diverse perspectives as we strive to attract, nurture and develop the very best talent. Springer Nature was awarded Diversity Team of the Year at the 2022 British Diversity Awards. Find out more about our DEI work here https://group.springernature.com/gp/group/taking-responsibility/diversity-equity-inclusion

If you have any access needs related to disability, neurodivergence or a chronic condition, please contact us so we can make all necessary accommodation.

For more information about career opportunities in Springer Nature please visit https://springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/SpringerNatureCareers

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