Position Title- Product Owner/Portfolio Manager
Position Type- Contract
Duration- Long Term
Interview Type- In Person
Work Location- Des Moines, IA
Work Preference- Hybrid
1. Job Role
Product Owner / Portfolio Manager The role focuses on managing a portfolio of IT products while acting as a Product Owner. It involves driving product strategy, aligning IT solutions with business needs, leading cross-functional (fusion) teams, and ensuring continuous improvement through performance metrics and user feedback. The position requires strong collaboration with business stakeholders, IT leadership, and vendors.
2. Responsibilities
• Manage a portfolio of IT products and applications, ensuring alignment with business objectives for internal and external users
• Act as Product Owner across the full product lifecycle (planning development release optimization)
• Collaborate with business SMEs, IT teams, vendors, and external agencies to define scope and identify IT solutions
• Create, maintain, and prioritize product backlogs and long-term roadmaps
• Oversee product releases, deployment readiness, performance tracking, and risk management
• Define and monitor KPIs and ensure compliance with federal and IT governance standards
• Manage vendor relationships, SLAs, interoperability issues, and service delivery performance
• Handle IT product financials including budgeting, cost tracking, and reporting
• Lead cross-functional fusion teams and ensure effective collaboration across departments
• Allocate resources, monitor team performance, and support team members
• Facilitate Agile ceremonies (sprint planning, reviews, backlog grooming, user story development)
• Use user feedback and performance data to refine features, acceptance criteria, and delivery priorities
• Work with Executive Technology Officers (ETOs) to align product development with enterprise strategy
• Build and maintain strong stakeholder relationships and ensure consistent communication
3.
Skills Required
Core Experience
• Project Management (scope, budget, timeline, resources) – 5+ years
• Product Ownership / Portfolio Management – 2+ years
• Requirements Elicitation &
• Documentation – 5+ years
• Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) knowledge – 5+ years
• Vendor Management &
• Collaboration – 5+ years
Agile &
• Delivery
• Agile methodologies (Scrum, backlog prioritization, sprint planning) – 3+ years
• User story creation and product backlog management
• Release planning and delivery management
Technical &
• Documentation
• High-quality documentation (project plans, BRDs, user stories, process maps, reports) – 5+ years
• Understanding of IT governance and compliance frameworks
Communication &
• Leadership
• Strong stakeholder communication (technical + business + leadership level) – 5+ years
• Ability to manage expectations and present product strategy
• Team leadership and cross-functional coordination
Additional
• IT Vendor Management – 3+ years
• Budget planning and financial oversight
• Performance metrics tracking and data-driven decision making
Apply tot his job
Apply To this Job