Agile Product Owner

This is a 6 month contract-to-hire and needs to meet Client full-time conversion policies. Those dependent on a work permit sponsor now or anytime in the future (ie H1B, OPT, CPT, etc) do not meet Client requirements for this opening.

**MUST BE HYBRID in Hartford, CT

**MUST BE W2; No Corp-to-Corp**

The Agile Product Owner (APO) supports initiatives within the Global Specialty Business Product value stream, with a primary focus on underwriting capabilities, including pricing and rating tools. Reporting to the Director of Agile Product Management, the APO serves as the bridge between business strategy and agile execution translating vision into prioritized work that delivers measurable value.
In this role, the APO partners closely with Actuarial, Underwriting, Operations, Product, Data Science, and IT to define scope, refine requirements, and drive backlog readiness. The APO leads day-to-day agile execution for one or more teams, ensuring alignment to the product roadmap, business outcomes, and customer needs while enabling consistent, high-quality delivery.

Key Responsibilities

Product Ownership & Backlog Management

Serve as the voice of the business and customer for assigned agile team(s), ensuring work delivered aligns to Global Specialty priorities and underwriting outcomes.
Own and actively manage the team backlog, including refinement, prioritization, and readiness of features and user stories to support roadmap execution.
Decompose features into clear, actionable user stories with defined acceptance criteria and a shared definition of done.
Ensure backlog items are sequenced to maximize value delivery, manage dependencies, and balance capacity across initiatives.
Agile Execution & Delivery
Lead day-to-day agile execution for assigned initiatives, supporting sprint planning, execution, reviews, and retrospectives.
Partner with IT and delivery teams to ensure timely delivery of capabilities while maintaining quality, transparency, and predictable outcomes.
Accept completed work and validate that delivered outcomes meet business intent and value expectations.
Monitor initiative health, proactively addressing risks, impediments, and delivery issues in collaboration with Agile Product Managers and delivery leadership.
Stakeholder Partnership & Alignment
Collaborate with Actuarial, Underwriting, Operations, Product, Data Science, and IT to refine priorities, clarify requirements, and align execution to business objectives.
Support Agile Product Managers in translating value stream strategy and roadmaps into executable team-level work.
Incorporate feedback from demos, stakeholders, and business outcomes to inform continuous backlog refinement and iteration.
Continuous Improvement & Ways of Working
Promote agile best practices, transparency, and continuous improvement across teams and stakeholders.
Leverage Hartford agile tools and ceremonies (e.g., PI Planning, system demos) to ensure alignment, visibility, and effective execution.

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