Product Owner of Enterprise Systems

15-Apr-2024

Faculty of Arts and Sciences

65561BR

Position Description

Reporting to the Project Management function in the Division of Continuing Education (DCE), the Product Owner of Enterprise Systems will be responsible for defining the product vision, managing the backlog, and working as a liaison between the developer, stakeholder, and vendor teams for the tightly coupled systems of Banner, DegreeWorks, and CourseLeaf. This will ensure transparency, effective communication, and timely feature delivery. The Product Owner will represent stakeholder interests and concerns, act as a decision-maker when there are competing needs, and manage vendor relationships. 

Duties and Responsibilities include: 

• Collects requirements, performs end-user research, and provides continuous stakeholder engagement to ensure that the product direction addresses concerns, has clear goals, and that the vision aligns with business objectives. 

• Writes and grooms user stories to represent stakeholder requirements by providing context to in-house and external development teams. Liaises between stakeholders and the development team to ensure there is a buy-in from stakeholders and clear instructions and deliverables for the developers. 

• Manages and prioritizes the backlogs to ensure they are ordered based on strategy and business objectives, that enhancements and maintenance work are addressed fairly, dependencies are identified and sequenced, and the backlog is kept up-to-date and available to stakeholders as needs evolve. Collaborates with other Product Owners to prioritize development work for shared resources, and to implement changes to increase team efficiency. 

• Understands and maintains knowledge of the Ellucian and Leepfrog product roadmaps as they impact DCE and advises stakeholders accordingly. 

• Identifies risks by developing mitigation plans and resolves problems that may impact use of the product. Makes decisions when there are competing needs between stakeholders by using research and negotiation skills to problem solve, resolve issues, and communicate transparently. Proactively escalates to senior management as necessary. 

• Maintains knowledge of the interfaces of these products with other systems, such as TouchNet, Parchment, Simple Syllabus, StarRez, Canvas, and Salesforce. 

• Coordinates consulting engagements, technology upgrades, and functional training sessions to manage development work of consultants as needed.

Basic Qualifications

• Minimum of five years’ post-secondary education or relevant work experience

Additional Qualifications and Skills

• 7 or more years of IT experience. 

• 5 or more years in business analysis or product ownership. 

• Ellucian/Banner and or Leepfrog/Courseleaf experience. 

• Advanced subject matter expertise. 

• Strong knowledge of best practices in Product Ownership. 

• Ability to collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders ranging from business leads to vendors, to software engineers to ensure development is aligned with goals. 

• Experience conducting user research, gathering information from many sources, filtering what is most important, and synthesizing findings into actionable recommendations. 

• Current understanding of trends, issues, and innovation as they relate to registrar systems. 

• Strong knowledge of best practices in UI/UX. 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. 

• Demonstrated presentation and negotiation abilities.

Working Conditions

• The health of our workforce is a priority for Harvard University. With that in mind, we strongly encourage all employees to be up-to-date on CDC-recommended vaccines.

Additional Information

• We will not provide visa sponsorship for this position. 

• A cover letter is highly encouraged for consideration. 

• All formal offers will be made by FAS Human Resources.

Work Format Details

This position will be based in Cambridge, MA. Hybrid workplace models in place at DCE with a minimum of 2 days per week on campus. DCE may adjust these as necessary or appropriate.  

Additional details will be discussed during the interview process. All remote work must be performed within one of the Harvard Registered Payroll States, which currently includes Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Washington, and California (CA for exempt positions only). Certain visa types and funding sources may limit work location. Individuals must meet work location sponsorship requirements prior to employment. 

About Us

The Division of Continuing Education (DCE) comprises four academic units serving about 30,000 domestic and international students annually, which allow Harvard to meet the learning needs of intellectually curious and highly motivated students from high school through retirement. Established in 1910, the Harvard Extension School (HES) offers access to Harvard faculty for a diverse community of adult learners, enrolling about 15,000 students. HES offers over 1,000 open enrollment courses — 85 percent of which are accessible online — and provides flexibility through noncredit, undergraduate, and graduate courses, including degrees, certificates, and a premedical program. The Harvard Summer School, founded in 1871, offers around 450 credit and noncredit courses both on the Harvard Campus and online, catering to 10,000 high school, college, and adult learners. Additionally, it offers more than 15 international study abroad programs, hosting up to 300 students each summer. Harvard DCE Professional & Executive Development delivers over 140 noncredit programs annually, reaching more than 3,600 participants through online platforms and its executive development center in Cambridge. The Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement offers about 140 peer-taught courses to approximately 550 active members. 

Benefits

We invite you to visit Harvard's Total Rewards website (https://hr.harvard.edu/totalrewards ) to learn more about our outstanding benefits package, which may include:

• Paid Time Off: 3-4 weeks of accrued vacation time per year (3 weeks for support staff and 4 weeks for administrative/professional staff), 12 accrued sick days per year, 12.5 holidays plus a Winter Recess in December/January, 3 personal days per year (prorated based on date of hire), and up to 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents who are primary care givers.
• Health and Welfare: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits, disability and life insurance programs, along with voluntary benefits. Most coverage begins as of your start date.
• Work/Life and Wellness: Child and elder/adult care resources including on campus childcare centers, Employee Assistance Program, and wellness programs related to stress management, nutrition, meditation, and more.
• Retirement: University-funded retirement plan with contributions from 5% to 15% of eligible compensation, based on age and earnings with full vesting after 3 years of service.
• Tuition Assistance Program: Competitive program including $40 per class at the Harvard Extension School and reduced tuition through other participating Harvard graduate schools.
• Tuition Reimbursement: Program that provides 75% to 90% reimbursement up to $5,250 per calendar year for eligible courses taken at other accredited institutions.
• Professional Development: Programs and classes at little or no cost, including through the Harvard Center for Workplace Development and LinkedIn Learning.
• Commuting and Transportation: Various commuter options handled through the Parking Office, including discounted parking, half-priced public transportation passes and pre-tax transit passes, biking benefits, and more.
• Harvard Facilities Access, Discounts and Perks: Access to Harvard athletic and fitness facilities, libraries, campus events, credit union, and more, as well as discounts to various types of services (legal, financial, etc.) and cultural and leisure activities throughout metro-Boston.

Job Function

Information Technology

Department Office Location

USA - MA - Cambridge

Job Code

I0858P IT Business Analysis Prfss IV

Work Format

Hybrid (partially on-site, partially remote)

Sub-Unit

Division of Continuing Education

Department

Division of Continuing Education

Union

00 - Non Union, Exempt or Temporary

Pre-Employment Screening

Criminal, Identity

Schedule

Monday - Friday, 9am-5pm

Commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Harvard University views equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging as the pathway to achieving inclusive excellence and fostering a campus culture where everyone can thrive. We strive to create a community that draws upon the widest possible pool of talent to unify excellence and diversity while fully embracing individuals from varied backgrounds, cultures, races, identities, life experiences, perspectives, beliefs, and values.

EEO Statement

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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