Product Manager / Product Owner – Customer Experience & Communications

Location: New York, NY
Work Arrangement: Hybrid – 3 days per week in the office during training; after training, in-office as needed
Schedule: Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM EST
Employment Type: 6-Month Contract with Potential for FTE Conversion
Openings: 2
Compensation:$65–$85/hour
Start Date: ASAP

Position Overview

We are seeking two Product Managers / Product Owners to support customer experience, digital transformation, and customer communications initiatives for a complex, customer-facing organization.

This role combines Product Ownership, Project Management, and Business Analysis responsibilities. The ideal candidate will be comfortable working in an Agile environment, managing product backlogs, gathering and translating business requirements, coordinating development activities, and working closely with business stakeholders, technology teams, and third-party vendors.

The team supports digital customer experiences and multi-channel communications across platforms such as websites, mobile applications, SMS, email, voice, and other customer-facing channels. The position will also support transformational initiatives and time-sensitive customer communications, including emergency and weather-related notifications.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage and prioritize product and program backlogs, enhancements, features, epics, and user stories.

• Partner with business stakeholders to understand customer and business needs and translate them into actionable requirements.

• Develop clear, concise user stories, acceptance criteria, business requirements, and functional specifications.

• Support product and feature development across digital customer channels, including websites, mobile applications, and other customer-facing platforms.

• Lead or support Agile ceremonies including sprint planning, stand-ups, backlog refinement/grooming, reviews, retrospectives, and release planning.

• Coordinate Agile teams or pods from a business and product perspective.

• Track sprint and release progress, team velocity, deliverables, risks, issues, and dependencies.

• Manage project plans, schedules, action items, status reporting, documentation, and other program materials.

• Coordinate with technology teams, vendors, and internal stakeholders to ensure requirements and deliverables remain on track.

• Conduct requirements analysis, process analysis, testing, UAT, and issue resolution.

• Develop test plans and test cases and coordinate testing activities with business and technical teams.

• Support customer communications across multiple channels, including SMS, email, voice, web, and mobile.

• Support customer communications during emergency or time-sensitive situations.

• Identify opportunities to improve product processes, governance, intake, and overall customer experience.

• Conduct research and analysis related to digital customer experience, industry trends, customer behavior, and emerging technologies.

• Prepare presentations, status reports, and documentation for management and other stakeholders.

• Manage multiple priorities and workstreams in a fast-paced, sometimes ambiguous environment.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.

• 3+ years of experience in Product Management, Product Ownership, Project Management, Business Analysis, Customer Experience, or a related discipline.

• Demonstrated experience working in an Agile product development environment.

• Experience managing or supporting product backlogs, requirements, user stories, and feature prioritization.

• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.

• Ability to work effectively with both technical and non-technical teams.

• Experience coordinating projects, deliverables, risks, issues, and competing priorities.

• Strong analytical, organizational, documentation, and problem-solving skills.

• Experience with Microsoft Office applications, including Excel.

• Technical aptitude and ability to quickly understand business processes, technology platforms, and systems.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Ability to work independently and effectively within a small, complex team.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience as a Product Owner for an Agile development team.

• Experience with SAFe Agile, Agile transformation, or large-scale Agile programs.

• Experience with digital customer experience, websites, mobile applications, or digital products.

• Experience with customer communications or multi-channel communication platforms.

• Experience with SMS, email, voice, web, mobile, or other customer communication technologies.

• Vendor management or third-party technology partner experience.

• Experience with Azure DevOps, Monday.com, Jira, or similar Agile/product management tools.

• Experience with web accessibility guidelines and compliance.

• Experience in the utility industry or another regulated/highly complex environment.

• Knowledge of customer operations, customer assistance programs, or customer-facing regulations.

• Experience supporting emergency communications or other time-sensitive customer initiatives.

• Experience preparing executive, regulatory, or formal stakeholder presentations and documentation.

Additional Information

This is a 6-month contract opportunity with potential for conversion to a full-time position based on performance and business needs.

Candidates should be comfortable working in a hybrid environment in New York City. A valid driver's license may be required for potential FTE conversion; driving is not required as part of the day-to-day responsibilities of this position.