Being a Product Owner can be frustrating. Sometimes ideation teams see the role as a barrier to creativity. Or perhaps you’re perceived as someone who simply manages the backlog and scope.

The difference in this newly created role, is that there’s a clear, shared consensus on what you’re here to achieve: maximizing the value of digital products for end-users and the business and helping to transform drug discovery and development.

In a well-resourced and highly digitally connected environment, you’ll be a welcome presence and a respected voice – an incubator for change.

What’s the role

It’s the ideal time to join this global pharma business – they are currently investing heavily in a digital transformation to become a truly data-driven R&D organisation.

This is a newly created role in the company’s Digital Sciences unit. There are currently six people in the team – a mix of scientists, researchers, portfolio managers and product owners – with plans to expand that number to ten. Together, the team’s aim is to catalyse the portfolio of products across the value chain, from target identification to early clinical trials.

As Product Owner, once proposals have been identified for implementation, you’ll lead the implementation phase: from ideation to continuous product development, to advanced science and collaboration.

Essentially, your role is to maximise the value of the product by creating and managing the product backlog and sharpening the business case. By constantly thinking of how initiatives could be improved, what feedback teams need, and challenging in a positive way, you’ll be instrumental in increasing the impact for users and, ultimately, for driving uptake by the scientific community.

It’s a role with plenty of variety and visibility – you’ll be working at the intersection of science, data, and technology on a portfolio spanning the entire R&D spectrum. By building relationships with key decision-makers, you’ll potentially be opening doors for future opportunities.

Ultimately, the products you champion will enable scientists to discover new therapies in both human and animal health. This is work that makes a difference with products you can be proud of.

What you can add

You don’t need pharma experience but you do need the credibility to talk at a high level with scientific stakeholders. That means you probably have a PhD in life sciences, bioinformatics or a related field. Or, you have a Master’s coupled with strong experience in a similar industry.

You have experience as a Product Owner working in a scientific or life sciences R&D environment. Ideally, your strengths lie in strategy and project leadership – this is a Matrix environment where you’ll need to win the support of different user communities and focus on delivering results to customers and stakeholders. So, ideally, you’ve shown that:

• You have an entrepreneurial mindset coupled with the determination and laser-sharp focus to keep pushing to the next milestone.

• You can facilitate effective communication, cooperation, and information sharing.

• You’re confident collaborating with stakeholders across diverse, multidisciplinary environments, in English.

Beyond that, any experience of of the following would be ideal:

• Developing digital products

• Managing multiple product lifecycles (end to end)

• Working with development teams in an Agile setting

About the business

You’ll join a successful, global pharmaceutical business with plans to make a big difference – they make decisions for the right reasons, scientifically, ethically, and commercially.

The company is focused on delivering sustainable healthcare and taking on big challenges in medicine – not trying to keep shareholders happy in the short term. That gives you the freedom to make measured, long-term decisions about the product portfolio, and the satisfaction of seeing ideas come to fruition over time.

Find out more

To find out more about the business, the benefits and the job, click the enquire today button.