Agency Product Owner

Job Description:

Position Summary

The Agency Product Owner is accountable for translating Agency business needs and strategic priorities into meaningful technology features that solve business problems, improve the user experience, and create measurable product value. The role owns business priority and product direction throughout the Agile delivery process, balancing market needs, operational realities, user feedback, regulatory expectations, and technical considerations. Working closely with stakeholders, Scrum teams, and cross-functional partners, the Product Owner turns the product vision and roadmap into a clear, transparent, and actionable backlog while supporting successful delivery, adoption, and continuous improvement.

Title Insurance industry experience is strongly preferred.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

· Execute the technology product strategy in alignment with the approved product vision and roadmap, with a focus on delivering features that create business value and strategic market advantage.

· Communicate product vision, roadmap progress, sprint status, standards, decisions, risks, dependencies, and outcomes clearly to stakeholders and leaders.

· Serve as the business-side owner for prioritization, business value, and intended functionality of work assigned to the Agile team, making timely decisions and clearly communicating tradeoffs.

· Gain a deep understanding of all aspects of the products you are assigned to while always looking for opportunities for product innovation and enhancements based on your product knowledge

· Develop, refine, prioritize, and maintain a visible and transparent product backlog aligned with product goals, stakeholder needs, dependencies, and delivery capacity.

· Translate roadmap features and business needs into well-defined epics, features, and user stories, including clear requirements, acceptance criteria, business rules, and expected outcomes.

· Prioritize user stories for the Scrum team and remain actively engaged throughout delivery to answer questions, clarify intent, remove business roadblocks, and protect alignment with the product vision.

· Lead or actively participate in Agile ceremonies, including stand-ups, backlog refinement, sprint planning, release planning, reviews, retrospectives, demonstrations, and broader project planning sessions.

· Monitor sprint progress and product risks; make informed scope and priority decisions and, when needed, recommend changes to protect value, quality, compliance, or delivery objectives.

· Coordinate and support User Acceptance Testing, including readiness, tester participation, issue clarification, acceptance decisions, and validation that the delivered solution meets defined business needs.

· Participate in end-user demonstrations, gather feedback, evaluate enhancement opportunities, and incorporate relevant insights into future backlog and roadmap decisions.

· Collaborate across development, design, operations, sales, marketing, compliance, and other business functions to deliver high-quality, consistent solutions for the organization’s users.

· Develop or support change management, communication, training, and business-readiness activities to promote adoption and prepare impacted teams for process or technology changes.

· Maximize the value delivered by the product team while encouraging collaboration, accountability, recognition, and continuous improvement.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required

· Minimum three years of experience in title, settlement, Agency operations, a related field, or the settlement software industry is desired.

· Minimum two years of prior Product Owner or comparable product-delivery experience with demonstrated success is preferred.

· Working knowledge of Agile product development and the ability to contribute across discovery, planning, refinement, delivery, testing, release, and continuous-improvement activities.

· Experience preparing and managing product backlogs, epics, features, user stories, acceptance criteria, business requirements, and User Acceptance Testing.

· Ability to understand complex business processes and translate them into clear, actionable requirements for both technical and nontechnical audiences.

· SAFe, Scrum Alliance Product Owner, or comparable Agile certification is preferred.

· Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and Outlook; experience with product, backlog, collaboration, or documentation tools is beneficial.

· Strong attention to detail and proven ability to manage multiple priorities, competing needs, dependencies, and deadlines.

Communication, Leadership and Interpersonal Skills

· Excellent professional written, verbal, listening, presentation, and documentation skills.

· Ability to explain technical concepts in business-friendly language and communicate business needs with enough precision for technical teams to act.

· Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams and drive decisions without relying on formal authority.

· Strong relationship-management, teamwork, interpersonal, and customer-service skills that build trust across business and technology partners.

· Ability to facilitate productive discussions, surface differing perspectives, resolve ambiguity, and guide groups toward clear decisions and next steps.

· Demonstrates sound judgment, curiosity, adaptability, accountability, and a solutions-oriented mindset.

· Remains accessible and responsive to the delivery team while providing clear direction, encouragement, recognition, and support.

· Actively listens and communicates with awareness of tone, body language, gestures, and other nonverbal cues.

· Must be personable, positive, and a professional representative of the Company who leads by example.

Compliance and General Expectations

· Complies with Company policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements and completes required compliance training by assigned deadlines.

· Maintains trusted and confidential information and consistently demonstrates ethical judgment and respect for conflict-of-interest obligations.

· Demonstrates courtesy, flexibility, professionalism, reliability, punctuality, and responsiveness to leaders, coworkers, customers, and vendors.

· Accepts supervision, direction, and constructive feedback and performs other duties as assigned.

· Models the Company’s commitment to a respectful, diverse, inclusive, and collaborative work environment and provides excellent customer service.

Physical and Mental Demands

· Ability to work scheduled or core business hours, Monday through Friday, with dependable and reliable attendance.

· Ability to interact effectively and professionally with all levels of management, employees, customers, and vendors by email, phone, video conference, and in person.

· Ability to perform under pressure, adjust to disruptions, and remain flexible as priorities and deadlines change throughout the workday.

· Repetitive and continual keyboard activity and interaction with display monitors are required.

· Local, daily, or overnight business travel by automobile or air may be required; travel may be up to approximately 20% based on business needs.

· A valid driver’s license and auto insurance may be required when travel by automobile is part of the role.

Benefits may include:

• Comprehensive medical, prescriptions, dental and vision plans

• 401(k) plan with a discretionary company match

• Shareholder Purchase and Reinvestment Plan

• Basic life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance premium paid by the company

• Voluntary supplemental life insurance for employees, spouses and dependent children

• Fertility and Family Building Benefits

• Paid Disability benefits

• Paid time off programs

• 11 Company paid holidays per year

• Flexible spending account

• Health savings account (available to High Deductible Health Plan participants only)

• Employee Assistance Program

• Educational Assistance Program

• Voluntary benefits, such as Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity, Pet Insurance and Accident Insurance

• Title insurance policies and certain escrow services for the employee’s primary personal residence at no charge

• Transportation benefit plan for mass transit, parking and vanpool, in several markets

Note: If you currently are employed by Old Republic Title (or one of its wholly owned affiliated companies) please get in touch with your human resources representative regarding the application process.

For California applicants, please click the following link to view our CCPA Applicant Notice

Old Republic Title is an Equal Opportunity Employer

About Us

For over 100 years, Old Republic Title has helped Americans protect their property rights while providing peace of mind for one of the biggest investments homeowners will make. We work closely with title agents, real estate professionals, lenders and industry experts to secure safe and efficient real estate transactions. We provide comprehensive title and escrow products and services for individuals, businesses and government.