Senior Product Owner IT Accountancy & Control

Summary: Do you like developing and implementing a strategic roadmap for Accounting and Control, increasing the Agile and IT maturity of the team? Apply now!

Job Description:

As our Senior Product Owner (PO), you are primarily responsible for maximizing the value delivered by the IT Accounting and Control delivery team. You will closely work together with the Business Owner of Finance to translate business demand to the strategic roadmap (initiatives), and the domain roadmap (epics), and then pull them to the team backlog (user stories). The PO is the team’s primary customer advocate and is responsible for aligning business and technology strategy, which results in enabling the team to balance the needs of multiple stakeholders while continuously evolving the solution.

Main Responsibilities:

Product Vision and Roadmap: Develop and maintain a vision and roadmap for both run and change initiatives, drawing on market insights and IT trends. Backlog Management: Prioritize and manage the Team Backlog based on value, pulling relevant epics from the Domain Backlog, and ensuring that only “ready” items are assigned to the team. Stakeholder Alignment: Engage with stakeholders (e.g., Business Owner, Domain Architect, IT Manager, Portfolio Office) to gather input and balance priorities based on value. Delivery Support: Empower the Delivery Team by providing tools and automated solutions, clearly defining backlog items, and aligning release plans with stakeholders and dependent teams. Data Quality and Governance: Ensure data governance and quality standards are embedded within team processes to support accuracy, compliance, and consistency, particularly for ETL and automated processes. Technical Acumen in Financial Systems: Understand the technical architecture, dependencies, and context of financial systems, including outsourced and third-party components, to ensure alignment with NIBC’s goals. Cross-Team Collaboration: Regularly meet with stakeholders to validate progress, lead Sprint Reviews, and refine product strategy while contributing to the Senior Product Owner and Agile Centers of Expertise. Transparency and Communication: Keep the Team Backlog visible to both team members and stakeholders, and communicate delivery progress and achievements. Performance Metrics: Track and optimize KPIs (e.g., engagement, productivity, quality, time to market, and value) to drive continuous improvement. Non-Functional Controls: Perform necessary controls on the IT product/service to maintain operational standards.

Your Challenge:

You will start at NIBC while we just embarked on the second phase of our agile journey. We extended the Agile Way-of-Working (WoW) towards the business and appointed Business Owners (BOs). Each IT team has a dedicated Senior Product Owner and Scrum Master. We have implemented a consistent Agile WoW based on Scrum and SAFe elements across all IT teams. You will be working with the team that will be responsible for the IT landscape that enables the Accounting and product control value stream. Together with the Scrum Master and the team, you will shape the team and increase their maturity. For change, there is an ambitious roadmap for the coming years, here are the challenges ahead.

Key Initiatives:

• Maximize Team Value: Work to ensure the team’s projects and priorities (the team backlog) are closely aligned with the needs of our customers and stakeholders. This alignment will help the team deliver meaningful value and directly address user needs.
• Automate Expected Credit Loss (ECL) Processes: Lead the implementation of automated ECL processes across all stages of the value chain, creating a more efficient, reliable, and responsive system that can adapt to evolving business needs.
• Enhance Finance Accounting and Closing Processes: Collaborate closely with the Business Owner and end users to adopt industry best practices that streamline and improve the accounting and closing processes. This will help create a faster, more accurate, and transparent financial reporting structure.
• Reduce On-Premises Footprint: Work to rationalize the on-premises IT environment by evaluating and reducing dependence on in-house systems. This will streamline infrastructure, reduce costs, and allow the team to focus more on strategic technology initiatives.

Your Team:

As Senior Product Owner, you’ll lead the IT Accounting and Control (IT A&C) delivery team, responsible for managing the IT landscape that supports Accounting, Product Control, and Tax functions. In this role, you’ll ensure that essential reports are delivered accurately and on time to both internal stakeholders and external regulators, meeting critical deadlines. You will be part of the broader Finance & Risk IT team, which includes the Accounting & Control Team, Regulatory Reporting Team, and the Risk, Legal & Compliance IT Team. You’ll report directly to the Domain IT Manager for Finance & Risk.

NIBC as IT Employer:

NIBC is evolving from a financial service provider to a digital company in banking. We share a forward-thinking, can-do attitude with our clients, which we call our “THINK YES” mentality. Whenever our business departments identify a market opportunity, NIBC IT follows up quickly to satisfy our clients’ needs. IT aims to be one of the driving forces behind the digital transformation of our bank, an ongoing process that will profoundly change the relationship with our clients and the way we do business. We are closely connected, have few management levels, and short lines of communication. If you have a good idea today, you may be executing it tomorrow.

What’s in it for You?

NIBC is an ambitious environment where together we strive to create a fantastic workplace where you feel safe and challenged to be the best version of yourself. To increase our professionalism, we focus on giving each other continuous feedback. In addition, you will receive a competitive salary, plus:

• Several ways to support your development personally and professionally, including:
• Personal development budget, to spend at your own discretion
• Professional budget provided by your manager, to develop yourself in your work
• GoodHabitz: free online courses you can choose to take for your own benefit
• Working in a hybrid way to maintain a healthy work-life balance while still being connected and collaborating physically with each other. This is one of the drivers of our entrepreneurial and inventive culture. Preferred is a 50/50 distribution of working from home and at the office (activity-based)
• Travel expenses covered or NS-Business Card 1st class
• 32 holidays (which do not have to be registered)
• Excellent pension scheme
• A voucher to improve your home office
• The opportunity to take ownership and show initiative in your role. We are always open to new ideas and encourage you to use your voice
• The nature of our Grow to Make a Difference program enables you to be in charge of your own development, with widespread growth opportunities within IT
• Vitality program, annual company-wide sports & helpful leisure days
• Monthly internet allowance
• Laptop and a company phone
• Excellent facilities at the office (Coffee corner, Restaurant, Bar)

Last but not least, a fun workplace in which diversity and inclusion is valued.

What do you bring?

Our ideal Senior Product Owner has the following profile:

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, or comparably relevant working experience
• 5+ years of relevant working experience with Agile, of which at least 3+ years as a Senior Product Owner in the Banking industry, or another heavily regulated industry
• Preferably experience in IT in a role responsible for run and change
• Knowledge of IT-related banking regulations and relevant IT standards and best practices
• High level of initiative, ownership, and self-motivation, with the ability to work in a team environment
• Great communication skills; fluent in English written and verbal. Proficiency in Dutch is an advantage
• Knowledge and experience with Agile / Scrum is required
• Professional Scrum Senior Product Owner (PSPO) / Certified Scrum Senior Product Owner
• Professional Scrum Senior Product Owner – Advanced (PSPO-A)
• Knowledge and experience with SAFe is preferred

For more information about the recruitment procedure or NIBC as an employer, you may contact our HR at AskHR@nibc.com.