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MDL IT Asst Director I

Product Owner

Recruitment #24-001638-0001

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Introduction

Maryland’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program makes sure all workers in Maryland have paid time off for medical and family reasons. FAMLI is a social insurance system covering 2.8 million workers and 180,000 employers, delivered as a digitally native, public-facing service. We’re in the early stages of building something as big and as far-reaching as unemployment insurance or a new health department. We know that delivering services primarily through a website, over the Internet, is a new way of doing business in government.

Our Digital Services Team is the group inside of FAMLI charged with bringing a modern product-oriented approach to creating, launching, and continuously improving the digital platform powering family and medical leave in Maryland. This team is responsible for providing intuitive and user-oriented experiences to workers who need to take paid leave, to employers who need to interact with our office, and to the government employees processing claims and interacting with the public. The Product Owner is a critical member of FAMLI’s Digital Services Team and will manage the end-to-end experience for a user group (e.g. claimants, employers, claims examiners). 

The role we’re looking to fill is a career-defining opportunity for someone passionate about using product management to deliver transformative digital services in a government space. The Product Owner is a unique, cross-cutting role that is meant to be the champion for user experiences across all system components and is responsible for prioritizing, organizing, and delivering outcomes for a group of stakeholders. 

This a greenfield opportunity to support building a digital service from the ground up! 

GRADE

0022

LOCATION OF POSITION

Maryland Department of Labor
1100 N. Eutaw Street
Baltimore, MD 21201

Main Purpose of Job

The Product Owner reports to the Head of User Experience and Service Design in the Division of Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) at the Maryland Department of Labor (MDOL). The Product Owner is responsible for the end-to-end user experience for their assigned user type (e.g. claimants, employers, claims examiners), coordinating work across both technical and non-technical teams using an Agile approach. The Product Owner leads end-to-end service delivery vision, prioritization, backlog, and acceptance criteria.

POSITION DUTIES

Duties of this position include but are not limited to: 

  • Ensures consistent user experience (including self-service support, in-call support, written material, etc.) across workstreams and channels. 
  • Oversees assigned workstream and works closely with the Staff Engineer to continuously review the business needs, refine priorities, outline milestones and deliverables, and identify opportunities and risks for their user type. ·Sets high level priorities for the workstream and works closely with scrum teams to ensure that the right work is getting into each sprint.
  • Coordinates with all relevant team members to ensure alignment of both experience and technology road maps for internal and external stakeholders.
  • Helps build a cohesive team culture of alignment, trust, empowerment, and collective investment in the success of their products.
  • Sets measurable goals for their products and reports progress against these to build trust among users and partners.
  • Builds trust with our vendor partners and develops their understanding of the needs of FAMLI’s users and stakeholders.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Experience:

  • Working iteratively with users of digital products to build out, improve, and maintain those products 
  • Making effective digital product trade-off decisions that balance feasibility, user needs, value, and time 
  • Working in a highly dynamic, fast-paced team environment
  • Deploying knowledge of modern digital product delivery practices

DESIRED OR PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Desired or Preferred Qualifications

  • A keen interest in the challenges of public-sector service design
  • Knowledge of paid family and medical leave programs, policies, and users 
  • Experience developing a digital product vision and strategy and seeing through that vision to completion by working with multidisciplinary teams 
  • Experience collaborating with multi-disciplinary teams to translate a product vision into a backlog and lead the team through smooth and continuous delivery
  • Knowledge and experience with project management methodologies, principles, and processes · Experience building alignment with stakeholders
  • Experience with human-centered design 
  • A strong understanding of the elements of working as part of a team on agile projects with agile rituals and ways of working (scrum, kanban, etc.) 
  • A history of having generated creative ideas to complex problems and followed through on the implementation of solutions 
  • An ability to communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders, cross-functional teams, and across business lines    

You'll fit right in at FAMLI if:

  • You value autonomy in your work, strive to achieve mastery in your field, and are energized by a mission-driven organization
  • You’re a strong and inclusive leader who loves helping teams grow to meet difficult challenges
  • You’re an excellent collaborator
  • You are excited about solving complex human and organizational issues 
  • You’re an organized person who has experience coordinating complex projects You’re great at delegating ownership to capable people

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

All candidates are subject to a background check against files maintained by the Division of Unemployment Insurance (Labor/DUI) to determine whether any monies are owed to Labor/DUI as a result of unemployment insurance overpayment/fraud. Any unpaid debt may have an impact on whether or not a candidate is offered employment.

SELECTION PROCESS

All information concerning the qualifications, including any required documentation must be submitted and received by the closing date. Drivers license, diploma and transcripts are not required. Please skip those sections and upload a resume instead.  Applications that meet minimum and/or selective qualifications will be referred to the hiring unit for interview selection. Units will select those candidates most closely demonstrating the qualifications for interview.

 A resume and cover letter are strongly encouraged for this position. Please upload one Word or PDF file that includes your combined cover letter and resume in the college transcript upload function under the “Other” tab.

EXAMINATION PROCESS

The assessment may consist of a rating of your education, training, and experience related to the requirements of the position. It is important that you provide complete and accurate information on your application. A technical interview my also be included in the process.

BENEFITS

Benefits

This is a full-time, permanent position and eligible for full State benefits, which include: 

  • Flexible hours and hybrid teleworking 
  • Paid holidays 12-13 per year 
  • 6 additional “personal days” at the beginning of every year 
  • Generous paid leave package (annual, sick, personal and compensatory leave) 
  • State Pension ("defined benefit" plan) 
  • Tax-deferred supplemental retirement savings plans (401(k) and 457)
  • Free parking
  • Comprehensive, subsidized health, dental and prescription plans with little to no deductibles, free generic prescriptions, and free preventative health services
  • Flexible Spending Account plans for Health Care and Daycare 
  • State Employees Credit Union
To learn more, please click this link: STATE OF MARYLAND BENEFITS

FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS

U.S. Military Veterans may qualify for additional bonus points towards certification. Any job offer will be contingent on the candidate providing a U.S. Military form DD 214 verifying honorable discharge from service prior to starting employment (and may be requested prior to interview).  Permanent State employees do not need to submit proof of Veteran's status.

If you are unable to apply online, or encounter difficulty attaching the required or optional documentation, you may submit via mail, email or deliver in person.  Please be sure to include your name, identification number (Easy ID#) and job announcement number on any documentation to ensure timely processing. 

PLEASE DO NOT FAX OR EMAIL UNSOLICITED DOCUMENTATION

Completed application, required documentation, and any required addendums may be mailed to:

MDOL Office of Administration 
ATTN: Tiffany Lott-Mallard 24-001638-0001
1100 N. Eutaw Street, RM 101
Baltimore, MD 21201

The MD State Application Form cam be found online

Please contact Tiffany.Lott-Mallard1@maryland.gov or 410-767-2096 for additional information concerning this recruitment.  Online applications are strongly preferred.  A resume and cover letter are strongly encouraged for this position.  Please upload on Word or PDF file that includes your combined cover letter and resume using the "Transcript" upload function, or via the JobAps "Other tab".

Maryland Department of Labor, is an equal opportunity employer.  It is the policy of DOL that all persons have equal opportunity and access to employment opportunities, services, and facilities without regard to race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin or ancestry, marital status, parental status, sexual orientation, disability or veteran status. 





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