Technology Product Owner - Self Serve Expansion Squad

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Job Description:

Technology Product Owner

GAME ON – OLG needs you

We’ve said GAME ON, and we mean it – OLG is rapidly transforming its organization to better serve Ontarians by delivering great gaming experiences through our digital, retail lottery, and land-based gaming channels. Over the course of fiscal 2022-23, OLG delivered a record $2.5 billion in net profit to the Province of Ontario. OLG is now expanding our horizons even further, with a new strategic direction, to become a world class gaming entertainment leader with a globally admired digital platform.

We are ready to take this game to the next level and need a passionate Technology Product Owner - Self Serve Expansion Squad who will be responsible for providing direct leadership to EIT product teams across the entire product development journey, spanning ideation, user needs definition, to backlog management and successful execution that drives business results. The role mandates ensuring alignment with strategic business objectives while providing continuous feedback to product teams and setting forth ambitious product goals. With a deep grasp of domain expertise, product knowledge, and user journey, the Product Owner will adopt modern methodologies to communicate, collaborate, and guide product decisions, delivering measurable outcomes and maximizing value.

YOUR ROLE IN THE GAME

Reporting to the VP Product Management, you will be empowered to:

• Maintain a comprehensive understanding of both the business and the product, which allows them to guide technical and architectural changes while aligning the overall product development roadmap
• Understand and communicates the vision, capabilities, and value proposition behind the product
• Coordinates with stakeholders to align the vision with business needs and objectives, effectively communicating it to key stakeholders and the entire EIT team
• Participate in discovery meetings with business stakeholders to discuss technical features and dependencies
• Set ambitious and clear product vision and communicate the story effectively to key stakeholders and the rest of the team
• Own the end-to-end product strategy from inception, ensuring the delivery of business value upon the solution’s entry into production
• Align product features, provide comprehensive feedback, translate and prioritize user stories according to the strategic product vision
• Continuously build, improve, and manage backlog in collaboration with the delivery team, ensuring all products are clearly described, estimated, and prioritized effectively
• Champion customer-driven design by understanding user pain points and usability test results, maintaining market and industry knowledge, and conducting continual research to deliver a well-positioned product.
• Appraise each feature and provide valuable feedback to the delivery team
• Drive sprint and release plans together with the Scrum Master and EIT delivery teams
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators, align them to market trends, and adjust the backlog accordingly
• Consistently track progress towards objectives and key results and manage potential product delays
• Exercise strong decision-making authority given by the executive group to own the product end-to-end
• Interact with the entire team to understand product-specific risks and build modular and reusable solutions
• Accountable for overseeing day-to-day relationships with strategic vendors, ensuring the desired outcomes and value generated from vendor relationships are realized
• Provide direct leadership to business analysis, development, testing and QA professionals, ensuring the right staffing levels and talent levels are achieved to drive business outcomes and value for OLG. Manage performance, attrition, resource prioritization, skills, and training strategies
• Cultivate a working environment that fosters collaboration and willingness to work in adjacent areas of the team, minimum viable product mindset, and progressive attitude towards change.  

WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAY

Work Experience: • Considerable experience in Agile Development, with a preference for previous Product Owner or equivalent role experience  • Demonstrated confidence in managing product backlog, writing detailed user stories, refining stories with subject matter experts, and exuding a positive ‘servant leader’ mindset when with the team • Minimum of five (5) years of experience in managing teams, either in a managerial or supervisory role • Minimum of three (3) years of experience in product and development  • Minimum of two (2) years of experience driving and delivering product roadmaps in an agile environment and/or cross functional team environment 

Knowledge & Education: • Deep knowledge of relevant domains/products to strategically deliver value •  Substantial understanding of industry trends, user demands, and potential pain points to be able to create high-alue product vision • Comfortable with technology/IT to effectively with EIT teams to understand potential risks • Must possess at least a Bachelor’s degree or comparable 12 years of work experience. If holding an associate’s degree, a minimum of 6 years of work experience is required

Critical Skills: • Strong communication skills with ability to communicate complex messages and trade-offs to tell a compelling story • Sufficient authority to make real-time strategic decisions  • Ability to influence a diverse group of subject matter experts and key business and technology stakeholders with strong leadership skills  • Strong problem solver with ability to empower the team to push for innovative solutions and progression • An ability to ‘balance authority and delegation to facilitate a thriving delivery team • Strong skills to managing the transition to modern ways of working (Agile, Product Management)  • Excellent consultative skills with a strong sense of team and customer service  •  Strong ability to identify, assess, and manage risk and opportunity

Negotiation and Influence: ability to negotiate and influence effectively while being open to perspectives and maintaining strong relationships

Strategic Thinker: strong strategic and critical thinker with ability to delve into unique challenges and find creative solutions

Collaboration & Fun: inclusive and collaborative work style while creating fun and excitement in our work

Integrity and Trust: do what's right and operate with transparency and openness

Licenses, Registrations, Certificates: This role may require a Category 1 or Category 2 Gaming Assistant Registration (License) from our regulator, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). If required, employment is conditional upon obtaining and maintaining this registration (license), which will be initiated at the offer stage.
 

PERKS OF JOINING OUR TEAM

• Part of a Bigger Picture: socially responsible company that gives back all its profits to the province and people of Ontario
• Flexible Work Environment: to help balance both work and life
• You Matter: family friendly work practices and hybrid work
• Freedom to Innovate: supports new and better ways to be successful
• Be your Authentic Self: environment that values diversity as a source of strength
• Learning Galore: 24-7 access to robust online learning programs 
• Public Service Pension Plan: participate in a major defined benefit pension plan sponsored by the Government of Ontario
• Variable Pay Program: performance-based incentives to share in our success (Permanent OLG Employees Only)

Learn about OLG – GAME ON!

OLG’s purpose is to contribute to a better Ontario by delivering great entertainment experiences for our customers. We are a multi-billion-dollar organization with a wide array of business lines including, lottery, land-based casinos, digital lottery and casino, horseracing, and charitable gaming. OLG is amidst a massive transformation focusing on being customer obsessed and bringing our digital business to a whole new level.

The key to our success is our people. Our culture will be grounded in true, positive partnerships that embrace trust, clarity, and openness in all that we do. We are supporting and empowering employees and teams across the organization through greater accountability, leadership development and growth opportunities. OLG is embracing more flexible work options and family friendly work practices including hybrid work.

Equity, diversity, and inclusion are essential elements of our culture and cornerstones of the Five Truths that OLGers Live by.  At OLG, our employees have the space to be themselves and use their perspectives and skills to benefit the people and the Province of Ontario.

While we are re-shaping and growing our business, we are unwavering when it comes to living our purpose, and ensuring our business delivers meaningful benefits for the people of Ontario. OLG’s net profits are reinvested back into the province, contributing to the quality of life for Ontarians.

To learn more about OLG go to our website at  www.olg.ca  

We look forward to hearing from you, interested applicants please apply online by July 28, 2025.

OLG is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing employment accommodation in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. Please contact Human Resources at careers@olg.ca if you require accommodation at any time throughout the hire process.

We thank you for your interest in this opportunity; however only those individuals selected for an interview will be contacted.

#LI-Hybrid

Personal information is collected by the Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation (OLG) and/or its third party service provider(s) under the authority of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation Act, 1999, SO 1999, c 12, Sch L and the Employment Standards Act, 2000, S.O. 2000, c. 41 (as amended) and will be used for the purpose of determining qualifications for employment with OLG and for recruitment modernization initiatives. The information will be managed in accordance with all applicable laws, OLG’s Protection of Privacy Policy (the Policy) and related policies and procedures. For any questions about this collection, please contact careers@olg.ca, 800-70 Foster Drive, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, P6A 6V2.