Business Analyst/Product Owner

Overview:

Brief Job Description (essential functions of the job):

Under the direct supervision of the Director for Innovation and Technology, the product owner is a key member of the support team. The core of the product owner’s work is helping DND maximize usable technology to support the mission and goals of the department. As the product owner, you will interact with each division and work with a broad array of policy initiatives. Each of the five major divisions - Supportive Housing, Neighborhood Housing Development, Office of Housing Stability, Real Estate Management and Sales, and the Boston Home Center - need custom solutions for using our proprietary systems like Salesforce and Google apps. They also need assistance utilizing external options and hardware to its best capabilities. The key will be to help these departments strike a balance of finding efficiency and engagement using technology, while still considering the needs of the people we serve and the often personal nature of the work. Further, it will be critical to measure and visualize the impact of such initiatives to support quantitative decision making.

Each of the five divisions of DND provides critical services for the city of Boston, focused on building strong neighborhoods and helping our most vulnerable citizens. DND’s work ranges from day-to-day operations like responding to 311 complaints and helping senior citizens maintain critical utilities, to big-picture policy initiatives like the Mayor’s plan to end chronic homelessness in the city, and increasing availability of affordable and middle-income housing. The organization is staffed with many highly motivated and mission-driven people, many of whom have spent significant portions of their career here. The Department and City are going through a time of significant transition, both in the amount of technology that is being used, and in the ways that it is being used. The Product Owner must have an understanding of each of these factors, and in turn, the Product Owner will have the opportunity to greatly shape the scope and success of this transition.

Responsibilities:

• Discusses workflow and processes with employees in the various divisions to identify internal stakeholder requirements in the form of detailed user stories.
• Documents user stories clearly and in detail to determine how customization of technological resources can be better used in supporting the work of employees and the mission and goals of the division. Maps out workflow and processes; creates specifications and simple prototypes and sketches of workflows, user interfaces, etc., to provide visualization of needed improvements and translate requirements into technical tasks and action plans.
• Prioritizes stakeholders’ requirements and communicates importance to team and management. With the Director’s approval, creates lists (backlogs) of requirements and tasks approved for completion for team management. Maintains and updates backlogs as required; enters details, work stage and completion of implementation. Adds new requirements as necessary.
• Answers questions and discusses status updates, clarification of features and requirements, readiness for implementation, etc., with developers, system administrators and stakeholders. Works with them to ensure appropriate implementation and to make any necessary changes; troubleshoots problems as required.
• Documents new features and projects clearly and in detail. Creates and maintains documents in the electronic library to educate users on use of new features, new processes, etc. Makes presentations. May provide individual instruction to employees to assist them in working with the new features and processes.  
• Meets with the Director throughout the week to discuss work assignments, targeted completion dates, etc.
• Prepares reports, dashboards and other advanced analytical tools to support data driven management and decision making.
• Analyzes workflows and work processes and recommends improvements. Prepares a variety of documents and reports as required.
• Assists in administration of Salesforce and other proprietary platforms (software) by performing help desk responsibilities as required, including but not limited to troubleshooting desktop PC hardware and software, resetting passwords, and adding fields to electronic forms.
• Performs related work as required. 

Minimum Entrance Qualifications:

• At least two (2) years of full time, or equivalent part-time, professional experience in information technology or related field in work that included business analysis.
• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, IT, business or public administration or related field preferred. Appropriate educational substitutions may be made.
• Knowledge of MS Office and GSuite.
• PC hardware and Operating Systems knowledge.
• Ability to communicate in a thorough manner to stakeholders of diverse backgrounds and needs the uses of software systems and strategies in plain language.
• Strong oral and written communication skills and presentation skills.
• Able to track many details while understanding how they fit into the big picture.
• Skill with working on multiple projects simultaneously and prioritizing tasks appropriately.
• Must be able to build consensus among teams of diverse stakeholders.
• High computer literacy and ability to pick up new software and platforms quickly.
• Ability to exercise good judgment and focus on detail as required by the job.

Additional Desired Skills and Qualifications

• Salesforce Administrator certification
• SCRUM Master/Product Owner certification. Experience working in SCRUM environments.
• Knowledge and ability with light web development (HTML, CSS, Javascript).
• Experience working with databases (Access, SQL, noSQL).
• Experience working with geospacial software (ESRI tools, Google Earth/Maps).

BOSTON RESIDENCY REQUIRED

Terms:

Union/Salary Plan/Grade: SEIU 888/N-22

Hours Per Week:         35

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