Product Owner (Trait Integration)

Through leading innovations, we help farmers around the world meet the challenge of feeding a growing population while taking care of our planet. We are currently seeking an energized and Product Owner for the Seeds Research and Development team. 

As Product Owner you will be responsible for setting the vision for digitalize workflows and products which generate critical value for internal and external partner. To execute on this vision you will set software development and analytics priority in consultation with key business stakeholders, as well as, defining acceptance criteria, and playing a critical role in product demonstrations and communications. 

Accountabilities

• Act as the product champion, showing the value of the product, creating and socializing the product vision, strategy and roadmap effectively to all stakeholders. 
• Collaborate with global trait introgression teams, trait introgression subject matter experts and the IT development team to assess value, usability and feasibility of product features defined in the backlog.
• Work with the scrum team to plan sprints and feature delivery (Provide clear story definitions, acceptance criteria and final acceptance upon story completion)
• Build effective partnerships and fully participate as a member of multi-disciplinary project teams to develop products and extract value from information collection initiatives.
• Identify business, product, and data needs and provide specifications
• Stay up to date with the trait introgression science associated with the product.
• Leverage user feedback (including key product metrics), usage and competitive analysis to identify new product opportunities and enhancements.
• Effectively translate user requirements and feedback as well as other experts’ ideas into product backlog.
• Drive towards minimum viable product (MVP) by thinking iteratively
• Provide intellectual rigor in the critical assessment of new and existing analytics capabilities
• Effectively collaborate with our IT partners to design, build, test and deploy scalable enterprise analytics capabilities
• Promote a safe work environment and a strong safety culture

The ideal candidate should be creative, adaptable, detail-oriented, and open-minded.  Candidates should possess exceptional critical thinking skills, technical and business acumen, attention to detail and problem-solving skills. Successful candidates will need to demonstrate accountability, continuous development, collaboration.

• College degree or 5+ years relevant professional experience
• 3+ years of product design & development experience in an Agile environment
• Requires knowledge and expertise in trait introgression, plant breeding and genetic, still acquiring higher level knowledge and skills
• Knowledge of Agile software development practices and enterprise software development processes and is very analytical with problem-solving
• Self-directed, self-motivated, critical thinker with problem-solving skills.
• Ability to think strategically about the product and act tactically.
• Skilled in cross-department and cross-functional collaboration
• Demonstrated success launching technology products
• Experience in writing logical, detailed and complete product requirements
• Proven interpersonal and excellent communication skills to communicate with stakeholders and collaborate with R&D colleagues 
• Experience effectively collaborating across science disciplines, IT and Engineering to deliver scalable, end-to-end solutions 

Experience

• Experience with fundamental changes of processes to eliminate inefficiencies and improve effectiveness and quality
• Experience providing broad understanding of the activities across Syngenta
• Experience acting as the central address for all questions of operative process performance and quality 

Technical, professional, and personal capabilities

• A passion for innovation and exploration
• Excellent problem analysis and problem solving
• Enthusiastic, communicative, collaborative and results oriented
• Ability to reduce complexity by focusing on meaningful business outcomes
• Ability to work through ambiguity and uncertainty to deliver results
• Ability to work effectively across disciplines in a global matrix with diverse cultures and skillsets
• Ability to collaborate effectively with internal and external partners

Leadership capabilities

• We expect employees to align to our values, including:
• Focus on customer success and profitable market share growth when making decisions
• Work together to deliver – one team, one plan
• Trust each other and hold each other accountable
• Work across boundaries
• Work to develop their abilities
• Say what they think and feel to benefit from diverse perspectives
• Live by our Code of Conduct
• Give and welcome prompt, actionable and constructive feedback
• Energized by our work and celebrate our achievements
   

What We Offer:

• Full Benefit Package (Medical, Dental & Vision) that starts the same day you do
• 401k plan with company match, Profit Sharing & Retirement Savings Contribution 
• Open Vacation Policy with a minimum of 15 days of vacation and up to 30 days with manager approval, 9 Paid Holidays
• Maternity and Paternity Leave, Education Assistance, Wellness Programs, Corporate Discounts among others
• A culture that promotes work/life balance, celebrates diversity, and offers numerous family-oriented events throughout the year

Syngenta is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or any other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) 
(http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/fmla.htm)

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC)
(http://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/firststep/poster_direct.htm)

Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)
(http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/posters/eppa.htm)

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Syngenta is a global leader in agriculture; rooted in science and dedicated to bringing plant potential to life. Each of our 28,000 employees in more than 90 countries work together to solve one of humanity’s most pressing challenges: growing more food with fewer resources. A diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace environment are enablers of our ambition to be the most collaborative and trusted team in agriculture. Our employees reflect the diversity of our customers, the markets where we operate and the communities which we serve. No matter what your position, you will have a vital role in safely feeding the world and taking care of our planet. Join us and help shape the future of agriculture.