Contract Chief Product Owner / Manager of Product Owners

This is a 6-12-month W2 contract. It is a 100% remote role based anywhere in the United States. 

Our client is in the midst of a major acquisition and is looking for an experienced Chief Product Owner (CPO) to lead and mentor a team of Product Owners while driving product strategy and execution across multiple agile delivery teams. This role is critical in scaling product delivery, aligning cross-functional priorities, and maturing our agile product management practices to support a growing and evolving organization.

Key Responsibilities:

●     Lead, coach, and develop a team of Product Owners to ensure consistency in backlog management, prioritization, and stakeholder alignment.

●     Define and champion a cohesive product vision and multi-team roadmap that supports organizational goals and customer value delivery.

●     Serve as a key strategic partner to business and executive stakeholders—facilitating collaboration and transparency across all levels.

●     Drive consistency and maturity across agile ceremonies, artifacts, and roles through mentorship and hands-on leadership.

●     Establish and evolve standards for user story quality and backlog grooming.

●     Identify and resolve cross-team dependencies, risks, and blockers to maintain delivery flow and maximize velocity.

●     Partner with Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters, and leadership to assess team health and drive continuous improvement in agile ways of working.

●     Use data and insights (velocity, team KPIs, OKRs, customer feedback) to inform product decisions and agile process improvements.

●     Lead change management efforts as agile practices scale across programs or portfolios.

●     Build and maintain strong stakeholder relationships, particularly through mergers, acquisitions, or organizational transitions.

Required Qualifications:

●     7+ years of product management experience with 2+ years in a leadership role managing Product Owners or Product Managers.

●     Demonstrated experience maturing agile practices in scaled, cross-functional environments (e.g., SAFe, Scrum, etc.).

●     Proven track record of aligning strategy, delivery, and product execution across multiple teams or platforms.

●     Exceptional communication, facilitation, and conflict resolution skills.

●     Deep understanding of agile product management best practices, with a pragmatic approach to process improvement.

Preferred Qualifications:

●     Experience in telecommunications, M&A integration, or other complex enterprise / infrastructure domains.

●     Prior success leading agile transformations or agile maturity efforts at the program or portfolio level.

●     Familiarity with tools such as Jira, Confluence, LucidChart, and agile health dashboards.

●     Certifications such as SAFe POPM, CSPO, or ICP-APO (Agile Product Ownership).

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