DataOps Product Owner - Cape Town (Hybrid)

OfferZen is seeking a skilled DataOps Product Owner to join their team in Cape Town. This hybrid role offers the opportunity to shape the future of data operations within a forward-thinking organisation. As a key member of the product team, you will be instrumental in defining the vision, strategy, and roadmap for OfferZen's data platform and its related initiatives.

About the role

In this exciting position, you will act as the primary liaison between stakeholders, engineering teams, and business units, ensuring that the data products and services delivered meet the needs of the organisation and its users. You will be responsible for translating complex business requirements into actionable product backlog items, prioritising work, and driving the agile development process to deliver maximum value. This role demands a strong understanding of data pipelines, analytics, and the operational aspects of data management, coupled with excellent communication and leadership skills.

Your core mission will involve championing the DataOps product vision, fostering a collaborative environment, and ensuring that the data infrastructure and tools are robust, scalable, and efficient. You will work closely with data engineers, data scientists, and other technical teams to identify opportunities for improvement and innovation, ensuring that data is accessible, reliable, and secure.

The DataOps Product Owner will have a diverse set of responsibilities aimed at maximising the impact and effectiveness of OfferZen's data capabilities. Key duties will include:

• **Product Strategy and Roadmap:** Developing and articulating a clear product vision and strategy for data operations, aligning it with the overall business objectives. Creating and maintaining a data product roadmap, prioritising features and enhancements based on business value and technical feasibility.
• **Backlog Management:** Defining and managing the product backlog, including writing user stories, acceptance criteria, and ensuring the backlog is well-groomed and prioritised.
• **Stakeholder Management:** Collaborating closely with various stakeholders across different departments to gather requirements, provide updates, and manage expectations. Acting as the main point of contact for all data product-related queries.
• **Agile Development:** Working within an agile framework to guide the development team, participating in sprint planning, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, and retrospectives. Ensuring that development work adheres to defined priorities and timelines.
• **DataOps Principles:** Promoting and implementing DataOps best practices to streamline data pipelines, improve data quality, enhance data governance, and ensure operational excellence in data management.
• **Value Delivery:** Continuously evaluating the performance of data products and initiatives, seeking feedback, and iterating to deliver maximum business value and user satisfaction.
• **Market Awareness:** Staying abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in data management, analytics, and DataOps to inform product decisions.

What they're looking for

To excel in this role, candidates will need a blend of technical understanding, strategic thinking, and strong interpersonal skills. The ideal candidate will possess:

• A proven track record in product ownership or a similar role, preferably within a data-centric or technology environment.
• A solid understanding of data engineering principles, data warehousing, ETL/ELT processes, and cloud data platforms.
• Familiarity with DataOps concepts and methodologies, and a passion for optimising data workflows.
• Experience working with agile development methodologies (Scrum, Kanban) and associated tools (e.g., Jira).
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to articulate complex technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with a data-driven approach to decision-making.
• A Bachelor's degree in a relevant field such as Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience in the South African tech landscape, with an understanding of the local market dynamics and talent pool, would be advantageous.

This position offers an exciting opportunity to contribute significantly to a growing tech company, influencing the direction of their data strategy and operations in a hybrid work setting based in Cape Town.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field.
• Proven experience in software development, preferably in a team environment.
• Strong knowledge of Java, JavaScript, and/or Python.
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies and version control systems.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.