Product Owner, Central Finance

As the Product Owner, Central Finance at Carrier, your primary responsibilities will include leading discovery workshops to validate digital strategies, advocating for finance users to articulate their needs, and collaborating with build/run delivery teams to develop effective product delivery timelines. Additionally, you will engage actively in scrum ceremonies and oversee testing functions to ensure successful UAT cycles.

To be considered for the Product Owner, Central Finance role at Carrier, you will need at least 5 years of experience in information technology and a minimum of 3 years specifically in digital application product ownership. A Bachelor's degree is required, while experience with SAP S/4 Hana and Agile methodologies will give you an edge.

The Product Owner, Central Finance plays a critical role in the ERP CoE team at Carrier by driving the central finance product roadmap, aligning it with overall enterprise architecture, and ensuring compliance with ERP CoE playbooks. Your contributions will help shape finance solutions that improve processes and enhance service delivery within Carrier.

At Carrier, the work environment is dynamic and collaborative. You will be engaging with cross-functional teams across different geographic locations, which encourages teamwork and innovative problem-solving. The company promotes a flexible work model, making it easier to adapt your work-life balance depending on your needs.

Key skills essential for the Product Owner, Central Finance role at Carrier include exceptional communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills. The ability to influence cross-functional teams without formal authority and manage diverse stakeholder relationships will also be crucial in successfully executing your duties.

When answering this question, focus on specific projects where you served as a Product Owner, detailing the methodologies you utilized and the outcomes achieved. Highlight any challenges you overcame and how your financial knowledge contributed to successful product delivery.

Discuss specific Agile frameworks you have experience with, such as Scrum or Kanban. Explain your role within those teams, emphasizing how you facilitated sprints, managed backlogs, and contributed to team retrospectives to improve processes.

Your answer should reflect a strategic approach to prioritization, discussing how you weigh stakeholder needs against business objectives. Mention any tools or criteria you use for making prioritization decisions to demonstrate your structured thinking.

Provide a clear example that illustrates your direct involvement in understanding and representing finance users’ needs. Emphasize any positive changes that resulted from your advocacy and how it improved the user experience for finance teams.

Outline your process for preparing and managing UAT, which could include creating test plans, selecting user participants, defining success criteria, and collecting feedback. Stress the importance of communication with stakeholders during this phase to ensure that their needs are met.

Discuss the key performance indicators (KPIs) you would put in place to measure the success of a finance product. Explain how you connect these metrics to broader business objectives and what steps you take to adapt if results are not meeting expectations.

Highlight a specific scenario where you successfully influenced team members. Discuss your approach to building relationships and communicating the benefits of your ideas to gain buy-in and foster collaboration.

Provide details of your experience with SAP S/4 Hana, particularly as it pertains to central finance. Mention specific projects where you utilized this platform and any relevant certifications or training you've received that would enhance your candidacy.

Your response should include the resources you turn to, such as industry publications, networking groups, webinars, or forums, showcasing your commitment to continuous learning and staying adept in emerging technologies relevant to finance.

Discuss your techniques for understanding stakeholder needs and maintaining clear lines of communication. You can include regular updates, feedback sessions, and collaborative workshops as ways you've successfully managed these relationships in previous roles.