Senior Manager Product Owner - Discover Home Loans

Discover. A brighter future.
With us, you'll do meaningful work from Day 1. Our collaborative culture is built on three core behaviors: We Play to Win, We Get Better Every Day & We Succeed Together. And we mean it - we want you to grow and make a difference at one of the world's leading digital banking and payments companies. We value what makes you unique so that you have an opportunity to shine.
Come build your future, while being the reason millions of people find a brighter financial future with Discover.
Job Description:
At Discover, be part of a culture where diversity, teamwork and collaboration reign. Join a company that is just as employee-focused as it is on its customers and is consistently awarded for both. We're all about people, and our employees are why Discover is a great place to work. Be the reason we help millions of consumers build a brighter financial future and achieve yours along the way with a rewarding career.
Discover will not sponsor or transfer employment work visas for this position. Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.
What You'll Do
The Product Professional Leads the development of the Product Vision at the Family level that drives business value and an improved customer experience while ensuring alignment / manages dependencies across Team within a Product Family and with cross functional partners. The Senior Manager is a servant leader and the manager of team members. Has Depth of knowledge so that they can see patterns without having to dissect it step by step. Often recognized outside their company for their contributions to their profession.
Actively manages and escalates risk and customer-impacting issues within the day-to-day role to management.
Discover Home Loans (DHL) enabling capabilities team is looking for a seasoned Senior Manager to manage the end-to-end relationship including software delivery and maintenance for the Loan Origination System (Net Oxygen) application. This position is responsible for the oversight of vendor managed application process, software technology delivery including Test Modernization setup.
How You'll Do It

• Develops and maintains Family Product vision by collaborating with stakeholders on key product considerations and aligns with product vision, features and roadmap to support business unit goals. Leverages customer insights, feedback, financials, compliance, and risk data to define product features and roadmap in partnership with other SMEs and potentially grow existing and/or build new product portfolio(s) through new value added and enhanced customer experiences. Leads design, development, and implementation of new product strategy. Works cross functionally to manage shared goals and priorities.
• Establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) for the product team and ensure alignment with senior leadership (e.g., SPO, Dir, etc.). Defines and Creates prototypes (e.g., MVPs, POC, etc.) based on customer feedback to test, learn, and validate ideas before committing to larger scale development. Synchronizes and aligns with Product Family POs on prioritization and delivery to maximize Product Family Value. Defines product family MVPs, prioritizing and accepting priorities in partnership with POs and architects.
• At the family level: Responsible for definition, guidance, and execution of product related activities for a particular portfolio through the entirety of product lifecycle, from strategy and roadmap definition to development and market readiness. Sets business objectives for the product development process and oversees execution, internal or external, as necessary. Supervises product professionals. Works with minimal supervision.
• Validate user story acceptance criteria. Ensures appropriate testing frameworks for product features (e.g., market testing, functional performance, etc.) Works with Data stewards in their respective LOBs to ensure required Data quality controls are identified and implemented. Inspect and evaluate product progress through each iteration.
• Identify sources, monitor, analyze (Business Analysis), test, and interpret key product performance metrics including financials, network volumes, other key statistics, and internal/external customer feedback trends, industry trends, research findings, and competitive innovations then develop and communicate findings, and make strategic and tactical recommendations for performance improvements throughout the product lifecycle.
• Provides mentoring, fills in the business and/or technical knowledge gaps, etc. Negotiates and influences others across shared services and product teams across product families.
• Collaborates with cross functional teams to develop and execute go-to-market strategies.
• Partners with business technology to outline needed technical features that are required to continuously optimize system components and underline infrastructure maintenance.
• Develops and coaches' teams to be able to identify, manage, and escalate risk, and effectively manage risk within the teams you oversee.
• Manages team of direct reports, responsible for people development and performance management, hiring and building team, coaching, and mentoring. Builds a culture of accountability and ownership by empowering the product team to make decisions as close to the work as possible. Serve as business lead on cross-functional teams and assist in managing dependencies with other team's functions while identifying, building, and managing strategic partnership across different product teams. This includes collaborating to develop or support efforts of go-to-market strategies. Provide vision and direction to a team.

Qualifications You'll Need
The Basics

• Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, Engineering, Business Administration and Management, Finance, Mathematics, Economics, Statistics or related
• 8+ years of experience in Product Management or Engineering experience in Financial Services or Tech Industry, or related
• In lieu of a degree, 10+ years of experience in Product Management or Engineering experience in Financial Services or Tech Industry, or related

Bonus Points If You Have

• 5+ years people management experience
• Agile Certification - Scrum Master or Scrum Product Owner

Mortgage Lending Experience:
Thorough knowledge and understanding of Home Loans/Home Equity Loans product, services, policies, procedures and appropriate regulatory requirements as related to daily job function.
Manage operational and regulatory risk.
Knowledge of Lending originations process (like Sales, Processing, Underwriting, Closing etc.)
Working experience with Loan Origination System (LOS) or Disclosure generation partners or Servicing vendors.
Delivery management:

• Manage the overall technology delivery for all the Discover Home Loans applications.
• Streamline release management process by managing risks and resolving challenges by maintaining quality.
• Manage priorities across business unit by setting up a robust, unified roadmap by coordinating between technology, business and vendor partners. Including dependencies.
• Manage release activities as per plan, adhering to milestones and meeting SLAs related to Development, UAT, Performance testing, Go-Live approvals and post-production validations.
• Evaluate the release Cadence to propose changes needed to get to the latest/modern delivery model (SDLC, Waterfall, Agile, etc..) and implement them.
• Align Change and issue management process with Enterprise standards.

Testing modernization:

• Provide leadership and direction to the testing teams and ensure Unit tests, QA, UAT, performance tests and PPV documentation are consistent and of high quality.
• Set the vision for the testing team to build test strategy and identify automation opportunities.
• Review existing test practices to propose opportunities to increase Automation, Regression, End to End coverage scenarios to support shorter release frequency and minimize/avoid production defects.

Vendor Management

• Develops and maintains vendor management tools to manage vendor contact information, compliance requirements, contract terms, renewal dates, and fee schedules. Establishes appropriate vendor key performance indicators, objectives, and goals. Evaluate vendor results and report metrics using scorecards prepared for management review.
• Establishes and participates in regular performance reviews and issue resolution meetings with vendors. Manage security incidents through timely identification and escalations.
• Develops appropriate processes and procedures to support vendor management across the business. Partners with Third Party Risk Management to ensure compliance goal expectations are met and up to date. Complete vendor risk assessment questionnaires on time. Develops policies and procedures to ensure compliance with standards.
• Assess market and industry periodically to review benchmarks, re-negotiate contracts with current vendors based on benchmarks and onboard new vendors/services to support business strategies.
• Managing vendor invoices and timely payments
• Utilize key performance metrics to track, communicate and improve service levels, quality, and efficiency.
• Own and manage vendor managed processes and oversight.

Application Deadline:
The application window for this position is anticipated to close on Aug-28-2024. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible. The posting may be available past this date, but it is not guaranteed.
Compensation:
The base pay for this position generally ranges between $143,500.00 to $201,100.00. Additional incentives may be provided as part of a market competitive total compensation package. Factors, such as but not limited to, geographical location, relevant experience, education, and skill level may impact the pay for this position.
Benefits:
We also offer a range of benefits and programs based on eligibility. These benefits include:

• Paid Parental Leave
• Paid Time Off
• 401(k) Plan
• Medical, Dental, Vision, & Health Savings Account
• STD, Life, LTD and AD&D
• Recognition Program
• Education Assistance
• Commuter Benefits
• Family Support Programs
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Learn more at mydiscoverbenefits.com .
What are you waiting for? Apply today!
All Discover employees place our customers at the very center of our work. To deliver on our promises to our customers, each of us contribute every day to a culture that values compliance and risk management.
Discover is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Discover is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or other legally protected status. (Know Your Rights & Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision)
Discover complies with federal, state, and local laws applicable to qualified individuals with disabilities and is committed to providing reasonable accommodations. If you require a reasonable accommodation to search for a position, to complete an application, and/or to participate in an interview, please email [email protected] . Any information you provide regarding your accommodation needs will be kept confidential and will only be used to determine and provide necessary accommodation.