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Vacancy: Product Owner

06/04/2022

Salary: £50,000 (prorated) + benefits

Location: Remote options are available - the role-holder needs to be based, and have the right to work, in the UK. We also have offices in Birmingham (Jewellery Quarter) and London (Farringdon)

Working hours: this is a part-time, 0.5FTE role - this role will be working 18.75 hours per week which can be configured flexibly.

We have written this guide about what to expect if you’re thinking about applying for a job at Substrakt.

Overview

We are looking for an enthusiastic, organised and insightful Product Owner to join our team. This person will be responsible for setting the product vision and overseeing the roadmaps for our growing suite of the products that we developed natively here at Substrakt.

They will have a leading role to play in ensuring that we understand the users we are delivering for, the problems we are solving (for them and our clients), be overseeing and prioritising the product roadmaps, and play a key role in fulfilling the vision and ambitions for each product.

Why Join Substrakt?

At Substrakt we believe that arts and culture enriches lives and brings society together. We want to ensure that amazing cultural experiences can be enjoyed as widely as possible by harnessing the power of digital technology.

Substrakt creates digital solutions for cultural organisations. The types of organisations we work with include theatres, performing arts centres, music venues, museums, galleries, and performance groups in Europe and North America.

We work with some of the most exciting and interesting cultural organisations in the world including the National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe, Santa Fe Opera, Royal Court Theatre, American Repertory Theater, Bridge Theatre, Malmö Live and Malmö Opera amongst many others. Read more about the work we do, and the people we work with.

We also provide consultancy services and training on analytics, digital strategy, ticketing, project management and digital community events.

By supporting organisations with their digital needs, we enable them to reach new and wider audiences so that arts and culture can be accessed and enjoyed by everyone.

Role description

Reporting directly to the Head of Operations the Product Owner will form a key part of our team, ensuring our products continue to excel in solving the needs of our clients and their audiences, while growing our client portfolio.

At present we have 3 key customer-facing products, over the next 12 months our focus will primarily be on Viadukt and Showcase:

  • Viadukt - https://substrakt.com/our-products/viadukt/ - Viadukt is our ecommerce platform. Developed in collaboration with a small group of Partner cultural organisations, Viadukt aims to radically improve the customer experience of transacting with a cultural organisation, whether that is through buying a ticket, giving a donation, or purchasing a membership. Viadukt was launched in 2021 and currently has 3 live clients in Europe (Bridge Theatre, Malmo Opera, Malmo Live).
  • Showcase - https://substrakt.com/our-products/showcase - Showcase is our content paywall platform, rapidly developed in response to the restrictions that cultural organisations faced as a result of the pandemic. Showcase allows cultural organisations to control access to and monetise their digital content by offering a straightforward, intuitive customer experience and a powerful integration with the cultural organisation’s CRM system. Showcase was launched in 2020 and is being used by 8 live clients in Europe and North America (Donmar Warehouse, Opera North, MCC Theater, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, Manchester International Festival, Norwich Theatre, Shakespeare's Globe, Sadlers Wells)
  • Quick Donate - https://substrakt.com/our-products/quick-donate - Quick Donate, as its name suggests, is a simple, 1-step donation tool for cultural organisations. Like Showcase, Quick Donate was developed in response to the needs of the sector during the pandemic and made it far easier for cultural organisations to make a simple donation ask around the digital activity many of them have rapidly pivoted to over the past 2 years, raising hundreds of thousands in the process for organisations in Europe and North America (including Aberdeen Performing Arts, Leeds Heritage Theatres, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, The Lowry, Norwich Theatre, Royal Court Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Opera North, Royal Conservatoire Scotland, Watts Gallery).

The Product Owner will be charged with the creation of product roadmaps for each product, and overseeing the delivery of prioritised epics and user stories, based on analysis of user insights and clients' business needs.

They will help identify and explore new opportunities and markets as well as ensuring that we are meeting and exceeding the needs of our existing users.

They will be responsible for ensuring we offer a brilliant product onboarding experience (including training and documentation), and will be a leading voice in informing how we evolve, market, and invest in our portfolio of products.

We are looking for someone who…

We know no one person will combine all of these attributes, but this hopefully gives a good sense of the sort of skills and experience this role requires.

  • has the ability to create, share and execute a clear product vision and plan for how to achieve it
  • is passionate about user experience
  • is highly curious with strong analytical and interpretation skills
  • always champions the user and put them at the heart of the work we do
  • has an understanding of and interest in web standards and accessibility
  • enjoys and excels at identifying and diagnosing problems, and developing effective solutions
  • excels in clearly prioritising functionality based on provable user needs and analysis
  • is comfortable working within defined constraints and understanding when and how to compromise effectively
  • is adaptable and comfortable being at the centre of a busy and fast paced agency environment
  • enjoys interacting with clients and colleagues to ensure we are always delivering the best, most appropriate solutions
  • has an exceptional eye for detail, always ensuring work is interrogated and tested thoroughly and meets requirements
  • is is comfortable being the go-to "product expert" for clients and stakeholders
  • is not afraid to sensitively explore and challenge proposed approaches and be the “critical friend” when required
  • has the essential soft skills required to actively listen to clients needs, negotiating differing opinions and - perspectives to drive everyone towards a shared end goal
  • has experience analysing and acting upon user research and data
  • has an interest in, and understanding of, web development, web technologies, digital activity and user behaviour and - feels comfortable and confident being involved in (and leading) complex discussions about these technologies and concepts
  • has an interest in the business of arts and cultural organisations and the needs of their users

Life at Substrakt

At Substrakt we believe that work should be an enjoyable part of life and we put effort and resources into making this a reality for our team.

We have a friendly and supportive culture that enables our team to do their best work and develop their skills, we value curiosity, compassion and respect. We are selective about the clients we work with, so that we build rewarding relationships and work on exciting projects.

We invest in our employees and provide opportunities for them to grow. This includes formal training, going to industry conferences, and informal knowledge-sharing sessions.

We have a great set of benefits as standard:

  • Fully flexible working patterns, agreed in advance and available from day 1, including part-time hours, condensed hours, flexible start and end times and 100% remote working. We’ll discuss this with you upfront, so you can feel comfortable knowing a role at Substrakt will give you the work life balance you want.
  • 25 days annual leave (plus public holidays) and no fixed holiday dates, so you can use your leave when it suits you. Plus, your holiday will increase by a day for every two years you are part of the team.
  • Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave policies.
  • Free NHS cashback health plan – enabling employees to claim cashback on health costs such as dental treatment, scans, prescriptions and much more. Access to an employee assistance helpline, counselling, and accident cover is also included. The plan is also available for our employee’s partners and children.
  • Annual profit share scheme.
  • Annual allowance of £500 to spend on books, courses, conferences and training – anything that helps you build skills to thrive in your role – and 6 days off per year for you to focus exclusively on your professional development.
  • Monthly health and wellbeing allowance of £50 to spend on anything that helps you feel your healthiest and best self. This includes anything from hobbies, to the gym, to childcare, talking therapy, a donation to a cause you care about, entertainment, or a nice meal out!
  • Free weekly yoga classes
  • Free weekly Distrakt sessions where we play games, do quizzes and other things to unwind
  • Regularly bringing the team together for outings to theatres, galleries, historic sites and cultural events through our network of client partners.
  • Quarterly team lunches and a varied selection of optional, relaxed social events.

To apply…

Please contact our HR & Office Manager, Laura on work@substrakt.com with details of your experience, a link to some work you are proud of, and an outline of why you think you would be a good fit for this role.

We have written this guide about what to expect if you’re thinking about applying for a job at Substrakt.

Substrakt is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified people regardless of their ethnicity, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation or age, read more about our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion vision.

We particularly encourage applications from groups under-represented in the design and tech sectors.