Are you the crucial link in academic information services? And as Product Owner Digital Library Services, do you have a clear vision of the library of tomorrow? With over 13,000 students and more than 5,000 researchers, Wageningen University & Research is committed to improving the quality of life of the world’s population, and we need you to help us do that.
Besides a challenging job, we offer a fantastic working environment, good employment conditions and fringe benefits, and ample opportunities for training and development.

The position
As Product Owner, you will develop a clear and realistic product vision based on a thorough understanding of your stakeholders’ needs and requirements. This includes a clear definition of the products, services and responsibilities of the multidisciplinary team (MDT) of developers and functional managers. In doing so, you will actively contribute to the continuous development of our services. In addition to development and innovation, WUR Library places great emphasis on service reliability in a dynamic arena. This means that you must have a keen eye for data quality and the speed, security and stability of our systems. You will encourage collaborations both within and outside the MDT.

Within WUR Library, you will work closely with the Heads of Research Support, Education Support and Collections, and as a Product Owner, you will participate in the Library’s MT.

Platform renewal is at the top of the MDT’s backlog agenda. Flexibility, agility and, above all, an excellent user experience are key factors in this regard. You will combine this with managing the existing applications and systems.
You will translate WUR Library’s vision into a roadmap for the MDT. You will categorise this into epics, and you will organise and monitor the backlog in terms of priority, value and dependencies. You will facilitate and monitor effective connections and cooperation with other teams (both inside and outside WUR Library).

You will also ensure effective communication with all direct stakeholders and, in doing so, represent the interests of your team.

What we aks of you

• A relevant HBO or university degree.
• Demonstrable experience as a Product Owner.
• Knowledge of library infrastructures and associated systems such as WorldShare Management System, Research Information Systems and data repositories is an advantage.
• Experience in academic information provision and the ability to develop and communicate a vision of its future.
• Inspirational leadership, persuasive abilities, organisational sensitivity and a focus on the team’s results.
• Excellent networking and communication skills.

Your profile

• You are and think like an Agile Product Owner.
• You take initiative and have an entrepreneurial mindset.
• You are able to clearly define risks and identify control measures.
• You know how to engage the team and stakeholders in your ambitions.
• You know how to switch between the technical view and the user view.

Wageningen University & Research offers excellent employment conditions Highlights from our Collective Labour Agreement include:

• Working hours that can be discussed, allowing for an optimal work-life balance.
• The possibility of building up extra compensation hours by working more, up to a maximum of 40 hours per week.
• Sabbatical leave, study leave and partly paid parental leave.
• We focus on vitality, and you can use the on-campus sports facilities at an attractive rate.
• A fixed 8,3% end-of-year bonus.
• Excellent ABP pension scheme.

In addition to these excellent fringe benefits, you will of course receive a good salary. Depending on your experience, we offer a minimum salary of €3,693 to a maximum of €5,737 (scale 11) for a full 36-hour work week, in accordance with Wageningen Research Collective Labour Agreement.

Wageningen University & Research encourages internal advancement opportunities and mobility with an internal recruitment policy. Our learning environment and training programmes offer ample opportunities to take personal initiative. We are offering a versatile position in an international environment with a pleasant and open working atmosphere.

Wageningen University & Research

The mission of Wageningen University & Research is ‘To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life’. Within Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen University and specialised research institutes of the Wageningen Research Foundation work together to contribute to solving important questions related to healthy food and living environments.

Wageningen University & Research is one of the leading organisations in its domain worldwide. A holistic attitude towards problem-solving and collaboration across various disciplines are at the heart of Wageningen’s unique approach.
With 66 employees, WUR Library provides a robust information service for education and research. The digital library is at the heart of WUR Library’s services and collections. The Product Owner Digital Library Services is responsible for continuously evaluating the quality of the digital library services and for innovating and expanding these services. As Product Owner, you are aware of developments in the field of academic information management and information provision, the use of links to (linked open) data in the global information domain and intelligent search solutions. You are able to apply this knowledge to the needs of our target group and thereby improve our research and teaching processes. WUR Library therefore works closely with WUR’s IT department, the Information Management department and the Wageningen Data Competence Centre.