What You'll Do

The Assurance Product Owner position will be a member of the Technology & Operations Services team supporting the day-to-day operation, adoption, and continuous improvement of the technology portfolio used by the Firm's Assurance practice. Using an agile framework, this role will work closely with Technology & Operations Services teammates, Assurance professionals, business analysts, developers, and third-party vendors to coordinate needs analysis, backlog refinement, testing, implementation, training, support, and ongoing product administration. The role is designed to provide broad exposure across the portfolio and develop toward increasingly independent Product Manager responsibilities.

Teamwork and collaboration are critical. The Assurance Product Owner will report to the Senior Manager, Product Management for Assurance, who has overall responsibility for the Assurance product portfolio, and partner with other members of Technology & Operations Services, Assurance stakeholders, and relevant Cohen Shared Services functions. The Assurance Product Owner role will help translate user needs into actionable requirements, keep operational work moving, communicate status and risks, and escalate strategic, technical, or unresolved matters when appropriate

Responsibilities

• Support the effective day-to-day operation, adoption, and continuous improvement of the technology portfolio used by Cohen & Co's Assurance service line
• Support product management activities for technology solutions purchased and/or developed for the Assurance practice
• Gather and synthesize user needs, operational issues, adoption feedback, practice delivery requirements, and relevant technology trends to inform product decisions
• Collaborate with the Senior Manager, Product Management for Assurance, business stakeholders, development teams, and third-party vendors to maintain roadmaps, backlogs, requirements, priorities, status updates, and supporting documentation
• Partner continuously with development teams and Service Line Business Analysts to write and refine stories and acceptance criteria, coordinate testing, document issues, remove routine business roadblocks, and escalate matters requiring strategic direction
• Develop implementation plans and supporting enablement materials for new products, features, and process changes
• Technology solutions owned include, but are not limited to:
• Assurance functionality within CohenWorks - our cross-service line workflow platform
• The firm's proprietary independence application used to maintain the firm's restricted list
• Third-party applications that support the Assurance service line, such as Retain, Intapp Employee Compliance, Suralink, and ProSystem fx Engagement
• Support implementation, adoption, and ongoing administration of Assurance technology solutions
• Prepare and facilitate user training, communications, and reference materials that promote effective adoption
• Maintain relationships across the practice to identify needs, validate proposed solutions, and gather feedback
• Monitor adoption, utilization, and outcomes to assess value and identify product or implementation improvements
• Communicate prioritized practice needs, status, risks, and recommended actions to the Senior Manager, Product Management for Assurance and relevant Technology & Operations Services leaders
• Help communicate Firm technology strategies, priorities, processes, and changes within the Assurance practice
• Support release management activities, including coordinating release readiness, user acceptance testing, implementation communications, deployment validation, issue tracking, and post-release follow-up
• Product Support and Issue Management
• Provide Level 2 support for Assurance technology solutions after initial triage by the IT help desk, including user guidance, issue replication, troubleshooting, documentation, trend analysis, and coordination with internal teams or vendors
• Escalate unresolved, high-risk, or strategically significant matters for Level 3 support and assist with follow-through to resolution
• Maintain support documentation and identify recurring issues, training needs, configuration opportunities, and potential product improvements
• Support financial and vendor management for the Assurance portfolio, including budget and forecast inputs, variance analysis, commitment tracking, vendor coordination, and documentation
• Manage supporting renewal and licensing activities, including renewal calendars, license allocations, utilization and entitlement data, and opportunities to reduce unused spend and/or improve licensing alignment
• Participate in Technology & Operations Services and Assurance team activities, knowledge sharing, and scrum ceremonies
• Maintain up-to-date technical knowledge on Assurance regulatory needs, technologies, and processes
• Support compliance and control activities for Assurance technology solutions, including maintaining documentation, coordinating evidence collection, monitoring required reviews, identifying potential control gaps, and escalating matters that may affect independence, regulatory compliance, data governance, or audit quality
• Help define and improve team processes, standards, and operating practices
• Demonstrate increasing independence over time, with expected progression toward ownership of defined products, workstreams, and full Product Manager responsibilities

Who You Are
Core Competencies

• 4+ years of experience as an Assurance/Audit practitioner required.
• 3+ years of experience as a Product Owner on a Scrum team or performing similar role owning the day-to-day business priorities and requirements working with technology teams preferred.
• Experience with Jira is a strong plus.
• Experience documenting, analyzing processes, procedures, and policies.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively across teams and organizational functions.

Education and Experience Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, Management Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field
• Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States without the need for visa sponsorship now or in the future

Qualifications

• Sound business judgment and analytical problem-solving skills, with strong attention to detail and the ability to weigh competing factors, assess risk, and determine pragmatic paths forward in the best interest of the Firm
• Self-directed and adaptable learner who can independently develop knowledge of new solutions, service offerings, and changing business needs
• Self-motivated and accountable, with the ability to prioritize competing demands, manage work independently, and complete projects on time while maintaining focus on the highest-value outcomes
• Team-first mindset demonstrated through reliability, humility, receptiveness to feedback, and a willingness to support colleagues and shared outcomes
• Strong user empathy, with the ability to understand practitioner workflows and translate user needs and pain points into practical solutions
• Risk and quality mindset, with the ability to recognize matters affecting audit quality, independence, regulatory compliance, or data governance
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate progress and issues within an agile team, articulate solution tradeoffs to business and development stakeholders, and instruct users at all levels on best practices and system usage

Location

• Position is based out of Akron, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Milwaukee, or Youngstown. Employees assigned to a Cohen office are generally expected to work in the office approximately 50% of the time. Occasional travel may be required.