Manufacturing & Production - Optimization Product Owner

We are Pernod Ricard, a leading company in the global spirits industry with over 19,000 employees globally. We own 16 of the world’s top 100 Spirits Brands and hold one of the most prestigious and comprehensive brand portfolios in the industry with 240 premium brands available in over 160 countries, including: Absolut vodka, Ballantine’s, Chivas Regal, Royal Salute, and The Glenlivet Scotch whiskies, Jameson Irish whiskey, Martell cognac, Havana Club rum, Beefeater, Malfy and Monkey 47 gins, Malibu liqueur, Mumm and Perrier-Jouët champagnes.

In the UK, Pernod Ricard is made up of 4 businesses:

• Pernod Ricard UK, which markets, sells and distributes our products in the UK market
• Chivas Brothers, the largest brand company in the Group, responsible for the production and management of our award-winning Scotch whisky portfolio
• Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail, the global and EMEA home of the group’s duty free, air travel and cruises business.
• The Absolut Group, the brand owner of our global white spirits portfolio, whose Gin brand unit and Business Acceleration team sit in London.

We are an organisation of 2,000 employees in the UK, headquartered in London, in a brand-new office designed with sustainability, ‘conviviality’ and collaboration in mind. We also have offices in Scotland and various distilleries and production sites across the UK from Plymouth to London to Speyside.

This position sits in our Chivas Brothers business. At Chivas Brothers, our 1,600-strong team across 27 sites is committed to upholding the heritage of Scotch and ensuring its sustainable future, as well as opening it up to new audiences across the globe.

This role, based in London is part of our Global Tech team made up of over 800 employees spread over 24 countries.  This team operates in an agile manner within a dynamic product organization. Immerse yourself in a collaborative environment where innovation thrives, and your contributions will play a direct role in shaping the path of our cutting-edge products. As a key player in our agile setup, you'll have the opportunity to enhance efficiency, foster creativity, and play a pivotal role in our product development process. Become part of a team that embraces adaptability and values continuous improvement, ensuring we stay at the forefront of global technology advancements.

Your new team

You will be working as part of the Manufacturing & Production team who are responsible for all products covering Manufacturing & Production including areas such as Quality, Research & Development, Product Life Management, Operations, Optimization, Sustainability & Responsibility and Spirit Management.

This role will be responsible for our solutions under Optimization, covering areas such as Digital Twins, Footprint optimization, AI, Connected Machines Management and Plant Engineering.

Your unique contribution

The responsibilities involve leading and managing an Agile Squad, overseeing the development of the product roadmap, managing backlog, updating priorities through captured local needs & feedbacks, ensuring the delivery of Business Value. You are the voice of the stakeholders. 

• Demand Management : Gather new demands to be integrated into the backlogs and translate them into Features and User stories. 
• Backlog Management : Prioritize Product backlog and manage risks and interdependencies with other squads. Steer and drive squad delivery, facilitate day-to-day interactions within the squad.
• Product Lifecycle management : Contribute to product vision definition. Lead the Product Build by defining and analyzing the Features/user stories and managing the agile squad delivery. Collect and consolidate Product value based on Proximity Team and GBPO’s inputs. Drive system demo activities and roll-out plan in collaboration with the Business Process Owners and the Proximity teams. Track product performance and value realization upon defined KPI's.
• Product Catalog Management : Ensure latest version and consistency between the product & service catalog and the overall product portfolio and communicate on changes & updates
• Incident Management : Lead L2/L3 incidents investigation, diagnosis and resolution
• Resource Management : Estimate Resource forecasts, adjust roadmap and prioritization based on resource availability and report on actual resource utilization
• Budget : Provide a forecast for Product roadmap, backlog and squad’s resource needs . Oversee overall funding of my scope, perform variance analysis and provide justification. Track Product’s ROI and costs.

Who you’ll be working with:

• Reporting Line (direct/indirect): Product Manager (to report on value estimation & team backlog and align on key directives)
• Key internal stakeholders: Domain Proximity Lead (to consolidate and share Business demands and provide latest updates and news about products), Service Management (to jointly work on incident Management and resolution), Key Users (animate a set of key users during demo to catch feedbacks), Resources Lead (align on resource allocation to the Squads), Product Teams (Align on interdependencies) & Squad Members (Animate and steer daily work)
• Key external stakeholders : External Vendors (product selection, implementation, maintenance & support).

Your blend of talent

This position could be right for you if you have:

• Innovative and driven on new technology
• Strategic thinking & value-driven mindset (roadmap creation, value monitoring…)
• Expertise in relevant products, with deep understanding of business challenges in the domain
• Ability to manage in complex and VUCA environments
• Communication skills, with the ability to talk with both business & technical stakeholders
• Strong experience in Product management, Product Owner certification
• Strong understanding of agile mindset & practices
• Negotiation/mediation skills

Our mix of benefits

For your health, we offer private medical insurance, income protection and a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme.

Our lifestyle benefits include 28 days’ annual holiday, your employee pension, share incentive plan, season ticket loans, payroll giving and more!

You can access lots of gifts & discounts, including an allowance each year to spend on our brands in our staff shop and employee discounts from a range of high street retailers.

We have regular events in our very own office bar, employee-run networks, a culture of flexibility and trust and a variety of tools and resources to help you focus on your wellbeing and mental fitness.

Conviviality: the Pernod Ricard Way

We have our own way of doing things. We call it conviviality! It’s our way of being, and something unique you feel and experience when working for Pernod Ricard.

We’re committed to conviviality, and with this, you’ll be Proud to Belong to our Pernod Ricard family. You’ll be Empowered to Perform, supported to succeed, and acknowledged for the value you bring.

We combine all this with our Commitment to Care: we are unlocking the magic of human connection to transform our industry and make a positive impact on the world though our strong focus on sustainability and responsibility.

We’re committed to diversity and inclusion

People are at the heart of everything we do at Pernod Ricard and are the foundation of our collective spirit as ‘Créateurs de Convivialité’.

We promote diversity and inclusion throughout our business and supply chain. In our teams, we proactively foster a diverse work force and an inclusive culture – an environment where we can truly be ourselves. 

We will assess your application for this role based on your skills, experiences and achievements, not your gender, age, ethnic or educational background or any other such factors. Please feel free to leave these off your CV and application form if you so wish.

Similarly, if you would like to discuss opportunities for flexible working or require accommodations or support to complete our application process, please let us know.

Responsible drinking

As ‘Créateurs de convivialité’, we want to turn social interactions into genuine and friendly experiences of sharing and wellbeing.

In our culture, we want to create diverse teams in which our differences contribute to our success. Therefore, all are welcome at Pernod Ricard, regardless of your religious beliefs or personal choices on the consumption of alcohol.

In our business, we work together with industry members, civil society, governments, local authorities and UN bodies to promote responsible drinking. 

Job Posting End Date:

Target Hire Date:

2026-04-01

Target End Date: