Product Owner – Cloud (Azure) Infrastructure Provisioning

Location: Heerlen, Netherlands
Hours per week: 40 (32–40 possible)
Contract Type: Freelance / Interim Assignment
Start Date: ASAP
Duration: Approx. 2 years (with extension option)
Onsite Requirement: Full-time during onboarding, then 2 days per week onsite (Tue/Wed alternating)
Maximum Hourly Rate: €52
Education Level: Bachelor's degree (or equivalent working/thinking level)
Experience Required: Minimum 5 years
Travel Requirement: 25% – 50%
Language: Dutch / English (professional level expected)

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Product Owner – Cloud Infrastructure (Azure) to support a large-scale IT Platform Services environment within a financial services organisation.

In this role, you will be responsible for shaping and delivering the vision, roadmap, and backlog prioritisation for Azure-based infrastructure provisioning services. You will work closely with DevOps teams, stakeholders, and other Product Owners to deliver scalable, automated, and cost-efficient cloud services aligned with business needs.

The environment is highly agile (DevOps-based) and focused on continuous improvement, automation, and value-driven infrastructure delivery.

Key Responsibilities Product Ownership & Strategy

• Define and maintain the product vision and roadmap for Azure infrastructure provisioning services
• Translate business and technical needs into actionable backlog items
• Prioritise work based on business value, cost impact, and strategic alignment
• Contribute to long-term cloud strategy, including innovation topics such as FinOps, AI, and cloud sovereignty

Stakeholder Management

• Act as primary liaison between business units, IT teams, and technical stakeholders
• Engage with stakeholders across Pension Services, Asset Management, and Corporate IT
• Align expectations and ensure clear communication of priorities and delivery scope
• Act as a trusted advisor and subject matter authority in cloud infrastructure provisioning

Delivery & Team Collaboration

• Work closely with DevOps teams to ensure smooth delivery of infrastructure services
• Support autonomous team execution while maintaining alignment with strategic direction
• Collaborate with other Product Owners within the Azure and infrastructure domain
• Contribute to the continuous improvement of Agile and DevOps practices

Cloud Infrastructure Focus (Azure)

• Provide direction for development and optimisation of Microsoft Azure services
• Ensure efficient, automated, and scalable infrastructure provisioning
• Maintain focus on cost management and optimisation (FinOps)
• Support integration of cloud services with enterprise IT platforms

Assignment Deliverables

• Clear product vision and roadmap for Azure infrastructure provisioning
• Well-managed and prioritised backlog aligned with business value
• Improved efficiency and automation of cloud infrastructure provisioning
• Strong stakeholder alignment across IT and business domains
• Cost-aware and scalable Azure infrastructure strategy
• Contribution to cloud innovation initiatives (e.g. AI, sovereignty, FinOps)

Required Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience (preferably in financial services or enterprise IT environments)
• Proven experience as a Product Owner or similar leadership role
• Strong knowledge and experience with Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent working and thinking level
• Experience working in DevOps environments
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills
• Ability to work in complex, multi-team IT organisations

Preferred Experience

• Experience in large-scale financial services or enterprise environments
• Strong understanding of cloud cost management (FinOps)
• Experience with infrastructure automation and self-service provisioning
• Knowledge of enterprise networking, storage, backup, and recovery services
• Experience working with multiple Product Owners and cross-functional teams
• Exposure to AI-driven infrastructure or cloud innovation initiatives

Key Competencies

• Strong ownership and accountability mindset
• Strategic thinking with hands-on execution ability
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills
• Analytical and solution-oriented approach
• Strong collaboration within agile/DevOps teams
• Ability to prioritise based on business value and cost impact
• Leadership in ambiguous or innovative environments