Business Analyst IV (Chief Product Owner) in Austin, TX

Description

Join the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and be part of a team committed to creating a positive impact in the lives of fellow Texans. At HHSC, your contributions matter, and we support you at each stage of your life and work journey. Our comprehensive benefits package includes 100% paid employee health insurance for full-time eligible employees, a defined benefit pension plan, generous time off benefits, numerous opportunities for career advancement and more. Explore more details on the Benefits of Working at HHS webpage.

Functional Title: Business Analyst IV (Chief Product Owner) 
Job Title: Information Technology BA IV 
Agency: Health & Human Services Comm 
Department: Daily Operations Claims Admin 
Posting Number: 12868 
Closing Date: 01/28/2026 
Posting Audience: Internal and External 
Occupational Category: Business and Financial Operations 
Salary Group: TEXAS-B-27 
Salary Range: $7,015.16 - $11,864.50 
Pay Frequency: Monthly
Shift: Day 
Additional Shift:  
Telework:  
Travel: Up to 10% 
Regular/Temporary: Regular 
Full Time/Part Time: Full time 
FLSA Exempt/Non-Exempt: Exempt 
Facility Location:  
Job Location City: AUSTIN 
Job Location Address: 701 W 51ST ST 
Other Locations:  
MOS Codes: 8846,8848,8858,14NX,15AX,16KX,181X,182X,1D7X1,255A,25B,26B,62E,681X,682X,781X,782X,CYB10,CYB11,ISM 
IT,Z Prefix 
 
 

Brief Job Description:

The Medicaid and CHIP Services (MCS) department seeks a qualified technical candidate to fill the position of Business Analyst (BA) IV for the Long-Term Care Products (LTCP) unit.

This position reports to the Manager of the LTCP unit within the Operations Management division. The position will serve as the technical Chief Product Owner (CPO) supporting long-term care applications such as the Claims Management System (CMS), Long-Term Care Online Portal (LTCOP), and other internal and external facing systems.

The CPO is a leadership role within large-scale Agile frameworks, responsible for managing and prioritizing the overall program area backlog and coordinating/tracking dependencies across multiple Scrum teams. The CPO is responsible for having an overall vision of the entire backlog/product suite and conveys this to the Agile teams. The CPO ensures alignment between the agency's strategic vision and the work being executed by individual vendors, HHSC IT, and Operations teams. The CPO coordinates with all stakeholders to address cross-team dependencies, resolve conflicts, and communicate with HHSC leaders to ensure the delivery of high-value outcomes. The CPO is responsible for a cohesive product family backlog while empowering teams to work collaboratively and efficiently.

Essential Job Functions:
 

Maintaining the Overall Prioritized Team Backlog – 30% 

Responsible for managing the overarching prioritized team backlog. The CPO gives approval for epic sequencing across teams based on leadership priorities, business need, stakeholder impacts, and implementation optimization. By doing so, the CPO verifies that each team's efforts are coordinated and contributes to delivering value with each release.

The CPO enforces and supports the policies and procedures to solicit and approve lean business cases (LBCs) submitted by stakeholders to maintain a healthy backlog of clearly defined epics with quantifiable business value. The CPO participates and supports Product Owners in project scope planning, development of timelines, gathering business user requirements, and managing communications across HHSC program areas and vendor contacts.

Coordination Among Product Owners – 30%

Acts as a central coordinator, facilitating collaboration and communication among Product Owners, Product Families, and vendors. This alignment is crucial to avoid redundancy, ensure consistency, and coordinate dependencies between teams. The CPO is an escalation point for project risks/issues, scope changes, resource constraints, or cross-team and communication challenges. Supports continuous process improvements through lessons learned and Project Iteration retrospectives.  

Convey Strategic Vision and Set Priorities Across Teams – 20 %

Given the complexity of large projects, priorities often shift based on agency demands, stakeholder inputs, or unforeseen technical challenges. Ensure changes are reflected across all teams' backlogs, maintaining a synchronized effort, and avoiding silos.

The CPO plays a key role in maintaining and communicating the strategic vision of the agency. Regularly engages with the Product Owner(s) to obtain feedback, and ensure projects deliver maximum value.

Portfolio Management - 20%

Communicates project status, risks, issues, develops risk mitigation strategies, and reports information to management. Assists with the development of project plans and timelines that align with other projects to meet department objectives. Tracks and reports on work activity and timelines to ensure project success. Represents the program area in stakeholder workgroups to elicit high-level requirements and present proposed solutions. Responds to inquiries. Prepares and approves written reports for department leadership. Ensures communication related to Medicaid Management Information Systems (MMIS) technology projects are timely, accurate, and appropriate for the targeted audiences. Leads workgroups including coordinating review cycles for special projects, incorporates stakeholder feedback, and presents proposed changes and project status.

Knowledge Skills Abilities
 

Knowledge of:

• Long-term care systems and processes
• Business user requirements gathering
• Information technology for business applications
• Agile methodology
• Trading Partner Testing (TPT)
• User Acceptance Testing (UAT)

Skill in:

• Decision-making abilities
• Strategic thinking
• Strong analytic skills
• Communication and leadership
• Product/project management oversight and management
• Identifying business measures or performance indicators
• Coordinating and resolving complex problems
• Conducting research and identifying problem resolutions
• Leading, coordinating and supporting multiple projects
• Project planning, tracking, and coordinating project activities
• Developing business user requirements
• Conducting/reviewing user testing of automated systems

Ability to:

• Plan, assign, and oversee the product team
• Write and revise standards and procedures
• Develop, evaluate, and interpret policies and procedures
• Prepare status reports
• Work collaboratively across department lines to accomplish objectives
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing
• Work with stakeholders to gather requirements and/or explain technical information
• Mentor and communicate feedback to staff

Registration or Licensure Requirements:
 

Leading SAFe® 6.0 Agilist certification preferred or ability to obtain within six months.

SAFe® Product Owner Product Manager 6.0 certification preferred or ability to complete within one year.

Initial Selection Criteria:
 

Required:

• Experience working as a Product Owner in an Agile Development environment.
• Experience working in a lead role overseeing business automation projects including vendor oversight.

• Experience working with Texas Medicaid programs and systems.
• Experience identifying, troubleshooting, and overseeing resolution of issues that impact systems or users.
• Experience coordinating and delivering communications to internal and external Medicaid stakeholders including managed care organizations.

Preferred:

• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major course work in information technology, business administration, or a related field.
• Experience working with the Texas Medicaid & Healthcare Partnership (TMHP).

Additional Information:

1. Job histories must demonstrate how you meet the initial selection criteria at a minimum.

2. Any employment offer is contingent upon available budgeted funds. The offered salary will be determined in accordance with budgetary limits and the HHSC Human Resources compensation policy.

3. Interviews may be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Applicants should have the ability to meet using virtual meeting tools.

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Active Duty, Military, Reservists, Guardsmen, and Veterans:

Military occupation(s) that relate to the initial selection criteria and registration or licensure requirements for this position may include, but not limited to those listed in this posting. All active-duty military, reservists, guardsmen, and veterans are encouraged to apply if qualified to fill this position. For more information please see the Texas State Auditor's Job Descriptions, Military Crosswalk and Military Crosswalk Guide at Texas State Auditor's Office - Job Descriptions.

ADA Accommodations:

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), HHSC and DSHS agencies will provide reasonable accommodation during the hiring and selection process for qualified individuals with a disability. If you need assistance completing the on-line application, contact the HHS Employee Service Center at 1-888-894-4747. If you are contacted for an interview and need accommodation to participate in the interview process, please notify the person scheduling the interview.

Pre-Employment Checks and Work Eligibility:

Depending on the program area and position requirements, applicants selected for hire may be required to pass background and other due diligence checks.

HHSC uses E-Verify. You must bring your I-9 documentation with you on your first day of work. Download the I-9 Form

Telework Disclaimer:

This position may be eligible for telework.  Please note, all HHS positions are subject to state and agency telework policies in addition to the discretion of the direct supervisor and business needs.