Product Owner

Nierpatiënten Vereniging Nederland [The Dutch Kidney Patient Association] supports kidney patients and their loved ones as they live with kidney disease. The Nieren.nl platform, launched in 2018, plays a crucial role in achieving that mission. The Product Owner will make sure the platform continues to be relevant and valuable.

About Nierpatiënten Vereniging Nederland

There are around 2,000 new patients diagnosed with kidney failure every year. Sometimes they aren’t even aware of it, since symptoms often don’t manifest until the kidneys have already suffered severe damage. And the worse the damage, the more physical, social, and psychological obstacles patients face.

The Nierpatiënten Vereniging Nederland (NVN) has been promoting the interests of people with kidney disease since 1977. Part of that entails sharing information through channels like its member magazine, ‘Wisselwerking’, and the theme days it organizes in partnership with other patient associations. Nieren.nl was launched in 2018. It’s a joint initiative from the Kidney Foundation and the NVN. Nieren.nl is the premier platform where patients and families can find independent, reliable, incredibly valuable information.

Nieren.nl
Nieren.nl offers a wealth of information for kidney patients, their loved ones, family caregivers, donors, and anyone else involved or interested in kidney disease. As the go-to help and information platform, Nieren.nl wants to support kidney patients in living with kidney disease, while still allowing them to live the fullest lives they can. The platform’s motto is “knowledge, support and inspiration about living with kidney disease,” and it’s a place where users can do things like ask an expert for advice, read about other patient experiences, engage in conversation with peers, find “kidney-friendly” recipes – and much more.

The platform has gained more and more traction in recent years and attracts tens of thousands of visitors each month. But it’s also a competitive space – there are several other platforms and channels where kidney patients can find information that’s just as interesting and valuable. NVN does not see this as a threat – in fact quite the opposite. The more relevant information is available, the better. But it does force the organization to ask critical questions about its own platform and to make sure Nieren.nl has even better and more efficient positioning. It’s not a challenge, it’s an opportunity to take the platform and the impact it has to the next level.

Vacancy: Product Owner

How can we best serve the target audience and do an even better job meeting their needs? That question will guide every decision the Product Owner makes, and have an impact on every aspect of the platform. How the information on Nieren.nl is structured, what the site navigation looks like and how to better highlight certain content, for example. The Product Owner will work with an external agency and a team of passionate colleagues to build the framework for the best possible user experience. But it’s not just about outlining and suggesting ideas – the Product Owner is also the person who will implement them. They’ll take ownership of the entire process, always keeping an overview and continuously monitoring whether optimizations actually have the right effect.

The Product Owner role offers an excellent combination of thinking and doing. In addition to (re)designing the information structure, the Product Owner should also think proactively about the strategic direction of the platform. The Product Owner will come up with interesting innovations based on the user’s wants and needs to make sure the platform is relevant and valuable in the long term. They’ll work in an agile, transparent way and should have strong communication skills, which will make it easy for the Product Owner to build support both internally and externally.

Internally, the Product Owner will work closely with the editors, the Community Manager, and other colleagues, all passionate people with a wealth of expertise and experience. Externally, the Product Owner will manage a wide range of agencies, developers, designers and UX’ers. That means being able to organize and prioritize is a must, and so is the ability  to communicate at different levels. NVN is a small, approachable organization where lines of communication are short and people like to change things quickly. Entrepreneurship is in the DNA of everyone who works there, along with the desire to make a real difference in the lives of kidney patients and their families.

“As Product Owner, you’ll get all the freedom and responsibility to continue developing and managing Nieren.nl. You’ll build both tactical and practical frameworks, think about strategy, and take the lead from A to Z. We’ll give you every opportunity to succeed in this role and maximize relevance for visitors.” – Erwin van Asselt, Patient Information & Support Manager

The ideal candidate will share that hands-on mindset and intrinsic desire to make an impact. A tactical perspective and focus on day-to-day issues go hand in hand for them: the right, results-oriented Product Owner will be able to develop successful, productive plans for the future, but also clearly identify what needs to be done tomorrow. It’s what makes Product Owner makes an indispensable part of the future of a platform that is invaluable to thousands of people.

Interested?

Nierpatiënten Vereniging Nederland is working with Top of Minds to fill this vacancy.
To express your interest, contact Lidewij Kosters at lidewij.kosters@topofminds.com.