Task title: Product Owner

PO number: 4500025720

Location:

• Brussels, 1 day per quarter
• Remote location possible (this over-rules the stipulation in the Framework contract that “The Freelancer undertakes to provide the Services at the premises of the Customer …”)

Task objectives:

• The product owner’s goal is to build and improve the product to create meaningful value for customers and all stakeholders within AREA42.
• Overall focus: short to mid-term focus

Task steps:

The product owner for AREA42 works closely together with the Head of Operations and enables a smooth collaboration with the IT team, the Customer Operations team and the Customer Success team:

The product owner is responsible for:

• Understanding how Management’s vision and customer knowledge translates into the roadmap. And based on this knowledge: advocating for the customers’ needs in front of the IT team.
• Making the product roadmap actionable for the IT team according to feature prioritisation and other agreements with the Head of Operations.
• Setting up processes and prioritising work to maximise the value of the product resulting from the work of the IT team.
• Providing feedback to the Head of Operations on the progress of the validated roadmap.

In addition, the product owner is expected to share his experience with other ventures within AREA42, helping them find the right resources, advising them in technical choices, and other relevant opportunities for exchange which might increase the venture’s chances of success.

Task deliverables & milestones:

Deliverables

• Product Roadmap: The high-level plan for how the product will evolve over time.
• Product Backlog: The master, prioritized list of all work needed (features, requirements, etc.).
• Refined User Stories: Detailed requirements ready for the development team to build.
• Acceptance Criteria: Clear conditions that define when a feature is complete and correct.

Milestones

• Vision/Strategy Approval: Getting stakeholder sign-off on the product direction.
• Sprint Goal Defined: Establishing the specific objective for each short development cycle.
• Acceptance of Increment: Officially validating that completed work meets all criteria.
• Release/Launch Decision: Authorizing the deployment of new features or the product to the market.
• Value Realization: Confirming that the launched product delivers the expected business value.

Success metrics

• Completed stories
• Other metrics related to the performance of the IT team

Next to all of the above, the lab experiment contributor is expected to:

• Promote the vision and values of AREA42
• Lead by example

Desired experience:

We prefer team culture over individual performance. This being said, here are a few qualities we may be looking for:

• Somebody who gets the job done.
• A passion for innovation and start-ups with a good understanding of the corporate world.
• 5+ years of experience in venture building, ideally in a mix of start-up and corporate environments.
• Adaptable, with a good sense of priorities (and of humour)
• Proven project management skills.
• Excellent human relations, networker and team-player.
• Fluent in English; multiple European languages spoken is a big plus.
• Can handle success and failure, positive feedback as well as critiques.
• Understanding of B2B trade is a plus, experience with trade credit insurance is nice to have.

Salary range:

• 250-900€/day

Work hours, travel requirements, etc.:

• Work up to 230 days for this SoW in 2026. As a freelancer, you are free to choose when you wish to work with AREA42 or to take holidays.
• Travels to support the development of the SoW (up to 10% of the time) (travel to be arranged together with and cost carried by AREA42)
• All travel assignments are arranged by the Freelancer and costs carried are fully expensed by AREA42 through the timesheet.

Company description: AREA42

AREA42 vision:

We work in a smooth B2B trade environment empowered by new technologies

At AREA42, we create, innovate, and manage solutions for a fluid, risk-savvy trade environment. We support companies who want to recode trade for the digital era.

Together with disruptors, technologists and visionaries, we build a more fertile trade environment. We co-design ambitious visions. We experiment and launch new solutions. We turn innovations into new growth engines.

We are backed by Credendo, the Export Credit Agency from Belgium and the most trusted leader in trade credit insurance and surety bonds.

AREA42 Focus:

Our current investment thesis revolves around big untapped opportunities related to:

• Platforms and marketplaces,
• SMEs,
• Innovative credit data and machine learning,
• Blockchain and other new trade paradigms.

For us, success can be measured in the upgrades we offer to trade ecosystems. We do not see technology as an objective in itself, but we believe it is key to unlock radical improvements for trade and accompanying risk. We take inspiration from diverse universes. We try to hack things, fail sometimes, always learn, and thrive when we co-innovate with partners who share our passion.

AREA42 Structure:

AREA42 is an ecosystem with 2 highly complementary zones: AREA42 innovation lab and AREA42 accelerator. Each zone contributes to a successful AREA42 innovation ecosystem.

• Our innovation lab aims at growing a high-quality network of trusted partners, open to co-innovation and passionate about upgrading trade; it takes a lean start-up approach to experiment with new ideas and incubate them to become validated product concepts with a market fit. The learnings, successes and failures contribute to the feedback-loop and are shared with our network.
• Our accelerator works like a growth factory. We take validated product concepts and turn them into new lines of business. Our accelerator team works with the same powerful means as the best high-growth start-ups in order to scale the most ambitious ventures in trade.

Our first basecamp is Brussels, but our playground is Europe and the world.

AREA42 Culture:

We are a diverse team based on 3 important values: respect, curiosity, and boldness. We believe in mutual trust, entrepreneurship, collective creativity, technological excellence and solid execution. For us, these values are essential to creating high-impact innovations, which we need to deliver successful long-term growth, which will help spread an innovation culture in trade.

Often, we do not know exactly what we are building. However, we always start with an exciting vision and we iterate as fast as possible to confront it with reality. We have faith in the science of experimentation and in the lean start-up approach. We invite and welcome innovators of all kinds to contribute and to have an impact. We share together the benefits of our successes.