SUMMARY:
A well established and fast growing Commercial Bank is looking for a Product Head: Client Insights to join their fast growing team.
POSITION INFO:
Purpose Statement:
To have ownership and accountability for a Product*, translating strategic direction (the what) into a ‘best in world’ product through the leadership of a dedicated team, with the single focus of the product and through the entire product life cycle, planning and management of delivery, (the how.)
NB. In the context of the operating model, a ‘product’ could be a product (e.g., Live Better) a channel (e.g., the App), a platform (e.g., Bancs) or a capability.
Reports:
- The job holder has direct reports (one or more of the following):
- Software Development Manager
- Business Engineer
- Solutions Architect
- Product Manager
- Indirect reports (one or more of the following, depending on the product):
- Team Leaders (Technical, Operational, Data)
- Business Analyst
- Developer
- Test Analyst
- Data Engineer
- BIBA
- BI Analyst
- Cloud Engineer
- Engineer (support)
- Skills / reports from CoP within CED:
- Project Manager (from CED CoE)
- CX/UX (from CED CoE)
- Data Scientist
- Cross divisional skills/reports as required:
- Database Analyst
- Security Engineer
- Cross divisional functional support as required from Legal, Marketing, Credit etc.
Key Performance Areas:
- Product ownership
- Product knowledge
- People leadership
- Delivery of the product
- General management and oversight
Key Tasks & Accountabilities:
- Devise and develop a Product strategy and plan to achieve the ‘what.’
- Have product obsession and single focus to make the product the best in the world, creating the product strategy and business plan whilst at the same time aligning to company strategy.
- Be the product subject matter expert and conduct regular research of the market and competitor product development and provide comparisons to own product on basis of product features, pricing, user experience, market acceptance, etc.
- Operate with a ‘product as a business mind-set, having end to end ownership and management of the product as a (stand-alone) business, including with own cost centre.
- Define and design the product strategy to achieve the success and turn the product strategy into real results; roadmap, objectives, success criteria and timelines that are executable and centred around client value.
- Design and agree a roadmap and business plan for the product with the Business Owner and Divisional Executive.
- Implement the roadmap and business plan for the product with accountability for execution at all levels and scales; e.g. strategy through to sprint.
- Ensures the Product is commoditised and modular to be consumable in line with Bank’s Product strategy.
- Plan and drive execution through the team so that the product is created and built technologically, so that any or all other teams are able to use and deploy to it themselves, without requiring the product team.
- Manage and operate the product as a centre of excellence (CoE) in itself; setting down the terms (guiderails) for the use of the product - standards, documentation, experiences and knowledge sharing and problem solving.
- Be the CEO of the product and have single accountability for the product, the product team, a cost centre and all activities whether strategic, tactical or operational.
- Have and implement a strategy to make the product the best, and one which clients see value in and want to use and so apply and embed the principle of client first across the team, promoting the product and building internal external client base as appropriate.
- Work closely with the Business Owner to understand the problem statement and develop the requisite product strategy (defined vs conceptual view,) collaborating to make the vision of the Product come to life.
- Collaborate with the Business Owner to make the vision of the product come to life by documenting and agreeing what the product will look like when success is achieved.
- Drive both internal and external evangelisation for the product.
- Design a framework and implement routines and processes to measure the take-up of the product in the market and monitor its performance on an ongoing basis; key metrics, dashboards, KPIs.
- Design and implement a range of routines and practices (e.g. research, networking, forums, data analytics, client feedback) which will identify opportunities for product enhancement.
- Understand the opportunities to optimise the product’s business value and collaborate with the Business Owner and key stakeholders to plan how to capitalise on the opportunities.
- Product knowledge
- Apply product expertise, product obsession and an innovative and creative approach (obsession) to devise and develop a Product strategy to achieve the “what.”
- Remain up to date with advancements and developments in the product area, including technology, best practice and legal/statutory requirements to optimise performance.
- Guide Business Owner, senior management and the organisation to understand the opportunities and options for the future shape of the product.
- Collaborate with the Business Owner to define the execution strategy for the product’s future; other products, enhancements, business models, partnerships, operating models etc. and guide and decide on what’s best, based on the Bank’s strengths.
- People and team
- Full line management responsibilities (recruitment, performance, development) for direct reports and oversight of management team for execution of the same for their reports in respect of the employee life cycle; recruitment, performance, development, team cohesiveness and spirit.
- Put together a team with the right skills and experience to deliver the product and ensure the team has everything it needs to deliver on the product.
- Build and maintain a cohesive team to develop the "how” and have a shared sense of ownership to deliver the Product, refining the strategy along the way.
- Develop, manage and optimise the team to deliver the product to the exclusion of everything else.
- Keep everyone on the same page at all times - ensure there is coherence between the initiative and the rest of the company.
- Make sure there are no conflicts between competing priorities and that silos are not created.
- Delivery of the product through the entire product lifecycle
- Propose and agree goals, targets, SLAs, KPIs etc. for the Product with the Head: Product Line and Business Owner as appropriate.
- Create, motivate for and maintain the right resources, functional operation and team structure necessary to deliver ad to optimise performance and delivery of the product (general operational framework and oversight).
- Responsible for managing the team and monitoring so that management disciplines are in place and happening.
- Establish quality, performance and scalable systems to support the product.
- Constant consideration and review of the plan and work with the Software Development Manager and Product Manager to deliver.
- Pivot the team to critical focus /requirements across the lifecycle phases.
- Oversight and direction of the prioritising of work according to the life cycle stage and execution through management of the Product Manager and Software Development Manager and teams.
- Implement “working backwards" and product development/innovation reviews.
- General management and oversight
- Budget and financial management
- Own and have fill accountability for the Product cost centre and responsible for the delivery budget.
- Lead the annual budgeting process for the product and secure a budget; responsible for proposing, motivating and achieving approval of a budget which will underpin the meeting and fulfilment of the objectives and scope of the product as a whole; people, hardware, software.
- Manage the budget for the product, including OPEX and CAPEX budgets in line with delegation of authority and reporting thereon:
- Forecast and operate within agreed budgets through management of financial controls
- Approve all product related expenditure according to delegation of authority
- Work with the Finance Business Partner to monitor, control and report against the budget in line with Financial reporting requirements
- Review variance reports and take action where required
- Provide detailed reporting on a monthly basis, (and ad hoc as required) providing feedback to the Head: Product Line on progress as part of monthly product line progress / output report.
- Governance
- Responsible for ensuring compliance with relevant financial, banking regulatory and legislated requirements within all aspects of the product.
- Responsible for risk and governance for the product; agree KRIs and management thereof with management team.
- Accountable for the embedment of central, organisational policies across the product and provide guidance to the management team regarding related practices and principles to ensure effective implementation and maintenance of same.
- Report monthly against the product roadmap progress.
- Stakeholder management
- Responsible for stakeholder and relationship management and communication related to the product which will assist in making the product the best in the world; internal and external parties - define their criticality and appropriate engagement method.
- Undertake relationship building for the product to build trust and belief and manage stakeholder expectations.
- Network internally and externally to create a relevant network which will enable and enhance the product.
Job Requirements:
Qualifications
Bachelor''s Degree - Any commercial, business or technology related major could be relevant.
Honours Degree - Any commercial, business or technology related major could be relevant.
Knowledge & Experience
Experience
- 10+ yrs experience in business management at a senior level in an innovative high performing environment, ideally banking of Fin Tech.
- 5+ years’ experience managing products.
- Business and product vision; has had ownership responsibility for a Product previously.
- Product management where there are multiple initiatives with competing priorities and so experience in influencing multiple diverse stakeholders, both business and technology.
- Working at strategic, tactical and technical levels.
- Career experience to include some time in one or more technical roles.
- Communicating with technical and non-technical senior stakeholders across multiple business units.
- Authoring of documents relating to product life cycle including business plans, product roadmap, business cases and requirements and functional specifications.
- Using data and metrics to test theories, confirm assumptions, and measure success
- Earning trust across different levels and multiple groups of a large organization
- Scoping/running usability studies and/or customer research.
- Client development and validating products through customer feedback.
- Using influence and relationships to drive and achieve objectives.
- Leading and managing multi-functional teams to deliver.
- Managing and working with remote / hybrid teams
Knowledge and Skills
- Strategic and commercial thinking; able to think about problems from a business perspective using people, technology and product input.
- Business acumen and systems thinking; able to take a ‘big picture’ view, assess, make a logical, sound decision and influence others to achieve objectives.
- Financial acumen - sufficient to effectively operate own cost centre
- People leadership and management practices to empower, create focus and delivery.
- Organising, planning and prioritising work.
- Data-driven approach; analytical and quantitative skills.
- Technologically literate and able to adapt to new technologies.
- Able to dive deep in understanding the product, the business, and the competitive landscape.
- Able to present complex technical information in a clear and concise manner to a variety of audiences.
Skills:
- Interpersonal & Relationship management skills
- Commercial Thinking skills
- Strategic Thinking skills
- Problem solving skills
- Decision making skills
Competencies:
- Deciding and Initiating Action
- Learning and Researching
- Leading and Supervising
- Creating and Innovating
- Working with People
- Formulating Strategies and Concepts
- Adhering to Principles and Values
- Planning and Organising
- Relating and Networking
- Delivering Results and Meeting Customer Expectations
- Persuading and Influencing
- Following Instructions and Procedures
- Presenting and Communicating Information
- Adapting and Responding to Change
- Writing and Reporting
- Coping with Pressures and Setbacks
- Applying Expertise and Technology
- Achieving Personal Work Goals and Objectives
- Analysing Less Relevant
- Entrepreneurial and Commercial Thinking
Conditions Of Employment:
Clear Criminal and Credit Record
Should you not receive a response from us within one week of your application, your application has unfortunately not been successful.
You can visit our website for more vacancies: www.wePlace.co.za / Facebook page @wePlace / LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/wePlace/
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