Senior Product Strategist

The ideal incumbent is an experienced ex- or Current senior Management consultant from a top consulting firm with experience in strategy, product development ,IP Development and is responsible for leading the development and implementation of the product strategy aligned to the Client Growth and Solutions Business Unit strategy. The Product Strategist is a subject matter expert on end-to-end Product and IP development within Client Solutions as well as the enhancement and maintenance of existing products. The Product Strategist is accountable for all products housed in and offered by the Solutions Business Unit. The role involves managing the product life cycle and positioning the company as a trusted partner in the development and growth of SMEs through the development and management of market leading products. The Product Strategist is responsible for ensuring that Client Solutions continues to deliver good quality SME Growth & Support (SGS) by leading innovative product development. The Product Strategist ensures that the Solutions Business Unit has the latest and best products at their disposal. The role also contributes to the creation of annuity income opportunities for the Solutions Business Unit. Responsibilities: Product Strategy · Leads development and implementation of the Product strategy aligned to the Solutions Business Unit strategy. · Provides strategic and operational support to the Solutions CE in developing, implementing, and managing the strategy and operational plans of the Solutions Business Unit. · Supports CE in positioning the Client Solutions Business Unit to become a trusted subject matter expert on SME Growth and Support. · Understands the key risks in the Solutions BU and provide support required to ensure that they are proactively managed and mitigated. Product, IP Development and Research · Provides leadership in the end-to-end management of the product lifecycle. · Provides leadership in the development and enhancement of products used in the Programme Management cycle. · Ensures the creation of annuity income opportunities for the Solutions Business unit as well as Client as a whole. · Drives research and innovation within the Solutions BU to enable development and availability of the most up-to-date and relevant products. · Drives the development of world-class intellectual property such as boot-camps, workshops, digital tools and software aimed at enabling the growth of SMEs. · Ensures processes are in place to drive the continuous refinement and enhancement of the BU’ s products in alignment with client requirements. · Ensures all team members are equipped to develop and manage products in a consistent manner. · Provides leadership in the design of products in line with the latest innovations in SME development and support. · Ensures continuous analysis of the existing products to establish their relevance and efficacy to ensure they add value. · Where possible, leverages technology to ensure that Client remains ahead of the market as it relates to SME growth and support. · Continuously seeks to build novel intellectual property by leveraging available 3rd party products as well as developing original IP. Partner Development · Provides support in coordination efforts to enable effective and efficient product delivery to clients. · Execute effective stakeholder management by understanding the stakeholder landscape and unlocking value through managing these appropriately. · Identify beneficial partnerships and opportunities to collaborate with the aim of complementing our existing products or extending Solutions IP. · Accountable for ensuring specialists and mentors are trained and enabled to use Solutions products. Financial Management · Drives and owns the financial performance of the Products function. · Compile annual budget for the Products Function and ensure timely approval. · Improve margins by improving the efficiencies of products and ensuring adherence to the appropriate operating model. · Manage implementation and utilization of the function’s approved budget. · Compile and provide monthly financial reporting on utilizatilization of the approved budget for the Function. · Develop a Products pricing model that ensures the profitability of the Solutions suite of products. · Provide support in management of relationships between key stakeholders and external service providers to enable seamless development and delivery of products and projects. Stakeholder and Relationship Management · Build and ensure effective management of relationships with all relevant internal and external stakeholders. · Lead and manage initiatives and interventions to establish and develop positive relationships with key stakeholders. · Build and manage relationships with all relevant stakeholders to ensure high quality products. · Keep the key stakeholders updated on all relevant matters pertaining to products and the Products function. · Contribute to the effective management of all the Solutions’ stakeholder engagements, including but not limited to scoping sessions, steering committee and reporting rhythm etc. Technology Transformation and Digitization · Drives technology transformation and digitization of products to enable optimized delivery and enhance client impact. · Ensures that the Solutions BU is able to reach as many SME’s as possible by leveraging technology solutions. · Increase the efficiency and efficacy of products offered by Solutions. Ensures the capacitation of the team to provide support in troubleshooting all queries or errors and providing the necessary support when using Products related technology in the function.