Head of Product & Innovation at Telkom Kenya

Reporting to:         Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)

Band:                         4.2

Department:          Mobile Division – Marketing Dept.

Purpose of the Role  

The role is responsible for the Mobile and Mobile Finance Products and Services portfolio. The Head of Product & Innovation will perform product management for the GSM and mobile money products and services including strategy planning, concept definition, implementation, launch and on-going performance and the lifecycle management.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Defining the new product development and innovation processes for the Mobile division and integrating it into the rest of the company
• Developing and implementing methods and procedures for monitoring projects such as preparation of records of expenditures, progress reports and staff conferences, in order to inform management of current status of each project
• Working together with the leadership team to develop the strategic product roadmap for the division, providing regular updates and strategic analysis of the progress in achieving the roadmap goals
• Overseeing and managing the Product Team to develop and launch approved products and services
• Defining and managing the change request roadmap with inputs from technical and commercial teams. Oversee the Product Team to implement approved change requests and service improvements
• Working together with technical teams in order to design, configure and deliver the systems, products and services to meet requirements and deadlines
• Defining and monitor the customer experience for consumer, corporate and distribution users of our systems and oversee continued improvements to the user experience
• Selecting correct design concepts and fundamental technology used for new products or improvement for existing ones
• Undertaking leadership and mentoring of the Product Team and manage execution of section objectives
• Establishing staff KPIs, conduct periodic performance evaluations and plan staff training and skills improvement
• Preparing budgets and approve budget expenditures; Control expenses to meet budget guidelines
• Managing delivery of the road-map meeting timeline expectations of the business.
• Maintaining strong ties and consistent communication with Marketing, Agency, Operational and Technical teams to capture appropriate commercial requirements and manage technical implementation and project timelines.

Academic/ Professional Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Engineering, IT or related field from a recognized institution 
• Minimum 8-10 years of experience in product development, prior leadership experience and relationship management, including 2-3 years in a similar position.
• Experience in Telecommunication / ICT industries and good understanding of these services and solutions are preferred.

Professional Skills

• Proven management and motivation skills
• Strong analytical skills including demonstrated experience in product development and proven performance demonstrating  innovations
• Solid understanding of market, competitors & customer
• Strategically Oriented – solid understanding of the integrated set of products and services included within the MFS portfolio; able to identify opportunities & define and implement these opportunities
• Financial Management – develop and manage budgets, drive down costs wherever possible.
• Presentation and communication skills – superior, both written and oral.  Experience in report writing.