Product Manager – Financial Products at Safaricom Kenya

JOB DESCRIPTION

Reporting to the Director - Digifarm the Product Manager will be responsible for identifying potential products and services, conducting market research; generating product requirements; determining specifications, partnerships, pricing, and go to market planning for Digifarm’s financial products and services. 

Key Responsibilities

Insights, Research and Analysis

• Determine Digifarm’s customers' needs and desires by specifying the research needed to obtain market information.
• Articulate market requirements, consumer trends and opportunities for Digifarm’s financial products and services 
• Identify opportunities for Digifarm’s financial products and services innovation and enhancements
• Assesses market competition by comparing the company's product to competitors' products within payments and financial services industry.

Product Planning and Management

• Recommend the nature and scope of present and future Digifarm financial products and services by reviewing product specifications and requirements; appraising new product ideas and/or product changes.
• Bring new Digifarm financial products to market by analyzing proposed product requirements and product development programs.
• Define the long term strategy of Digifarm’s financial products and create product road map.
• Prepare Digifarm’s financial products and services documents including Market Requirement documents and product use cases to drive product activity.
• Develop pricing strategies and product policies.
• Provide technical & thought leadership throughout various stages of solution lifecycle – planning, design, specification, implementation and launch.
• Create user cases and detailed product roadmap documents to articulate desired features and functionalities to Developers and Designers.
• Build relationships with, onboard and manage partnerships required for the execution of the products.

Customer and End-User Support

• Manage Digifarm’s financial products-related support, feedback and inquiries from users.
• Co-ordinate market research to track customer and end-user feedback.
• Use market feedback to inform Digifarm’s financial product refinements and ongoing development.
• Build awareness and understanding of the products across the company.

Post Launch governance 

• Track and analyze metrics compared to industry benchmarks, publish reports on product performance, trends and risks/opportunities for both short and long term.
• Support teams that track and manage business case metrics and financial planning models ensuring that product delivery stays on track and on budget.
• Monitor impact of product features on key metrics.

Key performance indicators

• Successful development and roll out of Digifarm’s financial products in a timely and  efficient manner.
• Partnership development, onboarding and management for Digifarm’s financial products.
• Roadmap planning, prioritization and commercial delivery of all Digifarm financial products. 
• Growth and retention of Digifarm’s Customers.
• Defined Score cards, controls and fully documented processer for each of Digifarm’s financial products.

Core competencies, knowledge and experience

• Understanding of Payment and Credit Services processes and interdependencies. Relevant experience working in digital financial products, retail banking, payments, e/m-commerce, online and mobile platforms.
• Related experience in digital financial products conceptualization, solution design/architecture and development, preferably in financial services or the bankcard industry.
• In-depth knowledge of the financial services business coupled with the ability to translate customers’ needs into scalable product designs.
• Proven track record in working collaboratively across functional areas to drive results – can interact effectively with representatives from technology, finance, sales, marketing etc.
• Ability to identify and drive forward new opportunity into a business or product.
• Strong knowledge of industry best practices and competitive landscape.
• Expertise in applying product development concepts and practices across the product development life cycle.
• Team player, Structured thinker, with excellent verbal and written communication skills, including ability to create compelling presentations.
• Thorough understanding of financial modeling and forecasting. 

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management, Computer science, Engineering or related field.
• 6-8 years post-graduation work experience of which 3 years must be in product management, sales, product development or business development within the financial services industry (preference for digital financial services, fintech or agri-fintech).