Product Manager, Financial Products at Safaricom Kenya

Customer 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 determining 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 maps.
• 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 financial 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 – be Digifarm’s financial products ‘evangelist’.

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.
• Development and implementation of credit scoring models that are fit for each product.
• 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 controls and fully documented processes for each of Digifarm’s financial products.

Core competencies, knowledge and experience

• Understanding of Payment and Credit products through relevant experience working in digital financial products preferably in agri-fintech, financial services or the bankcard industry.
• Related experience in digital financial products conceptualization, solution design/architecture, development and execution.
• Expertise in applying product development concepts and practices across the product development life cycle.
• Understanding of credit scoring, scorecard development and partnering with data science teams to deliver on the underlying credit assessment solution.
• In-depth knowledge of the financial services business and banking processes, with the ability to onboard and manage partnerships with financial institutions.
• 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 innovate, identify and drive forward new opportunities into a commercial product.
• Strong knowledge of industry best practices and competitive landscape.
• Analytical with data driven decision making and strong and execution skills.
• Collaborative leader with excellent product development, stakeholder and partnership management and business communication skills.
• Innovative with an agile mindset to thrive within an early-stage venture and work within unstructured environments.

Qualifications

• At least six (6) years’ knowledge and experience in a relevant field with at least three (3) in product management and product development within the financial services industry (preference for digital financial services, fintech or agri-fintech).
• Strong partnerships within the agri-fintech ecosystem.
• Experience building and launching new financial products from initial ideation to market launch .
• Relevant Business or IT Undergraduate Degree or relevant field along with professional qualifications, or equivalent qualification(s) from a recognized institution of higher learning. 
• MBA or relevant Master’s degree is an added advantage. 
• Superior business understanding, with the ability to leverage technology to solve consumer, business and technical issues.
• Strong stakeholder and strategic partners acquisition skills.
• Possess high professional and ethical standards. 
• Be a strategic thinker with an analytical mind.