Openings 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).

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JOB DESCRIPTION

Reporting to the Director - Digifarm the role holder will be responsible for managing all operational aspects, go-to-market strategies and distribution channels to deliver Digifarm products and services to target customers to accelerate mission of the Organsation . 

Develop operational and growth strategies, implement related processes,  and drive scalable and commercially viable operations, leading to revenue and profitability.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy Development 

• To develop Digifarm’s go-to-market strategy, leveraging on the existing  distribution channels within Safaricom and propose deliverable actions, plans and initiatives to accelerate growth and scale.
• Create an advantaged distribution network for Digifarm, focusing on sales force effectiveness, distribution management, commercial plans and demand forecasting
• Gather insights on prevailing market distribution strategies and implement tactical and strategic plans to position Digifarm as a leader the sector.

Systems and processes 

• Develop simple, digital and automated operational processes and systems to enable scale 
• Build and implement best in class controls and risk mitigation strategies
• Be accountable for the effectiveness and execution of the entire operational strategy and related processes
• Develop and be accoutable for key KPIs related to operational excellence and growth 
• Review Safaricom’s distribution networks and   operations, and build Digifarm’s operational and growth plans that leverage existing infrastructure, and deliver on desired Return on Investment (ROI)

Customer Acquistion, Retention and Engagement 

• Champion, own and drive the engagement and relationships with target customers 
• Build partnerships with key stakeholders in the sector to drive customer growth and engagement
• Develop and implement the right incentive structures and sales and retention strategies to deliver growth
• Deliver breakthrough business performance through influencing and working with others

Key performance indicators

Customer growth, engagement and retention 

          Drive customers served, engaged with Digifarm and retained. 

Operational costs and scalable distribution models 

          Build commercially viable operations and growth strategies with strong ROI. Own key customer metrics             (LTV, CAC). Reduce costs through automation and leveraging existing infrastructure.

Increase Average Revenue per User (ARPU)

           Increase lifetime value by improving up-sell and cross-sell of Digifarm and Safaricom services.

Performance management for operations teams

Core competencies, knowledge and experience

Operational Excellence

• Solves operationally complex problems through simple, innovative and creative solutions.
• Targets effort and resources on high-value, high impact activity.   
• Focuses on achieving maximum performance and driving continuous improvement.
• Thinks about processes and problems cross-functionally and end-to-end.
• Uses knowledge of products, technology, process, systems and policy to solve problems.

Working With Others

• Consciously takes steps to make the most of every conversation/interaction. 
• Identifies people’s needs, interests and motives to be able to influence the decisions they make. 
• Communicates simply to excite and engage people.
• Pro-actively adapts own style and approach to build rapport, and work with others more effectively. 
• Builds and maintains strong relationships and networks.

Creativity and Innovation

• Finds creative ways to exploit opportunities and solve problems. 
• Takes risks and pushes what is possible. 
• Experiments with unorthodox approaches.

Business Know-how

• Uses data and research to make decisions that are competitively and financially robust.
• Balances current and future needs.
• Thinks and acts like an owner of the business. 
• Acts in line with legal, regulatory, professional and ethical standards.

Working With Change

• Responds flexibly to changing situations.
• Manages the business and people aspects of change to drive performance.

Project and Programme Management

• Defines scope and deliverables in terms of time, cost, quality and business benefit. 
• Schedules activity and identifies resource needs, dependencies and synergies. 
• Evaluates progress, mitigates risks and addresses issues.

Functional Competencies

• Drives customer growth and engagement.
• Ability to manage end-to-end supply chains and operations.
• Development of trade marketing.
• Account management.

Negotiation

• Responds positively and professionally to objections, and addresses the Customer’s needs to successfully close the sale. 
• Uses a range of techniques and approaches to make agreements that add value for Safaricom and our Customers. 
• Understands customers' commercial drivers and leverages them in negotiations. 
• Applies commercial acumen to maintain a healthy profit margin.

Competing to win

• Brings energy and passion to work and always aims to beat the competition.
• Knows what the competitors are offering, how our offer compares and uses market data to drive decisions.

Qualifications

• Honors Degree from a recognized university.
• 8+ years in the agriculture sector, FMCG or in rural distribution (Bonus for experience in scaling digital products) Experience gained across operations, distributions or other related commercial functions. 
• Strong track record in people management & / or commercial roles
• Demonstrated and well-developed commercial awareness, operational excellence and customer focus.