Product Manager - 300 People / Payroll Advanced at Sage

Job Description Product Management is responsible for the definition, design, and delivery of the software applications that our customers needOur products are managed on a global basisFor example, Sage One Accounting is one product.

Sage’s global advantage is our presence in 24+ countriesWhile we have singular, global products, we must ensure that the needs of the customers in local markets are defined as product requirementsWe must also ensure that the products are understood in detail in the local markets; that their features and benefits are evangelized to the local teams (sales, service, marketing) and markets (customers, partners) so that we set up our products to succeed in the market

In summary, the role of the Product Manager, as part of the Product management function at Sage, it to

• To gather, understand and communicate the needs of the local market and customer into the global product.
• To communicate the product itself back to that local market through our colleagues and with customers and partners as required.
• The Product Manager will also engage with customers, and the local market, be that with partners and accountantsThey will be passionate and deeply knowledgeable about our technology, and act as the go-to resource on product in the region they represent

Key Responsibilities Planning and managing the execution of the product roadmap.

• Work cross-functionally with stakeholders including but not limited to sales, marketing, engineering, design, professional services and customer success, to set expectations and delivery timelines, and to facilitate the design and delivery of product roadmap items.
• Owning and delivering internal product roadmap communication at company, customer and board level.
• Taking input from multiple sources and stakeholders, including sales and customer success, as well as customer calls, and consolidating feedback into the product vision and roadmap.
• Responsible for product pricing working collaboratively with cross-functional departments to ensure sales success.
• Conducting Product and Market evaluations by keeping up to date with changes and developments in the market, liaising with stakeholders, reviewing incoming requests, managing the product roadmap and eliciting feedback from customers, and aligning the Product Roadmap to ensure optimal sales, adoption, product usage and customer satisfaction.
• Leading, managing and mentoring the Product Owners and strive for continuous improvement in the PM organisation.
• Overseeing, planning and developing functional specifications and documentation for consumption by developers.
• Participating in the development lifecycle with engineers to ensure functionality delivered meets requirements, is set in achievable timeframes, and by driving QA process to ensure features meet desired level of quality.
• Identifying issues and resolving these timeously.
• Support and in some instanced develop training materials and train internal stakeholders on both the use of features and value proposition of functionality.
• Work with customer success to a) ensure functionality is being correctly used by customers and b) gather feedback on its successParticipate and organise customer workshops.
• Representing the business in promoting and advocating the product value and benefits in executive briefing, at marketing events and to existing and prospective customers.
• Ensure product marketing, digital marketing & channel and strategic partners have all relevant product information to launch products and updates successfully
• Collect, analyse, and use data to support the development of the business strategy in the countries they support
• Demonstrate and evangelise the product itself
• Engage daily with local and global teams in the countries they support
• Act as the go-to person for the products the Product Manager is responsible for in country or region
• Engage with partners, accountants, press, media, customers etc - all external parties as requiredNote, this is not from a marketing perspective but from the product and technology perspective
• Input succinct product requirements into product management and be able to prioritise
• Ensure product incident processes in country are set up and adhered to

Skill & qualification required

• Bcom Degree/Diploma or related qualification
• 5 years experience in the Payroll & HR industry
• Product Management experience would be an advantage
• Engagement with stakeholders at different levels with different functions (tech, marketing, sales, leadership etc.)
• Deep customer and domain knowledge including local compliance, vendors, market forces and needs
• Team player who understands they may not always be priority; knows when to lead and when to follow; always joins in the global mission
• High energy, great listener, communicator generally
• Excel at presentations to internal and external audiences; highly engaged on social platforms
• Accountable for the outcome - the results in country and globally
• Driven, ambitious
• Passionate and expert at cloud and mobile technology
• Seeks opportunity and removes obstacles
• Passion for Sage growth and the customer
• Innovative, creative and design thinking approach to problem solving