Product Owner (PE) at Datafin Recruitment

ENVIRONMENT:

• A PE-based global Logistics Operation is seeking a Product Owner who is the single point of accountability for an IT product across its entire lifecycle — from inception through operation to retirement.
• In the company’s operating model, the Product Owner acts as the “mini-CEO” of the product: owning its P&L, strategic direction and roadmap, stakeholder relationships, service and vendor performance, and security posture on a continuous basis.
• This is an ownership and accountability role, not a coordination or reporting role. It demands a customer-centric, commercially astute leader who pairs genuine thought leadership with strong technical depth, able to shape demand, challenge decisions with evidence, and own architecture and technical trade-offs rather than delegate them.
• The successful candidate thrives in a fast-paced, global logistics environment and balances strategic thinking with disciplined, hands-on execution.

DUTIES:

• Financial & Investment Accountability
• Product Strategy & Lifecycle Ownership
• Business Stakeholder Leadership
• Service, Vendor & Operational Performance
• Security, Risk & Compliance
• Customer & Market Insight & Thought Leadership
• Technical & Architecture Ownership
• Operating Model, Artefacts & Governance

REQUIRED SKILLS & CAPABILITIES:

• Ownership & Accountability — takes single-point accountability for a product and drives it forward independently, without micromanagement.
• Strong Technical Expertise — deep understanding of IT systems, technical architecture, integrations and data; able to own technical and architecture decisions and hold engineering and vendors to a high bar. Hands-on technical or engineering background strongly preferred.
• Thought Leadership — shapes strategy and influences at leadership level; brings original, evidence-based points of view on product, market and technology direction.
• Financial & Commercial Acumen — confident with P&L/TCO, unit economics, budget variance, and contract and vendor commercials.
• Analytical & Evidence-Based Judgement — interprets data, defines metrics, and makes decisions on evidence — not opinion or activity.
• Stakeholder Leadership & Influence — manages relationships across clients, leadership and delivery teams as a trusted advisor; negotiates and resolves conflict constructively.
• Delivery & Agile Fluency — applies Agile/Scrum and disciplined backlog, capacity and demand management within a product operating model.
• Security & Risk Awareness — understands security, compliance (POPIA/GDPR) and risk ownership as a core product responsibility.
• Communication & Language — fluent written and spoken English; additional languages an advantage given the global footprint.

Preferred Experience and Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering or equivalent; Product Management Certification (e.g., Pragmatic, SAFe PO/PM) advantageous.
• 5+ Years in IT Product Ownership, Technical Product Management or a Senior Technical/Solution role — ideally with P&L or TCO accountability for a product or platform.
• Demonstrable technical depth (Architecture, Cloud, Integration or Software Delivery) and evidence of thought leadership in a relevant technology or industry domain.
• IT experience in the Logistics and/or Warehousing industry.
• Strong knowledge of the IT market, trends, technologies and best practices, with excellent presentation and interpersonal skills across diverse, global teams.
• Willingness to complete a Pluralsight Role IQ baseline for the IT Product Manager role and follow a targeted learning path, consistent with the company’s capability-development framework.