Senior Consultant - Wholesale Mobile Product Management.Wholesale and Carrier Services at MTN

Job Description
Mission/ Core purpose of the Job

• The Senior Consultant will be responsible for creating buy-in for the product vision both internally and with key external partners, developing and maintaining product pricing and positioning strategies, translating product strategy into detailed requirements and prototypes.
• The Senior Consultant will need to manage diverse teams spanning engineering and marketing, requiring both a strong technical background.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Context (Global influences, environmental / industry demands, organisational mission etc.)

• Highly dynamic and fluctuating Telecommunications industry with constantly changing business requirements and technologies  
• Fluid complexities of customer expectations and demands 
• Highly competitive market with new and established competitors and aggressive competitor strategy and delivery 
• Total customer experience for MTN brand 
• Constantly changing consumer and market needs 
• Fast paced industry and environment in response to external factors 
• Market dynamics and developments 
• MTN policies, processes and procedures 
• Within the legal, regulatory and commercial environment of South Africa
• Highly pressurized, deadline-driven environment 
• Highly legislated / regulated environment requires compliance and adherence to Industry standards and benchmarks 
• Participative environment – highly diverse and team-focused
• Context changes in terms of technology advancements
• Shortage of skill
• Changes in consumer behaviour
• Maturing market with very high levels of churn
• Social Media trends and practices

Strategy Development and Strategic input

• Design, challenge and implement the long-term commercial strategy for the Wholesale Mobile Product Portfolio, ensuring alignment of all activities undertaken in the unit to the overall Wholesale strategy, whilst achieving alignment with the strategic objectives and requirements of MTN SA. 
• Provide input into the business plan to ensure delivery to key customers and markets, ensuring competitiveness on all elements and coordinated efforts between MTN and its Wholesale business partners. 
• Contribute towards long-term forecasts and predictions (2-5 years), analysing trends and highlighting areas of the wholesale mobile product portfolio that may be developed further. 
• Oversight of the wholesale mobile product management framework and strategy to enable product/service delivery on revenue and cost targets, aligned to industry best practice, MTN SA and MTN Group.
• Oversee the product management function for all wholesale mobile initiatives for the Wholesale business unit. 
• Interpret strategic plan and formulate strategic deliverables to be executed via the set commercial framework for Wholesale unit. 
• Aggregate and forecast all demand requirements based on business priorities and segment needs for new Wholesale partners. 
• Ensure new mobile products are launched in line with business and market requirements.
• Drive best practice, continuous improvement and innovation at process and procedure level with the Strategic Wholesale Product Development team 
• Consider local conditions, as well as competitor activity and provide constant information related to competitor analysis and insight around the Wholesale Mobile landscape
• Develop, implement, and refine methods, processes, and systems to enhance effectiveness and meet organisational goals 
• Develop business growth plans and product roadmaps for the Wholesale Mobile Product Portfolio 
• Support the planning of the Wholesale Mobile Product Roadmap 
• Acquire in-depth knowledge of telecoms architecture and industry trends and analyse new technology trends and innovations 
• Capitalise on new innovative initiatives and opportunities 
• Ensure that MTN maintains a position of world class leader in the Wholesale Mobile Product Portfolio

Operational Planning

• Lead and direct virtual project teams to develop and enhance wholesale mobile products. 
• Oversee the enhancement of technical specifications of existing mobile products.
• Ensure compliance with business and technology strategies.
• Define the standards and set targets for product performance across the wholesale mobile portfolio and identify the parameters for measurement of performance.
• Monitor product performance against business plans (i.e. business plan tracking) as well as alignment with MTN global strategy and industry best practices.
• Review product performance of the Wholesale Mobile portfolio against forecasts and agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Identify cost effectiveness, points of risk, opportunities, strengths and weaknesses of solutions.
• Oversee the measurement and management of the mobile product portfolio in light of their performance within market.
• Continuous monitoring of the marketplace and proactively liaise with Strategic Product Development, Network Group and other Sales and Service teams, to adapt the mobile product roadmap where necessary.

Product Management

• Gain a deep understanding of customer experience, identify, and fill mobile product gaps and generate new ideas that grow market share, improve customer experience and drive growth.
• Driving customer requirements through effective management of marketing principles. 
• Translate product strategy into detailed requirements and prototypes.
• Build and Maintain relationships with all internal and external stakeholders and customers, external solution, and development partners.
• Participate in the decision making around new products and services development 
• Present ideas on product performance and fit to market requirements. 
• Review technical specs to ensure that the user and functional requirements are met & advise management committee on tactical decisions affecting development. 
• Ensure integration of mobile products with the relevant technology. 
• Developing and maintaining product pricing and positioning strategies for the Wholesale Mobile Portfolio. 
• Conduct a thorough margin analysis on the Wholesale Mobile Product Portfolio and propose ways in which the margin efficiency per product can be improved.

Exceptional Client Experience

• Ensure the development of best-in-class products which best-fit to business partner requirements (quality, price, availability, reliability).
• Build and maintain solid relationships with all stakeholders.
• Bring customer experience into every decision supported by data. 
• Align service delivery to changing needs of the business and markets. 
• Understanding customer needs and develop and fine-tune the wholesale mobile product portfolio accordingly.
• Initiate change to continually improve all aspects of service delivery and develop new products and services.
• Drive revenue, cost savings and self service.

People and Culture 

• Lead and direct physical and virtual teams.
• Act as an ambassador and role model for MNS team by living the brand values and vital behaviours.
• Make environment the best place to work.
• Improve the employee engagement index through the GCA by implementing interventions to enhance employee experience of the Wholesale business unit.
• Ensure the attraction, development, and retention of talent.
• Build a professional and differentiated relationship with external customers.
• Ensure a culture of continuous evaluation and improvement.
• Drive a culture of high performance, accountability, and consequence management.

Governance and Control

• Strictly follow and ensure team compliance of relevant policies and procedures.
• Implement proper controls and processes to minimise revenue leakage.
• Appropriate implementation of DoA.

Stakeholder Management

• Hold strategic meetings, ensure relevant participation and provide guidance and support in the various discussions.
• Manage Executive stakeholder relationships with MNS customers and Technology Providers.
• Ensure relationships with business partners and customers are maintained and contracts are adhered to.
• Identify clear win-win situations with external partners.

Project Delivery

• Develop and drive the execution of agreed projects. 
• Drive the implementation, tracking, monitoring and compliance of projects.
• Contract management in line with procurement policies.
• Co-ordinate project reporting.
• Ensure effective implementation of the integrated project management model.

Role Complexity

• Market research and trends are difficult due to the lack of information and constantly evolving technologies enabling new products. 
• Project Managing the development of each product using outsourced and internally outsourced resources.
• Document and build sets of facts and assumptions into a business case.
• Prioritisation of mobile products to be developed/enhanced. 
• Designing and producing all required documents / collateral for a product time consuming.
• Launching the product into the market needs to be well timed.
• Measuring the success of each new product against the business plan.

QUALIFICATIONS
Job Requirements (Education, Experience and Competencies)

• Education: (5)
• Minimum of 4-year Commercial and/or Engineering Technology degree 
• MBA or Masters in relevant field of study advantageous
• Fluent in English

Experience: (5)

• Management level track record of 5 years or more; with at least 3 years’ in relevant sector / industry
• Experience in product management. 
• Proven track record of managing all aspects of a successful product throughout its lifecycle
• Proven ability to develop product and marketing strategies and effectively communicate recommendations to executive management
• Solid technical background with understanding and/or hands-on experience in telco technologies
• Strong problem-solving skills and willingness to roll up one’s sleeves to get the job
• Skilled at working effectively with cross functional teams in a matrix organization
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Worked across diverse cultures and geographies advantageous.

Competencies 

• Head - Big Picture Focus (20)
• Strategy Implementers -Ensures execution of strategies through creating and implementing tactical plans for others to follow
• Decisive Problem Solver - Has the mental agility to identify business challenges and explore effective solutions through effective influencing
• Best Practice Value Creator - Encourages commercial innovation and continuous improvement for systems, processes,  products and service offerings

Heart – Emotionally Intelligent (30)

• Culture and Change Champion -  Role models ethical practices by living the MTN values and vital behaviours for others to follow
• Guiding People Manager -  Is self-aware and guides team capability development through opportunity creation for realising potential
• Relationship Builder  -  Builds relationships across the business in order to influence decision-makers and build team credibility

Hands – Results Focused (40)

• Results Achiever -  Produces sustainable divisional results through ethical practices
• Operationally Astute - Sets priorities, plans, organizes and co-ordinates the work of others