Senior Manager: Digital Product and Channel at Cell C

Purpose of the Job:

• Cell C is a leading telecommunications company in South Africa, committed to providing innovative solutions and exceptional service to our consumers (B2C) and business customers (B2B). Cell C is positioned as a Spirited Disruptor and values integrity, transparency, honesty, and simplicity.
• The Senior Manager: Digital Product and Channel takes full and final accountability for the strategy, delivery, and optimisation of Cell C's digital products and channels — building and co-creating user-centric digital channels and products that enable customers to discover, buy, manage, and support Cell C products and services. Working strictly according to Agile methodology, the role transforms the digital interface of Cell C's product set across the customer lifecycle to deliver a disruptive and explosive business impact, driving revenue growth, digital adoption, customer satisfaction, and operational efficiency.

Product Strategy, Roadmap and Backlog Ownership

• Own and create the digital product and channel strategy, vision, business and commercial model, and roadmap, aligned to the Cell C Digital Strategy and long-term business objectives
• Align product evolution to strategic objectives, market trends, and customer needs
• Own, create, maintain and lead the prioritisation of the product backlog according to business value and Return on Investment (ROI), comprising epics, user stories, designs and scenarios
• Ensure the product backlog meets business requirements, incorporates new insights and learning, and provides items that are ready for implementation
• Assist with the elaboration of epics, themes and features into user stories granular enough to be achieved
• Define MVPs, prioritise features, and set release scope
• Initiate and solicit ideas and set priorities for prototyping and development

Customer Experience and Channel Design

• Design end-to-end digital experiences across the customer lifecycle: discover, buy, manage, support
• Map customer journeys and resolve friction points
• Improve digital onboarding, account management, and self-service
• Improve quotation, ordering, and provisioning experiences
• Conduct customer research and usability testing

Agile Product Delivery and Product Ownership

• Convey the product vision and goals at the beginning of every release
• Define requirements and acceptance criteria and lead cross-functional product teams through the process of clarifying requirements and delivering on expectations with business stakeholders
• Coordinate releases, launches, and go-to-market readiness, and maintain product intent and outcomes through implementation
• Inspect and evaluate product progress at the end of every release and accept or reject work completed
• Maximise the value the digital product creates, according to the Scrum Guide
• Assist product teams to deliver products that deliver rapid and regular business value for Cell C
• Interface closely with the Agile Architect team and support the achievement of deadlines and objectives.
• Manage conflicting ideas and decisions, specifically pertaining to business requirements versus digital product capability
• Work closely with other divisions to prioritise the digital products, without sacrificing operational requirements and service stability

Product Performance and Optimisation

• Enable digital lead generation, online sales, conversion, and self-service adoption
• Support cross-sell and upsell across customer segments and drive digital sales revenue contribution
• Monitor product performance, adoption, and usage, analyse customer behaviour, and run experimentation and A/B testing
• Report on value, ROI, and KPIs
• Oversee the initiation and execution of continuous improvement initiatives across digital platforms, in coordination with all teams
• Identify and implement improvements to achieve the quality and service levels expected, and manage the support required within cross-functional teams to implement enhancements and change processes
• Interface with the business to ensure the consistency required for a disruptive market per product offering, cost effectiveness, and overall efficiency of the services development process

Internal and External Stakeholder and Vendor Management

• Build and manage highly valuable relationships with all internal stakeholders and interfacing vendors across the organisation
• Manage vendor performance based on agreed contractual obligations and drive vendor performance to achieve digital product deadlines
• Monitor and report on vendor performance at a working and functional level
• Provide performance feedback and drive continuous improvement
• Provide the initial point of escalation for management of poor vendor performance
• Resolve disputes with vendors professionally and timeously

People Leadership and Governance

• Provide leadership and mentorship to Product Owners and cross-functional team members
• Motivate the team with a clear, elevating goal, and show commitment by being actively engaged with the team
• Establish the desired outcome at meetings and set a timebox (two weeks or one month) to establish commitments
• Contribute to performance appraisals and advise inter-company Executive and Senior Management where their staff members participate in a cross-functional team
• Uphold HR policies and procedures, governance, and product documentation standards
• Ensure regulatory, security, and compliance requirements are met, and manage product risks

Qualifications:

Minimum Bachelor's Degree or Diploma (NQF Level 6–7) in one of the following:

• Engineering, Computer Science, or Information Systems
• Commerce, Marketing, or Digital
• A related field
• A postgraduate qualification (MBA, MA, or BA in Marketing/Digital) is advantageous

Certification (advantageous):

• Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
• Scrum Master (SMC)
• SAFe Product Owner / Agile Product Owner

Experience:

• 8–10+ years in Digital Product Management or Product Ownership at a lead level, spanning Agile, cloud computing, digital marketing, and large-scale digital product ownership environments
• Experience delivering digital products within Agile / Scrum environments (Scrum Guide framework)
• Proven experience leading large cross-functional teams (software engineers, analysts, testers) across all pillars of an organisation, delivering digital transformation
• Experience providing digital leadership within a large corporate, preferably telecommunications, ICT, or cloud
• At least 2 years managing vendor relationships
• Experience in business process design and applications / infrastructure operations.
• Proficiency in product analytics, A/B testing, and journey mapping tools

Success Measures:

• Growth in digital adoption and self-service utilisation
• Digital sales revenue and conversion
• Improved customer satisfaction (tNPS) and retention
• Reduced time-to-market and improved release success rate
• Feature adoption and product ROI
• Operational efficiency and incident reduction across digital platforms

Primary competencies:

• Product ownership and roadmap prioritisation
• Customer centricity and journey design
• Commercial acumen and strategic thinking
• Analytical and data-driven decision making
• Stakeholder management and leadership
• Agile delivery discipline