Senior Manager - Product Management 5G ICT Center of Excellence at MTN

Responsibilities

Strategy Development and Implementation​

• Lead the development and execution of innovative product strategies that drive business growth and market penetration for the solutions/ products within the Business Line area.​
• Provide input to sales targets to meet business needs.​
• Consistently identify and disseminate leading practices, concepts, and benchmarks to internal teams.​
• Oversee the end-to-end product lifecycle, from ideation through development, market launch, and demand generation. ​
• Identify and assess new opportunities, enhancing existing solutions, and ensuring the successful implementation of the go-to-market strategy to meet the Business Line's financial and strategic objectives.​
• Lead the development and execution of go-to-market (GTM) strategies for new products and solutions, ensuring they are effectively positioned to meet market demands and Business Line objectives.​
• Serve as an internal subject matter expert on market trends, driving the adoption of innovative product strategies.​

​Product Lifecycle Management​

• Oversee the end-to-end product lifecycle from ideation to development, market launch, and demand generation, ensuring each phase drives value and aligns with business objectives.​
• Implement agile and efficient product management processes to accelerate time-to-market and enhance responsiveness to customer needs.​
• Coordinate with cross-functional teams (e.g., marketing, sales, operations) to ensure seamless and impactful product launches.​
• Identify and assess new opportunities within the market, including untapped customer segments, new technologies, or emerging trends that could enhance the Business Line's product portfolio.​
• Collaborate with innovation teams to enhance existing products, ensuring they maintain competitive relevance and drive continual customer value.​
• Monitor and analyze product performance, leveraging key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress against business objectives.​
• Provide regular updates to senior leadership on the product strategy's effectiveness and suggest data-driven adjustments when needed.​
• Prioritize customer experience in all product development and management efforts, ensuring that customer feedback informs product enhancements and innovation.​
• Leverage data analytics to improve customer retention and satisfaction, aligning product performance with customer expectations.​
• Ensure adherence to Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and other delivery obligations that impact customer experience and OpCo integration.​
• Lead the development and execution of go-to-market strategies that ensure timely and successful product launches.​
• Orchestrate service providers and develop back-to back SLAs between vendors and local teams for large / priority and pilot deals aligned to the customer SLA.

People Leadership /Management​

• Lead, mentor, and manage a team of engineers providing coaching, guidance, and performance evaluations.​
• Develop and maintain a high-performance team that consistently meets or exceeds targets.​
• Foster a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, and customer-centricity within the team.​
• Set integrated goals and objectives for the team in order to achieve a future-focused, future-fit high-performing organisation.​
• Provide technical, procedural and policy guidance to staff, colleagues , partners and vendors.​
• Attract, develop and retain appropriate talent. Build talent by identifying and developing new leaders for the respective environment​
• Develop and maintain a high-performance team that consistently meets or exceeds targets. ​
• Set KPIs and provide regular performance feedback through a well-defined and implemented performance review program.​
• Develop and implement a training plan to build and develop skills within the team.​
• Enable and model healthy employee relations and collaborative teamwork.​
• Manage diversity, develop, and embed an Employment Equity plan for the business area.​
• Contribute to building a culture of continuous evaluation and improvement. Drive a culture of high performance, accountability and consequence management​
• Act as an ambassador for the team by living the values and vital behaviours and changing and influencing employees’ behaviour​

​Governance​

Strategic governance and interlock​

• Lead regular strategic meetings with key stakeholders to align on products roadmap, GTM & execution. ​
• Through WECA & SEA, interlock with the Opcos to have a clear roadmap and execution. ​
• Perform evaluation baseline of key performance indicators (KPIs).​
• Request for relevant budget for internal projects and new initiatives. Monitor costs accordingly.​
• Facilitate preparation of proposals on change initiatives, policies and procedures.

​Escalations​

• Identify potential risks in solution delivery and develop mitigation strategies to prevent disruptions and ensure project success.​
• Escalate issues that will result in severe time, scope, productivity, and cost or resource or reputational impact.​
• Manage and provide solutions to escalations that have multiple processes/functions impact on critical path of service delivery.​
• Manage and provide solutions through stakeholder consultation where relevant.​

​Performance​

• Implement processes for regular review and refinement of Business Line solution offerings based on performance data and customer feedback in line with MTN SA Strategy.​
• Ensure alignment between and across other functions within MTN SA product/solutions, including but not limited to market representatives.​
• Provide reports as required timeously regarding performance and outcomes of the unit.​

​Operational Delivery​

Guidance and Support Delivery Management​

• Oversee the end-to-end delivery of products, from development to market launch, ensuring timely and quality execution.​
• Coordinate with other departments, such as sales, marketing, and operations, to ensure seamless product delivery and support.​
• Continuously evaluate and improve operational processes to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in product management.​
• Ensure that products meet the regulatory and compliance standards.​
• Ensure that all solutions maintain architectural integrity throughout the implementation process, aligning with industry best practices and company standards.​
• P&L outcome of the products

Qualifications

• 3-year degree equivalent/4-year tertiary qualification (Technical/ Commercial) or related​
• MBA / Masters Advantageous

Experience

• At least 7 years related experience in product management, product development, and go-to-market strategy implementation within the telecommunications/ Tech industry;​
• Proven track record of successfully leading product teams and driving product innovation.​
• GTM & P&L​
• Experience in managing the full product lifecycle, from concept to market launch.​
• Strong background in market analysis, product positioning, and competitive strategy.​
• Experience in demand management and sales forecasting in a technology-driven environment.