Senior Manager - Product Management Security.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.

Qualifications

Education

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

Experience

• At least 7 years of 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 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.