Website Product Owner at Virgin Active South Africa

Job Description
Your Purpose...
Is to “change people’s lives for the better through wellness”;

• We deliver social wellness experiences that enable people to meet their personal wellness goals, through holistic physical, mental nutritional and social wellbeing.
• The Website Product Owner is responsible for maximising Virgin Active South Africa's website as a high-performing digital sales channel.
• This role owns the optimisation of the website experience to increase lead generation and improve conversion into new Virgin Active members. Acting as the bridge between Growth Marketing and Technology, the Website Product Owner translates commercial objectives into a prioritised digital roadmap that continuously improves website performance through experimentation, data and customer insight.
• This is a growth-focused role. Every website enhancement should contribute towards improving discoverability, acquiring more qualified leads, increasing conversion rates, reducing acquisition costs and delivering a seamless online experience.

Your Duties and Responsibilities...

Website growth strategy

• Align website priorities with Growth Marketing objectives and commercial targets.
• Own the product enhancement roadmap for the Virgin Active website.
• Identify opportunities to increase lead generation, online sales and member acquisition.
• Champion a culture of continuous experimentation and optimisation. 

Conversion rate optimisation (CRO)

• Reduce friction throughout the online joining experience.
• Improve page layouts, navigation, content hierarchy and mobile usability.
• Work with UX/UI designers to create intuitive, high-converting user experiences.
• Optimise landing pages, enquiry forms, membership journeys and calls-to-action.
• Continuously improve the website's ability to convert visitors into qualified leads.
• Design, prioritise and manage A/B testing programmes. 

Lead funnel optimisation

• Map and optimise every stage of the conversion funnel.
• Own the end-to-end digital customer journey from first visit through to lead submission.
• Ensure website experiences support different acquisition campaigns and audience segments
• Partner with Sales and CRM teams to improve lead quality and speed of lead handover. 

Product backlog management

• Own and prioritise the website product backlog.
• Translate marketing initiatives into clearly defined user stories and technical requirements.
• Prioritise development work according to commercial impact and ROI.
• Balance new feature development, optimisation work, technical debt and bug fixes.
• Ensure development resources are focused on the highest-value initiatives. 

Cross-functional collaboration

• Partner closely with:
• Growth Marketing Manager
• Brand Manager
• Social Media & Content Manager
• CRM team
• Sales team
• Customers services
• IT to ensure the website supports Virgin Active's acquisition strategy.
• Act as the single point of accountability for website priorities across these teams. 

Website performance & analytics

• Monitor website performance using tools such as:
• Google Analytics 4
• Google Tag Manager
• Looker Studio
• Hotjar / Microsoft Clarity
• Google Search Console
• Analyse user behaviour and identify opportunities to improve:
• Conversion rates
• Landing page performance
• User engagement
• Form completion
• Mobile performance
• Website speed
• Translate insights into measurable optimisation initiatives. 

SEO & website experience

• Partner with SEO specialists to:
• Improve organic visibility.
• Ensure pages are discoverable and indexable.
• Ensure website architecture supports search performance.
• Optimise technical SEO.
• Improve Core Web Vitals. 

Personalisation & testing

• Identify opportunities to personalise website experiences based on:
• Traffic source
• Campaign
• Geography
• Behaviour
• Audience segment
• Develop hypotheses and validate them through structured experimentation. 

Digital governance

• Ensure website content remains accurate and current.
• Maintain website quality standards.
• Coordinate release schedules with developers.
• Conduct user acceptance testing before deployment.
• Monitor website stability and resolve issues quickly. 

Innovation

• Stay current with emerging digital technologies, AI tools, CRO methodologies and customer experience trends that can improve acquisition performance.
• Continuously identify new opportunities to increase digital sales.

Our Minimum Requirements...
We can’t live without…

• 5+ years' experience as a Website Product Owner, Digital Product Owner, Product Manager or CRO Specialist.
• Proven experience growing lead generation through website optimisation.
• Strong understanding of digital marketing, paid media, SEO and conversion optimisation.
• Strong understanding of UX principles and customer journey optimisation.
• Highly analytical, with experience using GA4, Tag Manager, Looker Studio, Hotjar/Clarity and A/B testing platforms.
• Commercially minded with a strong focus on measurable business outcomes.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Passion for experimentation, continuous improvement and digital growth. 

Core Interpersonal Skills:

• Emotional Intelligence- proven ability to anticipate the needs of others before they are voiced
• Active Listening- Able to genuinely hear concerns with the ability to defuse tense situations and ensuring members and staff feel heard and valued
• Cultural Awareness and Fluency- understand international norms, etiquette and diverse backgrounds to provide a welcoming environment for our international and VIP members
• Empathy – be able to understand, or and be aware of, someone else’s feelings especially during stressful situations, such as travel delays or billing disputes 

Operational & leadership Skills Required:

• Attention to Detail, noticing the small things
• Resilience and Composure, be able to remain calm and optimistic under extreme pressure, during peak or periods or system failures
• Problem solving and conflict resolution – be able to turn challenges into opportunities by thinking and acting quickly to resolve issues before they impact a member’s experience
• Adaptability: be flexible to handle unpredictable shifts in processers, resource changes, last minute VIP guest arrivals, or sudden changes in event plans.
• Relatability – the capacity to connect with diverse stakeholders across all backgrounds
• Situational Awareness – constantly monitoring the environment to identify members who need support or help
• Curiosity- the ability to seek out and transform standard transactions into personalised stories and memorable experiences
• Time Management – the ability to efficiently meet stringent deadlines while maintaining a relaxed and unhurried demeanor for guests.
• Digital Fluency – must be proficient in new age technology and systems