Product Development Manager_Vitality Money and Rewards

Product Development Manager 

About Discovery  

Discovery’s core purpose is to make people healthier and to enhance and protect their lives. We seek out and invest in exceptional individuals who understand and support our core purpose, and whose own values align with those of Discovery. Our fast-paced and dynamic environment enables smart, self-driven people to be their best. As global thought leaders, Discovery is passionate about innovating in order to not only achieve financial success, but to ignite positive and meaningful change within our society. 
 
 

About Discovery Bank 

Discovery Bank is a bank like no other – a shared-value bank, designed with our clients in mind. We’re all about sharing the value that clients create when they manage their money well, back with them through exceptional interest rates and rewards. Our Vitality Money programme measures how well clients manage their finances, informs them of what it means to be financially healthy, and empowers them with the knowledge to get enhanced rewards for managing their money well. If you’re adaptable, a problem-solver, always questioning the way things are done, passionate about doing what is right, and obsessed with providing a quality service experience, we have a job for you where you can be your best in an environment that’s safe and nurturing. 
 
 

Job Purpose 

The Product Development Manager is required to drive product development, implementation, and maintenance of the Vitality Money and Rewards portfolio. Ultimately the Product Development Manager is responsible for developing and delivery of products, support existing products and drives optimization. Function as a Vitality Money and Rewards SME, providing tier 3 support to the various service areas. As a result, the successful candidate requires a diverse skillset ranging from strategy formulation, deep analytical and strong inter-personal skills to formulate a vision and drive deliverables across multiple areas in the business.  Knowledge of loyalty or engagement programs that span across multiple businesses will be beneficial.  
 

Areas of responsibility may include but are not limited to 

Developing new products and features: 
•    Researching new areas and opportunities for product development. 
•    Give input into priority areas for new product development through the Product Steercom. 
•    Define new product initiatives or changes to existing products. 
•    Assess the viability and feasibility of any changes:  
•    Conduct market/competitor/client focused research to understand potential opportunities and establish feasibility of products. 
•    Build up a business case to support any changes. 
•    Work with technical teams to determine feasibility of implementation. 
•    Drive new initiatives through the Product Development Steering Committee. 
 
Driving implementation of new initiatives: 
•    Clearly specify products that are clear and concise which enable the systems team to implement, business analysts to design appropriate support processes, training material to be developed and the design of marketing assets. 
•    Manage the full product life cycle, from specification to testing of functionality prior to new developments going live.  
•    Monitor actual project progress and resolve issues speedily to support delivery. 
 
Product ownership: 
•    Monitor take-up, impact, and financial performance of the product against the agreed targets. 
•    Ensure the product functions as intended and address any gaps or defects identified. 
•    Provide input to prioritise a “backlog” of product changes to deliver on overall targets and objectives. 
•    Manage external partner relationships. 
•    Provide specialist support to the Servicing and Operations teams dealing with client cases. Where issues arise, be able to find the root cause, drive the resolution of the issue, determine the impact, and manage any corrective actions that might be required. 
•    Manage business as usual tasks that relates to the running of the product. 
•    Monitor various system calculations and ensure that these are accurate at all times. 
•    Monitor data accuracy and drive corrective actions where necessary. 
•    Provide input and sign off into marketing assets use to explain products and provide support to the servicing teams. 
 
Education and Experience 
•    A minimum of 3 years’ experience in a Product Development / Product Manager role required. Experience in banking or financial institutions will be beneficial. 
•    Demonstrated ability to deliver on complex projects in customer/client facing environments preferred. 
•    Extensive experience in working with systems delivery teams in a digital first organisation preferred. 
•    Undergraduate degree/diploma required. 
•    Honours degree or higher in Mathematics, Engineering, IT, Finance or Bus Science advantageous. 
 
Technical skills or Knowledge 
•    Advanced MS Office, Excel, PowerPoint. 
•    Strong communication skills. 
•    Strong problem solving and analytical skills required. 
•    PLSQL or similar data analysis experience required. 
 

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY   
                             
The Company’s approved Employment Equity Plan and Targets will be considered as part of the recruitment process. As an Equal Opportunities employer, we actively encourage and welcome people with various disabilities to apply.