R&D Manager

Discovery – Health| R&D Lab

R&D 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.

Key Purpose

The R&D Manager will independently lead projects from concept to launch, driving innovation and ensuring alignment with strategic objectives. The role involves managing the product development lifecycle, collaborating across multiple functions, and ensuring delivery of high-quality solutions that meet both business and customer needs. This role is ideal for ambitious, creative, and analytically minded individuals who want to build strong business, product, and leadership skills. The role is fast-paced, often with a high volume of work and tight deadlines, requiring someone who thrives under pressure and can consistently deliver at pace without compromising quality.

Key outputs

The successful applicant will be responsible for but not limited to the following job functions:

The candidate will be required to:

Project Leadership & Delivery

• Drive product development projects from idea generation through to launch and handover.
• Define and manage the product roadmap, stage-gates, and go-live timelines.
• Coordinate cross-functional collaboration (marketing, customer experience, operations, systems, benefits, operations, servicing, sales, and distribution).
• Serve as the single point of contact and subject matter expert for product-related activities and updates.
• Ensure stakeholder engagement through clear, concise, and impactful presentations, specifications, and progress reports.

Product Development & Innovation

• Generate and evaluate new product ideas, concepts, and customer journeys.
• Conduct and oversee research and analysis (qualitative, quantitative, market scanning).
• Translate insights into actionable recommendations and product specifications.
• Ensure products are well-defined, documented, and easily implementable by business teams.
• Support testing, validation, and regulatory correspondence where required.

Launch & post-launch

• Collaborate with marketing to prepare launch materials, positioning, and collateral.
• Support sales enablement and distribution readiness.
• Ensure smooth deployment, stakeholder alignment, and knowledge transfer to business owners.
• Monitor product performance against agreed targets and support iteration based on feedback.

Measure and Drive Engagement

• Track and report on member adoption, usage, and engagement against defined targets.
• Identify gaps or barriers to engagement and propose solutions to improve uptake.
• Work with cross-functional teams to design interventions that drive and enhance participation and sustained engagement.

Storytelling and Strategic Pitching

• Develop high-quality, professional slide decks that communicate clearly and persuasively.
• Tell a compelling story that connects data, insights, and strategy in a way that resonates with senior executives.
• Use visual storytelling to give strategic updates, encourage engagement with content, and enable informed decision-making.

Personal Attributes and Skills

The successful candidate would need to have the following competencies:

• Strong analytical and research skills, with the ability to solve problems effectively.
• Creative thinker who can generate and explore innovative ideas.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, able to engage stakeholders at all levels.
• Strong storytelling and presentation ability. Able to design and deliver slide decks that clearly explain strategy, inspire engagement, and support executive decision-making.
• Ability to measure, track, and improve product engagement against set targets.
• Highly organised, able to manage multiple projects, timelines, and deadlines.
• Proven ability to manage a high volume of work, deliver outputs under pressure, and consistently meet tight deadlines without compromising quality.
• Comfortable working in ambiguous, complex and changing environments.
• Strong collaboration and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work across teams.
• Able to work independently and take initiative, while also contributing effectively within a team.
• Hands-on, action-oriented, and motivated to “make things happen.”
• Entrepreneurial mindset, with the drive and ownership often found in start-up environments.
• Passionate about designing solutions that truly benefit members, with a focus on quality and impact.
• High energy, resilient, and committed to delivering excellent outcomes in a fast-paced environment.

Education and Experience

The following requirements are Essential:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Commerce, Management, Healthcare, Finance or related field.
• Postgraduate qualification in Business, Commerce, Management, Healthcare, Finance or related field Advantageous.

Experience

• 3+ years of relevant work experience in product development and product engagement/ marketing/ management consulting.
• Experience in product design, product development, marketing or management consulting, within financial services or related sector.
• Experience working in the provision of healthcare will be advantageous

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.