Product Development Senior Specialist needed at Old Mutual

Job Description

• The successful incumbent will be required to successful interaction and relationship managing between various stakeholders within the value chain, which includes (but isn’t limited to) the product- and fund-solutions, finance-, accounting-,valuation- and balance sheet management TFM (BSM previously) teams.

Key responsibilities will include amongst others the following:

• Innovation Implementation and Pipeline Management 
• Lead development of new innovations and support business units and teams in new product and service initiatives, acting as a methodology expert and facilitator for the most-critical innovation across the company.
• More specifically, this role requires ownership of the specification of the liability and transactional reporting from the policyholder administration system to enable completion of all financial accounting, reporting and valuation functions successfully. 
• This would cover new products/funds and enhancements to processes in place for existing products/funds either due to changes or to implement improvements.
• Responsible for the full life cycle of new products and specialised funds process i.e. onboarding / new business sales, capture of new business, advisor remuneration flows, money acceptance and transfers to custodian/fund accounts as well as accounting and finance reporting data, including tax and valuation requirements.
• Smooth integration of new products and specialised funds with the Policyholder Administration System.
• Refining and implementing improvements to existing financial and accounting processes (e.g. fixed bonds liability report and unallocated deposits dashboard across all OMW products).
• Monitoring all financial accounting, tax and policyholder processes and deliverables (specialised products/funds).
• For specialised products (Fixed Bonds, Gift-of-the-Givers, Hybrid Capital, Blended Annuities), manage key third party relationships (CURO, TFMBalance Sheet Management, Asset Managers e.g. OMIG and internal Life & Savings Product Teams (PF), Wealth Life finance, Policyholder Finance, Corrections Team (Servicing and Fund Finance) and Valuations).

Solutions Analysis 

• Identify improvements to existing products as well as new business opportunities and develop innovative solutions to capitalize thereon, integrating and analysing relevant information sources and interacting with specialists in other departments.

Culture of Innovation 

• Define the execution plan to disseminate innovative capabilities across the businesses, helping people develop these competencies and enabling them to innovate through solutions such as idea generation platforms, jam sessions, and hackathons.

Portfolio Management 

• Initiate and lead the governance and delivery of a program or group of significant projects within a function, using an appropriate project management methodology to give assurance that intended outcomes are identified and achieved.
• The role requires that certain controls and checks are performed on certain monthly operational and finance reporting functions for specialised products.
• Review and release fees payable to 3rd parties and review journals for accuracy and completeness.
• Monitor the Policyholder Investment Control account for all fixed bond instances and prepare journal entries to address corrections and ad-hoc adjustments as needed.

Personal Capability Building 

• Act as subject matter expert in an area of technology, policy, regulation, or operational management for the team and beyond in the function
• These responsibilities offer an overview of the role and are not confined or restricted solely to what is listed.

Qualifications and Experience required:

• CA(SA)
• Experience with system implementation, execution and process optimisation will be beneficial for this role.
• Proven track record of successfully developing and launching financial products.
• Strong understanding of financial markets, products, and regulations.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and project management skills.
• Effective communication, stakeholder engagement, and collaboration abilities.
• Strategic thinking, innovation, and customer-centric mindset.
• Experience with data analysis and interpretation.
• Familiarity with product development methodologies (e.g., Agile).
• Knowledge of digital product distribution channels.

Skills

• Action Planning, Adaptive Thinking, Analytical Thinking, Business Requirements Analysis, Client Needs Analysis, Current State Assessment, Customer-Focused, Data Compilation, Developing Creative Solutions, Evaluating Information, Futures Thinking, Gap Analysis, Presenting Solutions, Probing Questions, Project Resource Management

Competencies

• Action Oriented
• Business Insight
• Cultivates Innovation
• Drives Engagement
• Drives Results
• Ensures Accountability
• Manages Ambiguity
• Manages Complexity

Education

• NQF Level 8 – Honours or Postgraduate Diploma or equivalent

Closing Date

• 10 December 2025