Job Description

• The Channel Experience Product Owner collaborates with cross-functional teams to drive implementation of Old Mutual’s omni and opti-channel strategy and digital-first customer engagement transformation. The role focuses on prioritizing and managing the product backlog to deliver seamless and efficient channel experiences, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and customer needs.
• Strategic Execution: Align channel product objectives with the omni and opti-channel strategy, define the roadmap, and translate goals into actionable deliverables.
• Backlog Management and Agile Delivery: Own and prioritize the product backlog, manage feature requests, and collaborate with Agile teams for iterative delivery through sprints and Product Increments.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Engage with IT, Customer Service, Operations, and other Product Owners to ensure alignment and smooth execution of channel initiatives.
• Customer Focus: Leverage customer insights and analytics to prioritize enhancements that improve omni-channel experiences and meet customer expectations.
• Regulatory Compliance: Ensure all channel enhancements comply with regulations and company policies, minimizing risks.
• Data Analysis: Use data to evaluate the impact of channel improvements on customer satisfaction and business performance.
• Documentation: Maintain detailed and transparent records of channel related features, initiatives, and outcomes.
• Feature Sizing and Business Value: Evaluate and prioritize features by sizing them and assigning business value to ensure effective delivery.
• Product Lifecycle Management: Oversee the lifecycle of channel products from ideation to optimization, ensuring continued alignment with strategic goals.
• Innovation and Market Competitiveness: Drive innovation by leveraging emerging technologies and ensuring Old Mutual remains competitive in its channel offerings.
• Product Roadmap Communication: Define and communicate the product roadmap, updates, and priorities to stakeholders and cross-functional teams.
• Product Metrics and Performance: Establish and track KPIs to measure the success of channel enhancements and identify areas for improvement.
• Technology Enablement: Collaborate with IT to implement tools, integrations, and platforms that enhance omni-channel efficiency and branch modernization.
• Cost Efficiency and Budgeting: Monitor costs and ensure a strong ROI for channel improvements and transformations.
• Operational Risk Management: Identify and mitigate risks in channel operations, ensuring consistent and reliable customer experiences.
• Team Enablement: Provide Agile teams with the resources and clarity needed to deliver channel priorities effectively.
• Dispute and Escalation Management: Develop frameworks to address escalations and improve systemic issues in customer interactions across channels.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE (REQUIRED FOR THE JOB)

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Commerce, Computer Science, Information Systems,  Business, Finance, MBA or a related field.
• Minimum of 5 years in roles such as Product Owner, Business Analyst, or Project Manager within an Agile environment.
• Minimum of 3 – 5 years demonstrated, relevant experience in a large, complex organization preferably in the financial services industry.
• Proven experience in financial services, insurance, or fintech industries.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver customer-focused solutions iteratively.
• A postgraduate qualification is advantageous.
• Proven experience with several agile development methodologies, frameworks and concepts, including Kanban, Scrum, continuous delivery.
• Knowledge in Systems thinking is advantageous.
• Experience with customer journeys, demonstrated ability to synthesize data, and strong program/project management skills.
• Experience in defining and delivering successful products in the digital space is required.
• Good understanding of User Experience best practices.
• Experience working in a collaborative multi-disciplinary team within an interactive process and/or an Agile development methodology.
• Self-starter with outstanding organizational skills and ability to track multiple dependencies (3-5) going on all at once.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, comfort in a dynamic and fast-moving work environment.
• Excellent communication skills; ability to communicate messages in simple language for better buy-in and tell a compelling story.
• Ability to build relationships and engage with various stakeholders to drive value proposition.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE (PREFERRED, NOT A REQUIREMENT)

• Project Management Tools: Proficiency in tools such as JIRA, Trello, or Asana for managing and tracking change requests.
• Data Analysis Tools: Experience with data analysis and visualization tools like Excel, Tableau, or Power BI.
• CRM Systems: Familiarity with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems such as Salesforce.
• Financial Software: Knowledge of financial software and systems used in the insurance industry.
• Agile Methodologies: Understanding and experience with Agile methodologies and frameworks like Scrum or Kanban.
• Technical Documentation: Ability to create and manage technical documentation related to product changes and requirements.

COMPETENCIES REQUIRED

• Detail-oriented with a strong focus on accuracy.
• Customer-focused with a commitment to delivering high-quality service.
• Proactive and able to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong leadership skills with the ability to influence and drive change Collaboration and Relationship Building Strategic and Critical Thinking
• Continuous Improvement Orientation
• Knowledge of agile methodology and frameworks like Scrum, Kanban, Scaled Agile (SAFe) etc.
• Commitment to deliver the agreed work through the team and relevant stakeholders.
• Understand the value of team metrics and ask them to be tracked to drive team performance.
• Stakeholder Management, Negotiation & Communication Skills.
• Clarity on delivering clear, prioritised stories with acceptance criteria. Aligning these to Features.
• Relevant Agile certification required (SAFe, A-CSM, ICAgile)