We are looking for an efficient, self-motivated FinTech Product Manager to oversee the discovery and delivery work of SnapScan’s key innovation initiatives. This role involves driving the direction and execution of innovation projects, creating clarity from ambiguity, and leveraging our strategic partnership with Standard Bank to deliver tangible value to SMEs across South Africa.
As our FinTech Product Manager, you will engage with two distinct sets of stakeholders and ways of working: those in FinTech and those within Standard Bank. Navigating the payments and FinTech landscape in South Africa can be challenging; therefore, our ideal candidate should be comfortable managing ambiguity and handling strong opposing opinions. The success of this role hinges on building trust, understanding the SME landscape in South Africa and leveraging the bank’s infrastructure while maintaining the agility to innovate and deliver value to the market within a FinTech.
This role is expected to evolve alongside our product's development. The focus may initially lean toward research and securing stakeholder alignment and buy-in or shift toward activities like measurement, execution, and testing. Flexibility and adaptability will be key, as priorities and plans may change in response to new insights or directions.
This pivotal role reports directly to the Head of Product and provides an excellent opportunity to engage in various projects, with the potential for growth into more strategic opportunities.
Key responsibilities will include:
Product Vision with Strategic Partners
- Collaborating on Vision: Working closely with SnapScan’s Senior Management and the bank’s stakeholders to align on a shared vision and objectives for the initiative
- Understanding Bank Priorities: Gaining a deep understanding of the bank’s strategy, customer base, and technological infrastructure to identify mutual benefits
- Balancing Perspectives: Negotiating and prioritising features that meet both the bank’s objectives, SnapScan’s needs and the needs of South African SMEs
Regulatory Compliance and Risk Management
- Adhering to Standards: Ensuring the product complies with relevant financial regulations, such as PCI DSS, AML/KYC requirements, and GDPR
- Risk Assessment: Working with compliance teams to mitigate risks associated with payments, lending, investments, or other financial operations
Building for the Customer, from the Ground Up
- Validating the Idea: Conducting market research, competitive analysis, and user interviews to identify unmet needs and validate the concept
- Prototype and Iterate: Rapidly prototype solutions, test them with users, and iterate based on feedback
- Solving Key Problems: Focusing on delivering a single, critical solution to an urgent customer problem to build early trust and adoption
Customer Discovery within the Ecosystem
- Understanding Bank Users: Conducting research to identify the pain points and expectations of the bank’s customers and internal users
- Leveraging Bank Data: Using insights from the bank’s existing data to inform user personas and validate assumptions
- Leveraging SnapScan Assets: Leveraging the existing SnapScan ecosystem, products and technical stack as a foundation for new ideas
Establishing Processes and Driving Execution
- Team Leadership: Coordinating efforts between engineering, design, and operations teams to ensure timely delivery of product milestones
- Performance Monitoring: Tracking product performance metrics (e.g., conversion rates, churn rates, and transaction volumes) and implementing data-driven improvements
- Launch and Learn: Managing the initial launch, tracking early performance metrics, and being prepared to pivot or iterate based on data and user feedback
This job may be for you if:
- You are a team player. You reach out to peers and cooperate with others to establish collaborative working relationships. You understand that flying solo is a limiting and isolating choice and know that making your team look good works far better than creating a one-man/one-woman show
- You thrive on understanding customer needs and problems and delivering solutions
- You are comfortable working in ambiguity, making decisions based on limited information, and iterating rapidly
- You have a bias for action and the ability to push through roadblocks and maintain progress in a fast-paced, evolving environment
- You are resilient and can navigate setbacks, pivot strategies, and maintain focus on the product vision
- You relate well to people and easily establish good relationships
- You’re level-headed and have the ability to adapt to challenges and make decisions under pressure. When things change, you know how to roll with the punches
- Basically, you will blow us away with your work ethic, passion, integrity, attitude and energy!
You should be great at:
- Customer-Centric Design: Strong skills in user research, persona development, and designing for customer needs
- Program Management: Managing multiple workstreams, ensuring timely delivery of complex, interdependent initiatives
- Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills to engage diverse audiences, from technical teams to C-suite executives
- Cultural Sensitivity: Adapting your communication style to different organisational cultures, particularly when collaborating with large, traditional institutions like banks
- Change Management: Driving alignment and excitement within both your organisation and our partner institution for a new initiative
- Problem-solving
You are our ideal candidate if you have:
- A bachelor’s degree in project management, business administration, marketing, or a related field
- Previous experience in:some text
- ~Product Development: Taking a product from concept to launch, especially in complex ecosystems
- ~Roadmap and Strategy Management: Defining and executing a clear product roadmap that aligns with both internal goals and partner objectives
- An understanding of APIs, data flows, and system integration to collaborate effectively with engineering teams
- An understanding of financial regulations such as PCI DSS, AML, and KYC and the capability to design compliant solutions.
- Knowledge of cybersecurity principles relevant to fintech and banking integrations
- Bonus points for:
- ~Project Management Professional (PMP) or UX-related certifications
- ~Industry knowledge and experience in Banking, FinTech, other financial institutions or start-up environments
- ~Experience with payment systems, card processing, digital wallets, or other transactional fintech solutions
- ~Knowledge of launching fintech products, including pricing, marketing, and customer acquisition strategies
- ~Experience in building products tailored to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or business clients
The benefits of joining our team:
- A competitive salary
- 30 days of annual leave
- A medical aid contribution/fringe benefit of up to R2 000 per month
- An Apple MacBook and necessary gear
- A trendy office space (when in the office)
- Discretionary annual bonus
- Lots of opportunities to learn
- Flexible office/remote working - you get to choose whether you want to work remotely or from the office, depending on the importance of critical meetings
- Paid parking (when working from the office)
- 3 Mental health days a year
- 3 months of paid parental leave
- The opportunity to be part of a great team and culture!
