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Role Purpose:

The Head of Products and Platforms will be at the vanguard of the company's transition from traditional telecommunications to cutting-edge ICT across 8 diverse African markets. This group role emphasizes the formulation and oversight of a long-term product / solution vision (3-5 years), collaborating with operating companies across different regions for execution. Balancing expertise in mobile and fixed technologies with an understanding of Africa's unique market dynamics is paramount, as well as sustaining & growing core telco revenue lines that are still essential for the group. Equally critical is the establishment and nurturing of strategic partnerships & alliances to design, develop, and market products and services with unparalleled scale and capillarity.

However, this is not your typical product role as in most instances the products are owned by the markets and not centrally controlled. Therefore, to be successful the candidate must influence and motivate to and with markets for solutions to be developed. This includes building business cases including forecasts, costing models, pricing assumptions, discounted cashflow and financial performance metrics. The candidate should then be able to develop scenarios and extract insights to build compelling strategies and narratives that can unlock budgets and influence stakeholders. This person also needs to be an organised leader who can lead a small but high impact team of specialists with well-developed project plans and guidance to achieve on the companies’ objectives. The person must be highly resilient and willing to work long hours to realise on the aggressive and exciting vision of the company. It is likely that experience in strategy / technology advisory will be of great value.

Your responsibilities will include:

Long-term product vision & regional collaboration:

• Co-create a 3-5 year product vision and work closely with operating companies in various regions to align and execute this vision, ensuring tailored strategies based on unique local needs, while still maintaining a shared group vision.

Building value cases:

• Each market has many priorities, and helping them develop compelling business and value cases for product & platform deployment will happen often. There are often missing skills gaps and the candidate should not be afraid of rolling up their sleeves to get the job done.

Technological leadership & mastery:

• Stay updated on mobile & fixed technology evolution (like FWA and LEO satellite), and ensure the integration of cloud solutions, cybersecurity, software defined networking, Io T and managed services into the product roadmap in a value enhancing way to the operating companies.

Stakeholder management & team leadership:

• Engage a diverse array of stakeholders across different cultures, emphasizing teamwork, knowledge sharing, and close collaboration with local teams, while cultivating a culture of innovation, fostering expertise and facilitating continuous learning programs with relentless focus on the customer.

Performance management:

• Establish and review metrics that measure the success of the product and partnership vision across regions, ensuring alignment with the group's overarching objectives.

The ideal candidate for this role will have:

• Matric – Essential
• Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, or related fields - Essential
• An MBA or other master’s level post-graduate studies – Advantageous
• A minimum of 8-10 years proven track record in Telecommunications, ICT or product management with a minimum of 5 year’s management/supervisory experience - Essential

Core competencies, knowledge and experience:

• Thorough understanding of new product development methodologies, processes and best practices, including but not limited to product lifecycle management and the ability to develop value cases to support the product development roadmap in multiple territories.
• Good understanding of fundamentals of product propositions including but not limited to demand creation, segmentation, market mix, positioning, targeting and customer value management
• Have good general management capabilities with high proficiency in PPT, word and excel, and experience leading high-impact teams.
• Good understanding of our key products, and those of the hyperscalers and adjacent digital technology companies
• A natural networker, adept at establishing and cultivating relationships that align with the company's vision and objectives
• Have experience in operating in group and operating company environments within technology and communication companies would be beneficial
• Have strong technical and commercial understanding and experience of mobile, fixed and platform-based products and services

Closing date for Applications: 24 October 2024.

The base location for this role is Vodacom Midrand Campus.

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.
Vodacom is committed to an organisational culture that recognises, appreciates and values diversity & inclusion.