Product Manager at Semicolon Village Limited

Organizational brief

We are a social enterprise creating employment and economic opportunities by training software engineers and techpreneurs. Technology has the power to transform entire industries and the lives of everyday Nigerians. However, companies and entrepreneurs seeking to develop innovative solutions are faced with the same issue: they struggle to find employees with the skills required to design and develop their technology. Across industries, from finance to agriculture to education, companies are searching for Nigerians skilled in software engineering, design, and project management, and too often are not able to find what they need. We are addressing this gap and building a thriving technology sector in Nigeria by developing talent and fostering innovation.

• Teaching - Our core focus is to develop technical skills in young people through a one-year intensive program that includes classroom learning, hands-on project experience, and internships.
• Incubation - for innovative technology. All students work on technology projects, either based on student ideas or partner companies’ initiatives. We identify the most viable solutions and bring them to reality by providing early support on technology and business development, and connecting entrepreneurs with funding sources, mentors, etc.
• Building Community - We are an “Innovation Hub,” bringing together innovative minds to develop new solutions. We connect our students with mentors and partners from around the globe.
• Project Delivery – We work with corporate partners in implementing projects.

Scope

A technical Product Manager is able to provide product vision, create a roadmap, and bring a product to life. S/he understands the company’s technology at a deep level, actively searches for any issues or problems, fixes them, and can interact with the product owners and development team to lead the strategy for the product. They are the glue between the business side and the technical side of an organization.

Technical product managers are directly responsible for the success of a product. They make sure that the product is fulfilling all product offerings. They actively work with the engineering team to create and modify products to fulfill customer needs. Working with cross-functional teams, technical product managers play a role in the development, marketing, selling, and support of a product. Their input is usually from an engineering and design point of view. 

Responsibilities

• Uncover and understand customer needs and translate them into requirements.
• Create and manage product maps.
• Execute and manage project vision.
• Ability to work well with internal teams, including developers, engineers, architects, quality assurance, and operations and product team. Ensure requirements are fully understood and that implementation plans match expectations.
• Understand, research, and follow technology trends in the industry whilst looking for gap(s). 
• Able to assess emerging products and companies to measure their potential value or threat to the company and its products, as well as make recommendations on which new technologies to invest in or leverage.
• Integrating usability studies, research, and market analysis into product requirements.
• Study competitors and conduct capability analysis regularly.
• Provide internal and customer training on how to use the product.
• Answer incoming questions about the product and its capabilities.
• Assess and address technical risks.
•  Ideating, prioritizing, and coordinating the development of innovative products.
• Understand and analyze data pipelines, algorithms, and automated systems.
• Serve as a product evangelist and subject matter expert to the technical/developer community.
• Work with project management software.
• Coordinate beta tests.
•  Defining and analyzing metrics that ensure the success of products.
• Use database queries to analyze performance indicators, evaluate experiments, etc.
• Define success criteria for testing and product acceptance.
• Facilitate the creation and maintenance of proper product documentation.
• Explore new ways of improving existing services and products
• Working with a team of talented engineers, designers, and other stakeholders to bring products to life
• Designing and implementing strategies to grow our user/customer base
• Provide product training and technical expertise
• Coordinate product releases with marketing, sales, and development teams.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or MSc. One in Computer Science, Engineering, Information technology or a related discipline is added advantage.
• 5 years+ industry-standard Experience.
• Industry-standard experience in Total Product Maintenance (TPM), Scrum, technical PMS (Product Management Systems), and Agile systems.
• Industry-standard experience with a variety of different testing techniques such as UI Testing, Automated Testing, Test Driven Development Strategies, and others. 
• Skilled with user interface, product management, and business process
• Exceptional problem solving, analytical and technical skills
• A demonstration of curiosity, love for learning, creativity, execution, and speed.
• An ability to visualize technology solutions that address user needs and market opportunities
• Readiness to face unpredictable situations and come up with the best solutions backed by data
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Adaptable and excellent learning agility
• User-centricity, data-driven, extraction, and analysis
• An eye for design and experimentation
• People skills and quick decision making
• A sense of ownership and pride in your performance and its impact on the company’s success. 
• Critical thinker and problem-solving skills 
• Good time-management skills 
• Great interpersonal and communication skills
• Passionate dedication to your craft and desire to work with people who inspire you on daily basis.