Product / Tech Lead at Africa Prudential Registrars Plc

About the job

• The Product and Technology Lead reports to the Head, Capital Business and is responsible for establishing the organization’s technical vision and leading all aspects of company’s product and technology development. Playing an integral role in the organization’s strategic direction, development, and future growth, the Product and Tech Lead is responsible for managing the technology resources and Product as well as overseeing the Capital Market Project Management.

Responsibilities

• Overseeing the entirety of the IT environment and architecture within the Capital Market business.
• Management of all our Flagship products and the team in achieving launch and value for the Business
• Conceptualizing and spearheading the digitalization and automation roadmap for the organization's Capital Market Business, fostering its evolution into a technology-driven entity.
• Leading innovative initiatives to drive transformation, exploring and implementing cutting-edge technologies to enhance services and products.
• Sustaining a competitive edge over industry peers in digital service channels and harnessing the potential of the Digital Ecosystem.
• Efficiently managing the technology network to ensure high performance, resilience, and cost-effectiveness.
• Identifying operational needs and ensuring timely development of optimal software solutions to enhance operational efficiency.
• Crafting and maintaining a comprehensive framework for IT policies, standards, and strategies that empower business operations and personnel to fulfill their commitments within strategy and budget constraints.
• Implementing comprehensive business continuity plans to prevent operational failures and ensuring regular testing of DR plans to tackle unforeseen events impacting business continuity.
• Playing a crucial role in supporting business departments, meeting their needs within specified time frames.
• Defining priorities, objectives, and targets aligned with industry best practices and standards to deliver value to the business
• Streamlining processes and operations across the organization to ensure efficiency.
• Identifying potential security threats, devising strategies, and implementing measures to mitigate risks.
• Developing long-term plans to sustain and align IT support with future business trends.
• Leading the evaluation of business case justifications and ROI analysis for IT spending and initiatives.
• Overseeing and managing the Software Development and IT teams through the Project Management Office (PMO) and DT (Engineering Team) to deliver software, infrastructure, and architecture aligned with user requirements.
• Ensuring consistent adherence to Agile processes within the team for efficient delivery.
• Collaborating effectively with Product Managers and Product Owners to ensure alignment and delivery against agreed-upon priorities.
• Supervising the Project Management Office and implementing mechanisms for monitoring, managing, and reporting progress on all software development activities.
• Establishing, executing, and sustaining a continuous improvement plan for software development and IT infrastructure.
• Working closely with Product Managers to meet present and future user needs.
• Leading product innovation efforts, identifying market trends, and developing strategies to introduce new products or enhance existing ones.
• Spearheading the development and launch of innovative products, aligning them with customer needs and market demands.
• Driving a culture of innovation within the organization, fostering creativity and ideation among teams to improve products and services.

Qualifications

• The idea candidate for this be able to demonstrate:
• A history of leading and supporting successful technology teams.
• A strong business acumen in addition to technical skills
• Exposure to Development Labs, Innovation Teams, Mobile payments, e Wallets, PPI would be an added advantage.
• Firsthand knowledge in supervising development of software solutions
• Exposure to Service Automation, Digitization and Innovation
• Strong project management skills and management of development, maintenance and support teams.
• Up -to -date with the current (and future) levels of IT security, threats, vulnerabilities that could impact the organizations digital and financial assets 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Good negotiation skills
• Interpersonal skills to form effective working relationships with people at all levels
• Respect and understand the importance of confidentiality and discretion.
• Be able to work accurately, with good attention to detail
• Integrity and approachability, as business owners and other stakeholders must feel able to discuss sensitive and confidential issues with you
• Ability to equilibrate priorities and organize work effectively to meet deadlines

Education/ Experience Requirements

• Academic/Professional Background: B.Tech / M. Tech / MC/MBA degree with a passion for working in a Start-Up environment–  Information Systems, Information Technology, Computer Science or equivalent experience.
• Work Experience: Minimum of 10 years’ experience in Products and Information Technology with an executive-level position with responsibility for IT Strategy