Head of Product Management

Job Title: Head of Product Management

Department: Product

Reporting to: Global Head of Technology

Location: Kampala, Uganda (flexible for other EEA African markets)

Job Grade: HL 18

About ENGIE Energy Access

ENGIE Energy Access is the leading Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGo) and mini-grids solutions provider in Africa. The company develops innovative, off-grid solar solutions for homes, public services and businesses, enabling customers and distribution partners access to clean, affordable energy. The PAYGO solar home systems are financed through affordable instalments from $0.19 per day and the mini-grids foster economic development by enabling electrical productive use and triggering business opportunities for entrepreneurs in rural communities. With over 1,800 employees, operations in nine countries across Africa (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia), over 1.9 million customers and more than 9 million lives impacted so far, ENGIE Energy Access aims to impact 20 million lives across Africa by 2025.

www.engie-energyaccess.com  

www.linkedin.com/company/engie-africa

Job Purpose/Mission 

The Head of Product Management is responsible for developing and executing a product strategy that brings life-changing impact to our customers while meeting the business goals of EEA. This is a cross-functional leadership role, requiring experience and understanding in customer research, product and technology development, and business strategy. The Head of Product Management will facilitate the Product team to execute on discovery, definition, development, launch, refinement, and end-of-life of EEA products. The incumbent of this role owns EEA global product catalog and will work closely with EEA global and country management to ensure the EEA product catalog is the most competitive and meets the needs of customers and the business across all markets.  

Responsibilities   

• Lead creation and realization of a competitive global product strategy 
  • Coordinate with company leaders to develop the 3-5 year product strategy to meet the company goals 
  • Create and maintain EEA product roadmaps aligned to the overall corporate strategy 
• Own the execution and management of the complete product portfolio across all stages of the product life cycle 
  • Drive the timelines and standards along the life-cycle 
  • Work with Strategic Marketing organisation to develop the product partnerships that  maximize the product value proposition 
• Recruit and manage a team of product managers to realize product goals 
  • Set product team KPIs and manage team resources 
  • Drive the adoption of best-practices in product management through mentorship 
• Support and implement the EEA product development processes 
  • Coordinate with Engineering and Supply Chain managers on how to best deliver solutions to markets with given resources 
  • Facilitate the Build vs Buy decision process 
• Manage the P&L for the consolidated product portfolio across all markets 
  • Develop and track standards and KPIs for measuring the product performance 
  • Guide the decision to create, keep, or remove products 
  • Be responsible for the commercial viability and cost management of the product portfolio 

Deliverables & Activities 

• Work cross-functionally with managers from commercial, credit, customer experience, finance, operations, quality, and manufacturing to develop the most effective product strategy for our customers. 
• Represent the voice of the customer as it relates to EEA products globally within the management team. 
• Ensure the EEA product portfolio is always meeting EEA’s goals for quality, inclusivity, customer experience, and profitability. 
• Support development of strategic product partnerships necessary to realize a competitive product lineup 
• Provide global oversight of product positioning, pricing, and promotion for country teams 
• Represent EEA products and product strategy within the company, to shareholders, and to 3rd party partners. 

At EEA, we have high expectations for our managers. Each manager plays a key role in creating an exceptional experience not only for our customers but for every person on our team. Our managers help EEA realize our ambitious goals while developing their own leadership skills and facilitating growth for their direct reports.  

We believe that great managers: 

• Deliver ambitious results: As a high-performing and accountable leader, you create an enabling environment for effective action and bold decision which contribute to successful delivery of results. 
• Act with integrity: As an ethical leader you are honest, respectful, objective, and transparent. You create and build upon a foundation of trust and openness. 
• Inspire and mentor the team: As an inspirational leader you walk the talk. You empower and coach your team with trust and humility. 
• Are accessible: as an accessible leader, you develop and maintain deep connections with stakeholders through approachability and active listening. 
• Ensure diversity and inclusion: as an inclusive leader, you ensure diversity and foster a sense of belonging. 

 Knowledge and skills  

Experience: 

• 10+ years of experience working in product management and related fields 
• Leadership experience in portfolio or program management 
• Management of planning and executing against product vision, product strategy, and product roadmaps 
• Ability to collaborate with cross-disciplinary and geographically diverse teams as well as external parties and partners. 
• Experience building & maintaining pricing and sales models 
• Experience managing the P&L of a product or portfolio of products 
• Commitment to serving the needs and improving the lives of rural households across Africa 
• Experience delivering products into Sub-Saharan African markets particularly in the last mile environment 
• Ability to deal with both operational and strategic topics 
• Exceptional quantitative analysis skills and an understanding of effective technical communication and data visualization methods. 
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills 
• Excellent Microsoft Excel and Powerpoint skills (Sharepoint experience nice to have)  

Qualifications: 

• University degree minimum 

Language(s):  

• English 
• French/Portuguese/Swahili is a plus  

We thank all applicants for their interest, however due to the large volume of applications we receive, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.  

ENGIE is an equal opportunity employer, promoting diversity and committed to creating an inclusive environment for all. All applications are screened based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without any regard to origin, age, name, sexual identity, orientation or preference, religion, marital status, health, disability, political opinions, union involvement or citizenship. Our differences are our strengths!