Senior Product Owner: Rewards Partnerships

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Old Mutual is a firm believer in the African opportunity and our diverse talent reflects this.

Job Description

Old Mutual is looking for an experienced, results-driven Senior Product Owner who will be responsible for leading the strategy, development, and execution of partnerships within the Old Mutual GRiD ecosystem. This role focuses on expanding and optimizing the rewards partner network, driving customer engagement, and aligning partnership strategies with financial wellness goals.  

The Product Owner will ensure that the partnership propositions deliver tangible value to both customers and partners while driving overall program growth. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Partnership Strategy & Development:

• Define and execute the Old Mutual GRiD Partnerships strategy, ensuring alignment with financial wellness objectives.
• Identify, onboard, and manage strategic partners that enhance the value proposition of Old Mutual GRiD.
• Develop business cases for new partnerships, outlining potential benefits, risks, and expected outcomes.
• Negotiate commercial terms with partners to ensure mutually beneficial agreements.

Product Ownership & Execution:

• Own the end-to-end partnerships product roadmap, ensuring seamless execution of initiatives.
• Collaborate with internal teams (technology, legal, finance, marketing) to integrate and operationalize new partnerships.
• Drive continuous innovation in partner offerings, leveraging data and insights to refine the customer rewards experience.
• Monitor and optimize partner performance based on key performance indicators (KPIs), ensuring strong ROI and customer engagement.
• Drive the integration with bank and Rewards partnerships

Customer & Business Impact:

• Ensure partnerships enhance customer engagement, driving increased participation in the Old Mutual Rewards program.
• Work closely with analytics teams to measure the effectiveness of partner-driven rewards.
• Develop strategies to incentivize key financial behaviors through partnerships, supporting Old Mutual’s financial wellness agenda.

Stakeholder & Relationship Management:

• Act as the primary liaison between Old Mutual Rewards and external partners, ensuring strong collaborative relationships.
• Work closely with internal teams to align partner initiatives with broader business objectives and marketing efforts.
• Engage with senior leadership and cross-functional teams to secure buy-in for new partnerships and initiatives.

Compliance & Risk Management:

• Ensure all partnership agreements comply with regulatory and legal requirements.
• Implement risk mitigation strategies to safeguard customer interests and Old Mutual’s brand integrity.

Why Join Us?

• Opportunity to shape and grow a leading rewards ecosystem.
• Work at the intersection of financial wellness, digital innovation, and customer engagement.
• Collaborate with top-tier partners to drive real impact for customers.
• Be part of a high-performing team committed to delivering exceptional customer value

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Finance, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in product management, partnerships, or loyalty programs.
• Experience in financial services, fintech, or loyalty/rewards programs is advantageous.
• Proven track record of successfully managing partnerships and delivering business impact.

Manages Scrum teams to transfer the project/product vision to design, development, and delivery. Guides the team through the product backlog toward building the right product, considering the vision, planning, and budgets of the business, customers, or use.

ResponsibilitiesDigital Strategy/Transformational Projects Execution

Oversee digital assets and orchestrate how the company can successfully leverage them to gain and maintain a competitive advantage.

Product and Solution Development

Take overall responsibility for designing, developing, and delivering the strategic plan for product development for a significant area of the business.

Project Team Management

Lead large project teams (or multiple small- to medium-sized teams); define the project vision, communicate the necessary outcomes, and provide guidance to achieve these outcomes; coordinate team actions across project activities; coordinate the flow of additional team members on and off the team, as needed; and build the capability of the team through training, coaching, and mentoring.

Digital Vision and Strategy

Define and set the digital strategy, working with both internal and external stakeholders to build and communicate the strategic importance of digital while aligning with broader organizational strategy.

Agile Release Planning

Plan and replan software releases for multiple related business-critical programs as they are produced to ensure timely updates and to deliver the planned benefits as early as possible in the project or program.

Agile Backlog Management

Review the backlog of work for a business-critical program and reprioritize the work and the deployment of project resources to reduce costs and increase the value of the work delivered to the business.

Product Management

Take responsibility for all aspects of a life cycle of a group of products, including long- and short-term development and marketing. Stay abreast of trends in the marketplace to ensure the products' competitive position.

Horizon Scanning

Identify new external developments and/or emerging issues within an area of technology or business function and evaluate their potential impact on, or usefulness to, the organization.

Project Benefit Realization

Lead the development and implementation of a strategy to ensure that intended business benefits are realized across a program.

Culture of Innovation

Define the execution plan to disseminate innovative capabilities across the businesses, helping people develop these competencies and enabling them to innovate through solutions such as idea generation platforms, jam sessions, and hackathons.

Project Risk and Issue Management

Ensure that risks, issues, dependencies, and constraints are managed appropriately at project level. Where risks or issues threaten delivery of the project, develop and agree on recovery plans.

Application Software Road Map

Define and maintain a roadmap to facilitate complex application software development and ensure the development work is prioritized in line with business requirements.

Performance Management

Manage and report on performance within the department or area of responsibility; set appropriate performance objectives for direct reports and hold individuals accountable for achieving them; take appropriate corrective action where necessary to ensure the achievement of annual business objectives.

Personal Capability Building

Act as subject matter expert in an area of technology, policy, regulation, or operational management for the team and beyond in the function. Maintain external accreditations and in-depth understanding of current and emerging technologies, external regulation, and industry best practices through continuing professional development, attending conferences, and reading specialist media.

Skills

Actuarial Science, Adaptive Thinking, Agile Project Management, Change Management, Digital Product Management, Executing Plans, Managing Stakeholder Expectations, Policies & Procedures, Policy Development, Product Development Management, Product Management, Product Management Strategy, Project Communications Management, Project Life Cycle Management, Project Performance Management (PM), Project Quality Assurance, Project Scope Management

Competencies

Action OrientedBalances StakeholdersBusiness InsightCultivates InnovationDecision QualityDevelops TalentDrives EngagementDrives Results

Education

Fellow Of Actuarial Society Of South Africa (FASSA) (Required), NQF Level 9 – Masters

Closing Date

04 March 2025 , 23:59

The appointment will be made from the designated group in line with the Employment Equity Plan of Old Mutual South Africa and the specific business unit in question.

Old Mutual Limited is pro-vaccination and encourages its workforce to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

All prospective employees are required to disclose their vaccination status as part of the recruitment process.

Please refer to the Old Mutual’s Covid-19 vaccination policy for further detail. Kindly note that Old Mutual reserves the right to reinstate the requirement to vaccinate at any point if it is of the view that it is imperative to do so.

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