About this role
<p><span style="font-size:16.0px"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Who are we?</strong></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify;margin:0.0cm">Sanlam was established as a life insurance company in South Africa but has since transformed into a diversified financial services group that operates across the African continent, India, Malaysia and selected developed markets, with listings on the Johannesburg, A2X and Namibian stock exchanges. In 2018 the Group celebrated its centenary as well as 20 years since demutualisation and listing in South Africa and Namibia. Sanlam is one of the largest internationally active insurance groups in the world with a presence in 31 countries and has the biggest non-banking financial services footprint on the African continent.</p> <p style="text-align:justify;margin:0.0cm"> </p> <p style="text-align:justify;margin:0.0cm">The Group's five business clusters (Sanlam Fintech x, Sanlam Life and Savings, Sanlam Investment Group, Sanlam Allianz and Santam) house the Group's business operations. The Group Office provides strategic direction and support to the five clusters, assisting them in realising their strategies and meeting their business objectives. The Group Office is responsible for governance and for the Group's centralised functions, which include: Finance, Actuarial and Risk Management, Strategy, Human Resources, Market Development and Sustainability.</p> <p style="margin:0.0cm 0.0cm 1.0 E -4.0pt"> </p><div><div style="padding:10.0px 0.0px;border:1.0px solid transparent"><div style="font-size:16.0px;word-wrap:break-word"><H2 style="font-size:1.0em;margin:0.0px"><b>Position Overview</b></H2> </div><div><div> <p><span>SFTx is looking for a Head of Product, reporting directly to the CTO/CPO of SFTx, to lead product strategy, product execution and product team leadership for the new Sanlam app, which forms part of Sanlam Group’s Digital Engagement Ecosystem.</span><span> </span></p> <p> </p> </div> <div> <p><span>This is a critical leadership role responsible for shaping and delivering a unified Sanlam digital experience and cross-product engagement channel for customers. The app will play a central role in how customers discover, access, engage with and receive value from Sanlam’s broader ecosystem of products and services. The role will own the product vision, strategy, roadmap and execution direction for the app, ensuring that it delivers clear customer value, meaningful business impact and a high-quality experience within a regulated financial services environment.</span><span> </span></p> <p> </p> </div> <div> <p><span>The Head of Product will lead a multidisciplinary product function for the app, with Product Managers and Product Marketers reporting directly into the role. The role will partner with Product UX Design, UX Content, UX Research, Engineering and Data Science as part of the app’s cross-functional product and delivery model, while team members remain accountable to their own competency leadership.</span><span> </span></p> <p> </p> </div> <div> <p><span>This is both a product leadership role and a people leadership role. You will be expected to set direction, build team capability, establish strong product operating practices and create alignment across a complex stakeholder landscape spanning multiple business units and functions across the Sanlam Group.</span> <span>The role also requires a strong level of technical fluency in the mobile app and digital ecosystem space. While this is not an engineering role, the successful candidate must be able to engage credibly on platform, architecture, integration and delivery trade-offs at a high level, and to understand how those trade-offs affect customer experience, speed, scalability, reliability, security and long-term product quality.</span><span> </span></p> <p> </p> </div> <div> <p><span>Commercial ownership in this role is shared with business owners across the Group. Success will depend on strong partnership, influence and joint decision-making across customer, product, technology and business stakeholders.</span><span> </span></p> </div></div></div><div style="padding:10.0px 0.0px;border:1.0px solid transparent"><div style="font-size:16.0px;word-wrap:break-word"><H2 style="font-size:1.0em;margin:0.0px"><b>What will you do?</b></H2> </div><div><div> <p><strong><span>As Head of Product for the Sanlam app, you will:</span><span> </span></strong></p> <ul> <li> <div>Define and own the <strong>vision, strategy, and roadmap</strong> for the new Sanlam app.</div> </li> <li> <div>Shape the app into a <strong>unified Sanlam experience and cross-product digital engagement channel</strong>, aligned to customer needs and Group priorities.</div> </li> <li> <div>Translate customer needs, business priorities, and market opportunities into a <strong>clear and actionable product direction</strong>.</div> </li> <li> <div>Lead the <strong>end-to-end product lifecycle</strong>, including discovery, prioritisation, delivery, launch, optimisation, and scaling.</div> </li> <li> <div>Build and lead a <strong>high-performing, multidisciplinary product team</strong>, including Product Managers, UX Designers, Product Marketers, UX Writers, and UX Researchers.</div> </li> <li> <div>Provide <strong>line management, coaching, performance management, and development support</strong> for direct reports.</div> </li> <li> <div>Establish <strong>strong product operating rhythms, decision-making practices, and cross-functional ways of working</strong> for the app team.</div> </li> <li> <div>Partner closely with <strong>engineering, design, data, and delivery teams</strong> to ensure effective execution and a high-quality customer experience.</div> </li> <li> <div>Work with Data Science as a <strong>core cross-functional capability</strong> to support product insight, experimentation, personalisation, and decision-making.</div> </li> <li> <div>Drive product discovery using <strong>customer research, behavioural data, analytics, market insights, and business context</strong> to identify high-value opportunities and validate ideas.</div> </li> <li> <div>Set clear product goals and success metrics, ensuring roadmap priorities are aligned to <strong>measurable customer and business outcomes</strong>.</div> </li> <li> <div>Own and monitor product performance across key metrics such as <strong>adoption, activation, engagement, retention, customer satisfaction, and cross-sell contribution</strong>.</div> </li> <li> <div>Lead prioritisation across product initiatives, balancing <strong>customer value, commercial impact, technical feasibility, operational readiness, and regulatory considerations</strong>.</div> </li> <li> <div>Work closely with business stakeholders across the Sanlam Group to <strong>align product priorities, manage dependencies, and ensure the app delivers shared value across the ecosystem</strong>.</div> </li> <li> <div>Ensure that <strong>security, privacy, compliance, risk, auditability, and operational resilience</strong> are embedded in product decisions and delivery plans.</div> </li> <li> <div>Contribute to <strong>launch planning, go-to-market readiness, adoption, and ongoing optimisation</strong> of the app.</div> </li> <li> <div>Represent the product strategy, roadmap, progress, risks, and trade-offs <strong>clearly to senior leadership and key stakeholders</strong>.</div> </li> <li> <div>Help build a strong product culture grounded in <strong>customer focus, evidence-based decision making, experimentation, collaboration, and accountability</strong>.</div> </li> </ul> </div></div></div><div style="padding:10.0px 0.0px;border:1.0px solid transparent"><div style="font-size:16.0px;word-wrap:break-word"><H2 style="font-size:1.0em;margin:0.0px"><b>Qualification and Experience</b></H2> </div><div><p><strong><span>A successful candidate will have:</span> </strong></p> <div> <ul> <li><strong>10+ years’ experience</strong> in senior product management, digital product leadership, or closely related roles.</li> <li>Significant <strong>experience leading product strategy and execution</strong> for customer-facing digital products.</li> <li>Proven experience <strong>owning product vision, roadmap, and prioritisation</strong> in complex environments.</li> <li>Proven experience <strong>leading and line-managing product teams</strong>, including coaching and developing product talent.</li> <li>Experience leading <strong>multidisciplinary digital product teams</strong> across product management, UX, and related disciplines.</li> <li>Experience leading <strong>mobile app, mobile-first, and large-scale digital platform products</strong>.</li> <li>Strong technical fluency in <strong>mobile apps and digital ecosystems</strong>, with the ability to engage on platform, integration, architecture, and delivery trade-offs at a high level.</li> <li>Proven ability to make product decisions that balance <strong>customer experience, technical constraints, commercial value, scalability, security, and delivery realities</strong>.</li> <li>Experience working closely with <strong>engineering, design, data, and business stakeholders</strong> in cross-functional environments.</li> <li>Experience in <strong>fintech, financial services, insurance, banking, wealth, investments, payments, lending, or another regulated industry</strong>.</li> <li>Experience using <strong>customer insights, qualitative research, quantitative analysis, and product metrics</strong> to inform product decisions.</li> <li>Experience <strong>engaging and influencing senior stakeholders</strong> across large, complex organisations.</li> <li>Experience operating in environments with <strong>legal, compliance, risk, audit, and information security requirements</strong>.</li> </ul> </div> <div> <p> </p> <p><strong><span>It would be advantageous if you also have:</span></strong></p> <ul> <li> <div>Experience leading a <strong>flagship consumer app or primary digital channel</strong>.</div> </li> <li> <div>Experience in <strong>South African financial services customer journeys</strong>.</div> </li> <li> <div>Experience across <strong>acquisition, onboarding, servicing, self-service, engagement, and cross-sell journeys</strong>.</div> </li> <li> <div>Experience leading teams with <strong>multiple product disciplines reporting into a common product leadership structure</strong>.</div> </li> <li> <div>Experience working in <strong>matrix environments</strong>, where specialist capabilities such as UX Design and Data Science report into <strong>separate competency leaders</strong>.</div> </li> <li> <div>Experience in <strong>product operating model design and organisational leadership</strong>.</div> </li> <li> <div>Experience in <strong>experimentation, personalisation, funnel optimisation, customer lifecycle management, and product analytics</strong>.</div> </li> <li> <div>Experience <strong>launching new digital products at scale</strong>.</div> </li> <li> <div>Experience working across <strong>ecosystem or multi–business unit product environments</strong>.</div> </li> <li> <div>Experience <strong>building mobile apps, with a high-level understanding of technical considerations</strong>.</div> </li> </ul> </div></div></div><div style="padding:10.0px 0.0px;border:1.0px solid transparent"><div style="font-size:16.0px;word-wrap:break-word"><H2 style="font-size:1.0em;margin:0.0px"><b>What will make you successful in this role?</b></H2> </div><div><div> <p><strong><span>In this role, success will typically include:</span> </strong></p> <ul> <li><span>Launching and scaling a high-quality Sanlam app that solves meaningful customer problems</span></li> <li><span>Establishing a clear and credible product strategy and roadmap for the app</span></li> <li><span>Building and leading a strong multi disciplinary product team,</span> <span>improving customer adoption, activation, engagement, retention and satisfaction</span></li> <li><span>Creating strong alignment across business, technology and control functions</span></li> <li><span>Enabling effective collaboration between direct-report disciplines and matrixed capabilities such as Data Science, Design and Engineering</span></li> <li><span>Delivering measurable business value through the app</span></li> <li><span>Raising the quality of product thinking, execution and customer experience across the app portfolio.</span><span> </span></li> </ul> </div></div></div><div style="padding:10.0px 0.0px;border:1.0px solid transparent"><div style="font-size:16.0px;word-wrap:break-word"><H2 style="font-size:1.0em;margin:0.0px"><b>Knowledge and Skills</b></H2> </div><div><div>Conduct client/market research</div><div>Specialist product support</div><div>Product enhancements</div><div>Product performance tracking and measurement</div><div>Management of employees</div></div></div><div style="padding:10.0px 0.0px;border:1.0px solid transparent"><div style="font-size:16.0px;word-wrap:break-word"><H2 style="font-size:1.0em;margin:0.0px"><b>Personal Attributes</b></H2> </div><div><div>Business insight - Contributing strategically</div><div>Financial acumen - Contributing strategically</div><div>Organisational savvy - Contributing strategically</div><div>Manages complexity - Contributing strategically</div></div></div><div style="padding:10.0px 0.0px;border:1.0px solid transparent"><div style="font-size:16.0px;word-wrap:break-word"><H2 style="font-size:1.0em;margin:0.0px"><b>Build a successful career with us</b></H2> </div><div><p>We’re all about building strong, lasting relationships with our employees. We know that you have hopes for your future – your career, your personal development and of achieving great things. We pride ourselves in helping our employees to realise their worth. Through its five business clusters – Sanlam Fintech, Sanlam Life and Savings, Sanlam Investment Group, Sanlam Allianz, Santam, as well as MiWay and the Group Office – the group provides many opportunities for growth and development.</p></div></div><div style="padding:10.0px 0.0px;border:1.0px solid transparent"><div style="font-size:16.0px;word-wrap:break-word"><H2 style="font-size:1.0em;margin:0.0px"><b>Core Competencies</b></H2> </div><div><div>Cultivates innovation - Contributing strategically</div><div>Customer focus - Contributing strategically</div><div>Drives results - Contributing strategically</div><div>Collaborates - Contributing strategically</div><div>Being resilient - Contributing strategically</div></div></div><div style="padding:10.0px 0.0px;border:1.0px solid transparent"><div style="font-size:16.0px;word-wrap:break-word"><H2 style="font-size:1.0em;margin:0.0px"><b>Turnaround time</b></H2> </div><div><p>The shortlisting process will only start once the application due date has been reached. The time taken to complete this process will depend on how far you progress and the availability of managers. </p></div></div><div style="padding:10.0px 0.0px;border:1.0px solid transparent"><div style="font-size:16.0px;word-wrap:break-word"><H2 style="font-size:1.0em;margin:0.0px"><b>Our commitment to transformation</b></H2> </div><div></div></div></div><p>The Sanlam Group is committed to achieving transformation and embraces diversity. This commitment is what drives us to achieve a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace as we believe that these are key components to ensuring a thriving and sustainable business in South Africa. The Group's Employment Equity plan and targets will be considered as part of the selection process.</p>