Product Manager

Job description / Role

Established in the 1930s as a trading business, Al-Futtaim Group today is one of the most diversified and progressive, privately held regional businesses headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Structured into five operating divisions; automotive, financial services, real estate, retail and healthcare; employing more than 35,000 employees across more than 20 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, Al-Futtaim Group partners with over 200 of the world's most admired and innovative brands. Al-Futtaim Group's entrepreneurship and relentless customer focus enables the organization to continue to grow and expand; responding to the changing needs of our customers within the societies in which we operate.

By upholding our values of respect, excellence, collaboration and integrity; Al-Futtaim Group continues to enrich the lives and aspirations of our customers each and every day

Overview of the role:
- The Product Manager role will be key in translating digital business strategies into product strategies and roadmaps for the Automotive division. The right candidate will be tasked with driving the growth of the business through a focus on consumer insights, customer experience design and data backed decisions which will lead to a Sales & After Sales digital portfolio of products and Services that delivers sales performance, margin strength and competitive advantage in the Automotive sector in the UAE region and all AFA International businesses.
- This is a critical role that will help us deliver not only on existing digital roadmaps and aspirations but will be bringing forward ideas and innovative new ways to provide best in class digital end to end customer experiences from ideation to go to market and beyond stages. Leading from the front, the right candidate will be responsible for maximising sales / profit through commercial understanding of product, customer and internal capabilities.
- This role will use specific discipline & technical knowledge to plan and enable a strategic roadmap for agile web and digital development that integrates User Centred design, data analytics and digital / marketing automation in delivery outcomes for Automotive division digital aspiration with an ongoing role to drive continuous improvement beyond the completion of the initial uplift.
- This role will work in a fast-paced environment, and collaborate with cross-functional teams, and business stakeholders, to define our digital product priorities & roadmaps. In this role, the right candidate will be responsible for gathering requirements, generating ideas, developing appropriate business cases and prioritizing according to the strategic direction of AF Automotive Division & AF Group. The role will be responsible also for forecasting the growth opportunities associated with the Digital & CX vision, executing its delivery, and evangelizing product adoption.

Requirements

What you will do:
- Operate within the framework and operating model of the Digital Product & CX as part of the Customer Centricity Centre of Excellence that can service and support all brands within the Automotive division
- Defining product vision, identifying features and working closely with internal / external experts, technology and all relevant teams to get those features in the hands of customers
- Communicate the product vision and drive the different teams to the common goal
- Drive eCommerce initiatives and identify new areas of opportunities to elevate the company globally.
- Collaborate with business stakeholders to define the roadmap and corresponding go-to-market strategies
- Manage and coordinate cross-product dependencies across the Automotive division ensuring duplication of effort and wastage of budgets is eliminated
- Define quarterly strategic plans and review execution to previous, quarterly plans with stakeholders and executive management
- Evangelize the product vision, benefits to new feature capabilities, and educate stakeholders and internal teams on how they could be best used in their verticals of focus
- Work with sales teams in pre-sales, sales & after sales technical and go-to-market discussions and prioritize roadmap and deliverables
- Work with team members, other delivery leaders, team leaders, program managers and stakeholders, to identify / manage cross-organisational dependencies and remove any impediments from the team while promoting self-management and individual accountability.
- Organise and facilitate sprint planning, daily stand-up meetings, reviews, retrospectives, demonstrations and other required meetings.
- Foster a team culture of innovation, creativity and thinking outside-the-box while adhering to architectural, governance, best practices and change guidelines.
- Track and communicate team velocity and sprint/release progress.
- Ensure the team is practicing the core delivery principles of collaboration, prioritisation, team accountability and visibility.
- Effectively listen to the teams' opinions/suggestions and empower the team to take ownership.
- Provide inputs based on in-depth data analysis and demonstrate how that analysis impacts key product metrics
- Manage prioritisation and trade-offs among customer experience, technical constraints and business drivers
- Develop a deep understanding of our customers: their problems, their needs, their desires and use it to improve the experiences we deliver across all business units
- Innovate, lead the industry and ensure we stay ahead of competitors in product features
- Identify opportunities for key initiatives to enhance the customer experience and improve the customer experience
- Partner closely with Analytics to own and analyse division and product metrics: retention, monetisation, virality and engagement to report on variances and make product or operational recommendations
- Embed a Customer First data led prioritisation ethic
- Support post-delivery implementation optimizations
- Drive a culture of continuous improvement

Required Skills to be successful:
- Automotive experience is preferred but not mandatory
- Digital transformation and strategy is a strong skillset prerequisite with strong presentation skills and business acumen
- Role interfaces daily with EIT and business stakeholders
- Role is diverse working across 27 brands so a flexible can-do attitude is critical.

About the Team

You will be reporting to Head of Digital Product & Customer Experiences.

What equips you for the role:
- Suitable university business qualification (Min Degree level)
- Comfortable in ambiguous situations and can apply analytical thinking to guide direction
- Ability to deliver customer strategies through design and product development
- Solid business acumen, with the ability to identify the technology required for products in order to deliver business goals
- Equally adept at solving complex problems and influencing teams and management to deliver them
- Passionate about owning the conception, definition, execution, and delivery of product features
- Ability to balance the needs of business stakeholders with customer needs to create the best experience for both
- Experience managing products through the entire life cycle, from inception to launch
- Knowledge and understanding of multiple product management and agile development methods
- Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with quick delivery time and rapid data-driven decision-making
- A track record of standing up for the customer; challenge the status quo; tenacious and resilient in the pursuit of customers best interests
- Up to date with customer best practice, insight and tooling to ensure we're making the right decisions both now and for the future
- Experience as a true believer and practitioner in the power of test & launch, the value of scientific evidence-based learning and accumulated incremental wins
- 5+ years of experience in Customer Experience, eCommerce and product management
- 3+ years of experience with digital technologies
- 2+ years of experience managing teams of product managers/owners
- Experience managing customer centric and data led development practices across several teams
- Experience managing both onsite and remote product and development teams
- Ability to communicate with executive stakeholders on future value and past execution
- Bachelor's Degree in Marketing or Technical field, and/or technical leadership role preferred

About Al-Futtaim Automotive
A major division of the UAE-based Al-Futtaim Group of companies, Al-Futtaim Automotive is an industry leader with presence in 10 countries across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Our core business activities at Al-Futtaim Automotive include distribution, manufacturing, leasing and aftersales, and we are firmly established as the regional representative of some of the world's most iconic automotive brands: Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, Volvo and RAM.
We are driven by a customer-centric approach, constantly pushing the boundaries on innovation, quality standards, and value-added service across our vast universe of customers - right from motoring enthusiasts to fleet operators to contractors. Our mission is to become the leader in custom-made mobility solutions by delivering nothing less than world-class omni-channel experiences.
We channel our local expertise and global trust to deliver one of the most comprehensive portfolios of mobility products and solutions, from passenger cars to SUVs, electric vehicles to high-performance motorbikes, commercial vehicles to industrial & construction equipment.
What keeps the company moving forward is a 9000-member strong team, with inspiring possibilities for growth, throughout the career path. This is Al-Futtaim Automotive and we empower talent to move forward.

About the Company

Established in the 1930's, the Al-Futtaim Group initially operated as a trading enterprise. Rapid development throughout the 1940's and 50's saw it establish itself regionally as an integrated commercial, industrial and services organisation, positioning itself one of the leading business houses in the lower Gulf region. Today, it operates collectively over 40 companies bearing the Al-Futtaim name, dominates many market segments in the UAE, and has expanded its sphere of operation to include Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Egypt.

The Group comprises a diverse range of strategically positioned operating subsidiaries and associate companies, structured to give the Al-Futtaim Group the flexibility and versatility to keep ahead of local competition while keeping pace with the ever-evolving global business scenario. The Groups continued investment in world-class systems technology is clear evidence of its commitment to maintain leading edge performance and service delivery.

The success of the Al-Futtaim Group can be attributed to a business approach that combines the ability to change with the traditional values of integrity, service and social responsibility that define its core business philosophy. This, linked with the Groups belief in decentralisation, gives the heads of the operating companies a high degree of functional autonomy and authority, providing the Group with essential flexibility, and individual employees a clearly defined work culture and sense of responsibility.