Senior Specialist: Product Owner

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time.

Belonging at Absa

Absa is committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from suitably qualified individuals from diverse backgrounds. In support of our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) commitments and Employment Equity objectives, preference may be given to candidates from underrepresented designated groups, including persons with disabilities. We encourage applicants who may require reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process to let us know so that appropriate support can be provided.

Job Summary

Own the strategy, performance and execution of a portfolio of digital channels as a connected product ecosystem. Translate enterprise strategy into a small number of high-impact product bets and drive them from problem definition through delivery, adoption, optimisation and measurable business value. The role carries end-to-end accountability rather than responsibility for individual delivery components.

Job Description

  Own the product vision, strategy, roadmap and operating plan for the digital channel portfolio.

·       Carry clear accountability for revenue growth, digital sales, product penetration, active usage, customer conversion, retention and cost-to-serve outcomes.

·       Set portfolio-level OKRs and product economics; establish leading indicators and intervene quickly when performance is off-track.

·       Lead Product Managers and create a high-performance product culture built on ownership, pace, evidence and outcomes.

·       Make prioritisation decisions across customer value, commercial impact, technical feasibility, risk and speed-to-market.

·       Drive execution across Product, Design, Engineering, Data, Marketing, Operations, Risk and Commercial teams without relying on hierarchy.

·       Create an experimentation engine: launch, measure, learn and scale — reducing time between insight and customer impact.

·       Own the channel operating rhythm, including weekly performance reviews, roadmap decisions, release priorities and outcome tracking.

·       Remove organisational blockers and escalate only decisions that genuinely require executive intervention.

·       Hold teams accountable for shipped outcomes, not activity, project completion or feature volume.

·       Ensure the channel remains secure, resilient, compliant, accessible and operationally fit for scale.

·       Continuously benchmark the product experience against category leaders and translate relevant external practices into differentiated product choices.

Education

Bachelor`s Degrees and Advanced Diplomas: Physical, Mathematical, Computer and Life Sciences (Required)