Experienced product management position providing leadership and guidance to other product team members in order to define, develop and execute the requirements and go to market strategy for Software Group in Africa Based on extensive research and 1:1 engagement with clients, the portfolio manager acts as the voice of the client inside IBM and provides leadership across key functional areas including development/engineering, design, marketing, channels and sales to deliver a world class product portfolio for the African markets. Activities generally include interpreting client needs and use case scenarios and translating these requirements into regional specific differentiating product requirements that can be implemented across the Software solutions portfolio as customer focused business solutions recognized as providing value to our clients. .
Owns the market segment strategy for the Software Group brand and coordinates integration of various teams grow the license and SaaS business in Africa. They communicate market opportunities to the executive team with business rationale, including financial forecasts and risk assessments. Responsible for achieving market acceptance and client satisfaction, while providing leadership to design, sales and marketing for routes to market planning and pricing. Promotes IBM competitive advantage and leverages IBM’s technology strengths for reuse and differentiation. Provides input into a longer term roadmap and release plan for the portfolio as a key component of the strategic plan and updates this regularly based on changing client needs or competitive pressures. Negotiates resolution of any issues that arise during the product life cycle. Is accountable for market segment of the product portfolio and is viewed as an expert and chief spokesperson for IBM with clients and analysts with respect to this product portfolio. Seeks to understand market signals in order to adjust strategy, tactics, and manage risks within the roadmap.
Manages the entire product portfolio lifecycle from strategic planning to tactical activities and from definition to delivery. Responsible for the overall coordination of resources necessary to serve target market segments. They lead cross-functional and cross organizational, influencing key stake holders and organizations, including executive management, when issues may arise.
Maintain close relationships with marketing communications and sales management and leverage superior communication skills to socialize product differentiation by market segment. They convert technical positioning into key market messages and launch products into market. They confirm that marketing communications articulate the value proposition for key features and that sales execution plans are in place. They create plans for and actively participate in interaction with press and analysts and speak authoritatively for IBM’s interest. They demonstrate product capabilities and value proposition to external stakeholders (customers, partners, analysts), analyzing feedback for potential gaps and opportunities.
They empower the sales effort by defining a sales process, supported by the requisite sales tools, enabling customers to choose the right products and options. They collaborate with sales, technical sales, market research and presales to perform key deal win / loss analysis to determine systematic problems in the sales process and identify product and/or service flaws. They conduct effective follow-up with customers who choose a competitive product, complementing anecdotal information from sales.
Often coordinate decisions and activities cross-division, cross-group, and/or with external business partners or customers. Their decisions have a major impact on customer satisfaction and financial results. They are responsible for performance and opportunity gaps of their portfolio.