POSITION SUMMARY:
At Rainforest Alliance we believe in customer-centricity. The Product Development Department operating within the Product portfolio is at the forefront of driving transformative growth and impact in the fields of sustainable agriculture climate resilience and ecosystem conservation.
With a strategic focus on innovation collaboration and a customer-centric approach this dynamic department plays a crucial role in crafting and delivering cutting-edge products. From end-to-end product lifecycle management to scalable solutions the team spearheads initiatives that align with overarching business goals. Through interdisciplinary stakeholder consultation continuous improvement and strategic partnerships the Product Development Department stands as a catalyst for achieving the organizations mission.
We seek an experienced Senior Manager to lead our diverse team of Product Owners encompassing GIS data products data collection invoicing and shared components and capabilities. The Senior Manager - Product Common Components will be accountable for the individual and teams duties and responsibilities ensuring future sustainability reusability and successful product budgeting and deliveries. This role requires close collaboration with the product/project delivery team product/project delivery managers process engineering/process modelling team and product architecture team.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Team Leadership:
- Lead a diverse team of Product Owners fostering a collaborative and high-performance environment.
- Set goals provide regular feedback and conduct performance reviews to drive team excellence and accountability.
- Promote a positive inclusive and high-performance culture that values innovation teamwork and diversity.
- Provide leadership in resolving roadblocks making data driven decisions and ensuring the team remains focused on key deliverables.
- Ensure optimal team structure workload distribution and resource planning to meet business priorities.
- Build an inclusive environment where Product Managers feel safe to share ideas be innovative take risks and learn from mistakes.
Product Oversight:
- Ensure the successful development scalability and reusability of widely used shared components and products such as centralized portal for organizational-wide products GIS Data Products Data Collection Capabilities Invoicing and Project Management components.
- Align Product Roadmaps with business goals product needs and technical feasibility.
- Ensure consistency maintainability and interoperability across different products where applicable.
- Foster a culture of continuous iteration and product evolution.
- Advocate for internal and external users by ensuring common components solve real problems efficiently.
- Ensure common components provide a seamless and consistent experience across products.
Product Ownership:
- Provide technical oversight and guidance for all products within the unit ensuring they meet high standards of quality and efficiency.
- Manage and refine a backlog of common components based on business needs and strategic direction.
- Champion the importance of reusable components in driving efficiency and scalability across products.
- Gather and incorporate user feedback to refine usability and functionality across products.
- Use data driven insights to refine and improve components.
- Maintain a single source of truth for product specifications requirements user stories acceptance criteria for all common components.
End-to-End Accountability:
- Take ownership of the entire product lifecycle ensuring all components meet quality and efficiency standards. This should include planning development all aspects of testing and the implementation of the overall solution required to deliver the benefits.
Collaboration:
- Work closely with the management of the product/project delivery team product/project delivery managers process engineering/process modeling team and product architecture team to ensure seamless integration and alignment of efforts.
- Ensure alignment between Product/Project delivery team and managers on timelines dependencies and priorities ensuring that all common components are factored into the overall product delivery plans and landscape.
- Regularly synchronize roadmaps to adapt to changing business needs.
Budget Management:
- Oversee budgeting for the unit ensuring cost-effective resource allocation and adherence to financial targets.
Compliance:
- Ensure all products and processes comply with industry standards and certifications maintaining high quality and integrity.
- Drive high standard for quality assurance performance and security in all shared components.
Continuous Improvement:
- Champion continuous improvement initiatives identifying opportunities for efficiency and innovation within the unit.
- Cross Product Integration Ensure seamless integration of common components across the product lines.
Team Experience:
- Proven experience leading a team of product owners ensuring effective collaboration and delivery.
Foster strong relationships between product engineering design business teams to drive alignment and efficiency. - Other duties as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- 10 years of experience in product ownership product development or project management with at least 5 years in a leadership capacity managing cross-functional teams.
- Successfully managed and delivered complex high-stakes end-to-end products meeting and exceeding objectives.
- Strong experience in balancing multiple products/projects simultaneously ensuring timely and successful outcomes.
- Proficiency in project management methodologies (e.g. Agile Scrum Waterfall).
- Proven ability to implement and champion best product ownership practices.
- Professional certifications such as Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) Professional Scrum Product Owner (PSPO) PMP (Project Management Professional) PRINCE2 or Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) are highly desirable.
- Exceptional leadership interpersonal and communication skills.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with a focus on delivering value.
- Ability to navigate and manage complex stakeholder relationships.
Level: 2
Deadline: 20 June 2025
Salary: Commensurate with experience
Notes: Only candidates authorized to work in the UK will be considered.
If you have any questions about the job vacancy please contact the HR department:
The Rainforest Alliance encourages diversity and inclusion across the global organization. With this commitment to diversity we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender race color ethnicity religion sexual orientation gender identity ages disability and any other protected group.
Required Experience:
Senior Manager