Head of Product

Our client continuously excels in arranging all aspects of destination management services in South Africa Namibia Botswana Zambia Zimbabwe Malawi Kenya Uganda Tanzania Zanzibar Rwanda Mozambique Madagascar and Mauritius. Their source markets have grown continuously and now include Europe Asia South and North America.

Role Overview

The Head of Product is a senior leadership role responsible for defining and delivering our clients product vision across Southern Africa while ensuring the systems team supports efficiency profitability and exceptional client experiences. Leading the Product and Systems teams this role combines strategic product development commercial direction and sales conversations and systems optimisation to meet evolving B2B client needs drive revenue growth and uphold our clients reputation for quality and reliability.

Job Type: Full Time

Workplace: Hybrid (3 days in office)

Location: Cape Town

Requirements

• Bachelors degree in Business Marketing Tourism or related field.
• 810 years experience in senior product or commercial roles within a DMC or similar.
• Proven leadership of cross-functional teams including product and systems/technology.
• Strong knowledge of Southern African travel products
• Experience with operational systems relevant to travel product delivery (e.g. Tourplan).
• Demonstrated success in driving revenue growth and operational efficiency through product and systems strategies.
• Exceptional leadership negotiation and communication skills.
• Strategic Leadership & Vision
• Product & Commercial Acumen
• Systems & Process Optimisation
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Market & Trend Analysis
• Supplier Partnership Management
• Customer-Centric Thinking
• Influencing & Negotiation Skills

Responsibilities:

Product Vision & Strategic Direction

• Define and execute the product strategy in line with company goals contracted agents and source market priorities.
• Translate market trends and client insights with the support of the team into innovative product concepts and enhancements.
• Oversee the teams execution of full product lifecycle from ideation with agents through launch audit procedures and continuous improvement.
• Monitor and analyse product and sales performance adjusting strategies as needed.

Leadership & Team Management

• Lead mentor and develop the Product Management and Systems teams fostering a high-performance culture.
• Foster a proactive commercially minded culture within the Product team encouraging active participation in sales discussions and product positioning.
• Set clear objectives priorities and KPIs for both teams.
• Promote collaboration between product reservations operations marketing and systems functions.
• Ensure both teams are aligned to strategic business goals and deliver measurable value.

Commercial Strategy & Supplier Partnerships

• Set the overarching commercial framework for supplier contracting rates and overrides.
• Guide product managers in supplier negotiations ensuring profitability and competitiveness.
• Develop and approve in collaboration with CEO key supplier agreements and strategic partnerships. Oversee risk management related to supplier agreements and service delivery.

Systems Team Oversight

• Oversee the strategic management of core operational system (Tourplan)
• Ensure systems team optimises to support product delivery pricing and data accuracy reporting and client communications.
• Drive system improvements in collaboration with the CEO and integrations that enhance efficiency and client experience.

Customer Journey & Sales alignment

• Ensure products and systems together deliver a seamless high-quality client experience.
• Ensure products and systems together with sales/reservations embed client feedback into product and system improvements.
• Act as the strategic link between the customer facing teams ensuring brand and company goals are achieved
• Maintain an in-depth understanding of competitor offerings market shifts and source market trends.
• Identify in collaboration with the team emerging destinations experiences and product categories to expand the portfolio.
• Ensure the sales/reservations team has the tools knowledge and positioning needed to succeed.
• Support business development efforts with market insights and product recommendations.
• Enable and coach the Product team to confidently engage in sales conversations supporting account growth through effective product storytelling and solution selling.

Benefits

• Medical Aid
• Life Insurance
• Death & Disability insurance
• Funeral Cover
• Hybrid office environment with flexible work hours
• Study Leave available for relevant business-related studies
• Financial assistance for your studies (after min. one year of working with us)
• Long-service award bonus