Product Lead

Date: 26 Mar 2026

Location:

Bellville, Western Cape, ZA

Company: Sanlam Group

Who are we?

Sanlam Fintech is a newly established digital first business within the Sanlam Group on a mission to democratize financial advice and solutions for everyone across the African continent. We exist to pioneer inclusive financial confidence helping people build strong foundations to bridge the gap in generational wealth. Our culture us that of agility and constant deployment, we believe in learning fast, learning cheap and learning forward. Our aim is to provide a work environment where knowledge workers can accelerate the development of their ideas and bring innovation to market, at the same time provide compelling career and development proposition that will enable them to realize their dreams.

Role Overview

The Product Lead for Sanlam Group Loyalty & Rewards will drive the product and delivery agenda within Sanlam Life & Savings (SLS), working across product houses including SRM, SRS, Glacier, Sanlam Connect, and Sanlam Corporate.

This is a high-impact, integrative role, you will own the end-to-end product roadmap for SLS, embed the Loyalty & Rewards customer value proposition (CVP) into core life, savings, and investment offerings, and serve as the primary product interface between Sanlam Group Loyalty & Rewards and the SLS business. You will shape how millions of Sanlam customers experience loyalty across their most important financial products.

What will you do

Product strategy & CVP development

Define and continuously refine the Loyalty & Rewards CVP in alignment with SLS product houses and business goals.
Embed rewards and loyalty mechanisms into existing and new product offerings across SRM, SRS, Glacier, Sanlam Connect, and Sanlam Corporate.
Balance customer acquisition, retention, and engagement objectives with the commercial priorities of SLS.

Delivery & execution

Own and manage the end-to-end product and delivery roadmap across SLS, ensuring milestones are met and dependencies are proactively managed.
Coordinate with Tech, Data, and Operations teams to deliver integrations and product rollouts on time and to standard.
Maintain a visible, transparent, and well-prioritised team backlog that gives all stakeholders clarity on delivery commitments.
Identify and remove impediments blocking Tech, Design, and Product Owners, enabling teams to deliver effectively against product house requirements.

Stakeholder & partner management

Serve as the key product interface between Sanlam Group Loyalty & Rewards and all SLS product houses.
Facilitate ongoing alignment with SLS leadership and Sanlam Fintech at senior and executive level.
Drive cross-functional collaboration with Marketing, Legal, and Compliance to ensure seamless, compliant delivery.

Governance & compliance

Oversee delivery governance frameworks and ensure all product activity meets regulatory requirements.
Track and report on delivery outcomes, risks, and progress within the broader programme governance structure.

Qualification and Experience

Bachelor's degree in Business, Information Technology, or a related field.

3+ years of product management experience, with at least 3 years in a lead or senior product role.

Proven track record of delivering complex, multi-stakeholder product programmes in financial services.

Experience working across multiple business units or product houses simultaneously.

Familiarity with loyalty, rewards, or customer engagement platforms is strongly preferred.

What will make you successful in this role?

You take ownership. You don't wait to be told, you identify what needs to be done and drive it forward. When challenges arise, you own them and work collaboratively until they are resolved.
You lead through influence. You are operating across multiple product houses without direct authority. Your ability to align stakeholders, build trust, and get things done through others will determine your impact.
You balance speed with rigour. You move fast, iterate, and get products in front of customers early but you are methodical about roadmapping and relentless about prioritisation so short-term velocity doesn't compromise long-term value.
You are customer-led. You bring a deep understanding of the customer into every product decision, using data, research, and behavioural insight to prioritise what will genuinely delight the people you serve.
You think creatively under constraint. You find ways to do more with less, turning complexity and resource limitations into opportunities for innovative, scalable solutions.
You seek out and value diverse perspectives. You actively create space for different voices, work through evidence, and are willing to challenge your own assumptions in pursuit of a better outcome.

Knowledge and Skills

Strong product management and delivery leadership, including roadmap ownership, backlog management and go-to-market execution.

Agile methodologies e.g. Scrum, Kanban, or equivalent with hands-on experience leading cross-functional delivery teams.

Deep understanding of customer value propositions and how to embed them across complex product ecosystems.

Stakeholder management at senior and executive level, including the ability to communicate strategic product vision with clarity and confidence.

Data literacy, ability to use customer data, product metrics, and market research to inform prioritisation and product decisions.

Personal Attributes

Balances stakeholders - Contributing through others

Directs work - Contributing through others

Manages complexity - Contributing through others

Plans and aligns - Contributing through others

Optimises work processes - Contributing through others

Build a successful career with us

We’re all about building strong, lasting relationships with our employees. We know that you have hopes for your future – your career, your personal development and of achieving great things. We pride ourselves in helping our employees to realise their worth. Through its five business clusters – Sanlam Fintech, Sanlam Life and Savings, Sanlam Investment Group, Sanlam Allianz, Santam, as well as MiWay and the Group Office – the group provides many opportunities for growth and development.

Core Competencies

Being resilient - Contributing through others

Collaborates - Contributing through others

Cultivates innovation - Contributing through others

Customer focus - Contributing through others

Drives results - Contributing through others

Turnaround time

The shortlisting process will only start once the application due date has been reached. The time taken to complete this process will depend on how far you progress and the availability of managers.

Our commitment to transformation

The Sanlam Group is committed to achieving transformation and embraces diversity. This commitment is what drives us to achieve a diverse, inclusive and equitable workplace as we believe that these are key components to ensuring a thriving and sustainable business in South Africa. The Group's Employment Equity plan and targets will be considered as part of the selection process.