Our client is a venture-backed fintech with a mission to give employees instant access to their earned wages, which solves a major problem for real people, while killing predatory financial products like payday loans. They are the fastest-growing startup in the category and were incubated by QED Capital, a top fintech venture fund.
Their Instant Pay app provides earned wage access for employees at mid- to large-sized organisations to improve their financial wellness and to increase employee engagement and productivity.
With many workers living paycheck to paycheck, financial wellness tools are an important part of any employee benefits package. Our client gives employees access to the money that they have already earned whenever they need or want it, without needing to wait for the month-end paycheck.; The service is mobile app-based, very easy and intuitive to use. There’s a small transaction fee and no interest to pay, a much healthier solution than payday loans or bank overdrafts with their exorbitant charges.
Our client’s ultimate mission is to help people attain financial freedom, which starts with giving people full control over their income.
ABOUT THE ROLE:
Our client’s ambition is a rapid rollout of its services across Europe, starting with markets of greatest need and opportunity. This role will take the lead on holistic evaluation of European markets, their prioritisation for launch, and creation of a repeatable “launch playbook” - from market / customer / competitor evaluation to staggered entry activities across marketing, product, hiring, legal, etc.
A major aspect of their go-to-market strategy and activities will be evaluation, creation, maintenance and leverating of appropriate strategic partnerships, incl. with providers of key financial and regulatory infrastructure essential for launch and scaling. This role will take the lead on all aspects of these strategic partnerships.
European expansion is one of the principal value creation drivers for the business. Accordingly, this role is highly strategic, highly visible (reporting to and working very closely with CEO Europe), carries significant responsibility and provides the Director with a unique opportunity to make an outsized positive impact on a young and quickly scaling business.
The ideal candidate will embrace the team’s global culture, which is rooted in Shokunin - the Japanese philosophy of giving your very best for the general welfare of people. The company’s other core values are radical transparency and zero ego.
SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES
● Revenue – be the steward of the revenue contribution and profitability of the client’s products
● Product Discovery - specify market requirements for current and future products by conducting market research supported by ongoing data gathering from customers and non-customers
● Product Lifecycle – manage it all, from strategic planning to tactical activities
● Voice of The Customer – manage/champion VOC input related to your product portfolio.
● Market Intelligence – be the expert on our buyers, how they buy, and their buying criteria
● Business Cases - develop business cases for each new product/product enhancement to demonstrate the viability of the product/capability, including target pricing and margin, addressable and realizable market, SWOT analysis, estimated development, implementation, and support costs, etc.
● Business Epics & Product Stories - develop stories that include use cases so that the product squad has a clear picture of what is needed.
● Product Development - shepherd new products /product enhancements through the development cycle to ensure what you have defined is built and delivered according to the current expectations.
● Product Launch – Develop and implement a company-wide go-to-market roadmap to successfully launch new products / versions to current and new markets, Develop Playbook for each product covering:
● Product Positioning – help develop core product positioning messages and product value propositions based that differentiate the clients products in the market
● Content - Help define tailored content for presentations, demonstrations, etc. that highlight the value proposition of your product portfolio
● Assist with Demand Generation – Contribute to marketing programs that will drive awareness and demand for your products.
● User Personas – understand and manage user personas and their particular needs
● Help deliver the product roadmap across mobile and devices. You'll define a vision and strategy and build great new user experiences
WORK EXPERIENCE AND REQUIREMENTS:
● Minimum 3 years of experience in a product role with an European consumer fintech company
● Demonstrate ability to think strategically about a product and its positioning in a marketplace
● Solid technical aptitude to grasp the technical nature of the client’s products and the environments in which they operate
● Strong understanding of API solutions, open banking and payment rail
● The ideal candidate will have held a senior role in scaling payments infrastructure and led complex vendor partnerships
● The ideal candidate will have experience in fintech/payments and design thinking to deliver solutions that begin with the customer and are simple, powerful and complete
● You will own how the Company manages the flow of money - with their clients, their employees and the banking system in general
● Excellent product management, planning and organizational skills
● Ability to work effectively under pressure and under time constraints
● Flexible and able to adapt quickly to new situations
● Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams without formal authority
● Ability to handle multiple, (sometimes conflicting) priorities and still meet deadlines.
● Ability to work as part of a team
● Capacity to manage high stress situations
● Leadership skills
● Attention to detail and sense of urgency
● Conflict resolution skills
● Exceptional and proven written and verbal communication skills
● Solid technical aptitude to grasp the technical nature of the client’s products and the environments in which they operate
● Strong ability to present ideas and information in influential and compelling ways
● Ability to forge relationships and communicate with stakeholders at all levels
● Able to work effectively across functional groups & with minimal supervision
● Flexible work style comfortable in a fast-moving, highly energy and evolving environment