Johannesburg: Business Analyst & Product Owner (Investment)

Key responsibilities Analyse business needs, processes, and system behaviour across the range of he company products. Analysis could be quantitative or qualitative in nature. Support discovery activities and problem definition. Translate business and regulatory needs into structured requirements and backlog inputs. Use the company’s approved AI tools to support analysis, documentation, and insight generation to enhance quality and speed of output. Create user interface mock-ups that are consistent with existing product and will guide the development effort on the front-end. Prepare product artefacts to support governance and decision making. Support product committee submissions and evidence packs. Shadow the Head of Product Office in prioritisation, trade-off, and governance decisions. Where applicable, take ownership of defined technology features, products or components. Provide input into prioritisation of product backlogs within agreed guardrails. Assist with day-to-day product decisions aligned to governance standards. Engage stakeholders across Technology, Operations, Compliance, Proposition and Distribution. Ensure delivery outcomes align to product intent and business value. Assist with demos and rollout of new features and products. Assist with the definition and measurement of success of the feature or product that is analysed. What success looks like Strong understanding of the company’s products and operating context. Sound judgement in balancing commercial, operational, and regulatory needs. Increasing independence in requirements and other artefact generation, product decision-making and prioritisation. Respected and trusted by members of the PO team as well as teams with whom we collaborate. Experience 3–5 years of experience in business analysis, product, or related roles. Exposure to financial services, asset management, or similar regulated environments. Experience with or working knowledge of IT / software development / database structures will be very beneficial. Experience of working in agile / scrum environments alongside software developers.  Education Qualifications At a minimum, an undergraduate degree in a financial, commercial, IT, information systems or engineering discipline. Ideally some financial component (either as part of the degree or as a post-graduate course). Strong academic track record showing consistent performance. Additional business analysis, product ownership or financial qualifications such as CA(SA), CFA and CPA would be beneficial.  Knowledge, Attributes Skills Culture and personality fit are critical. The company is a dynamic business that retains a strong entrepreneurial spirit and has a driven, team-orientated culture. Knowledge of investments from instruments is preferable (equities, bonds, property and cash), through asset allocation and the risk return efficient frontier to funds (mutual funds, collective investment schemes, unit trusts). Knowledge of the advice process is preferable – financial personality / risk appetite assessment, cashflow modeling, suitability, tax, retirement and estate-planning, compliance, portfolio construction, investment via a platform and regular performance reporting. IT knowledge beneficial – particularly data structures, user experience (UX) and user interfaces (UI). Business analysis skills to define business requirements. Problem solving and ability to evaluate trade-offs during prioritisation processes. Strategy execution – the ability to translate strategy into coherent products that align with the product roadmap. Inter-personal skills to collaborate effectively with colleagues, advisers and third-party product providers. Project management knowledge and skills are preferable, however while delivery awareness and coordination are important, this role does not carry project management accountability – its focus is on product quality, value, and decision support. Foster an open and fun environment where colleagues are excited to brainstorm ideas, open to visualise ideas, but also shut down some ideas without upsetting people. Strong at prototyping and working up the strongest ideas to play back to the company. Ability to present and defend solutions in group settings. Demonstrated ability to grow into a decision-making role. Comfortable working with ambiguity and complexity. Attention to detail and accuracy of work are very important.