Principal Product Manager

Senior Product Manager - Product Information Management (PIM) & Digital Asset Management (DAM)

Division/ Department

Sainsbury's Tech

Reporting to

Head of Product

Overview

At Sainsbury's Tech, we drive innovation for the UK's leading multi-channel retailer. Our product teams consist of passionate and diverse professionals who are empowered to tackle complex challenges in ways that resonate with our customers and fulfill our business objectives.

This position is crucial within our Digital Merchandising Tooling domain, developing multi-brand e-commerce functionalities that cater to millions of customers weekly. The role is vital for enhancing customer satisfaction and delivering value to the organization as part of our strategic initiative to Save & Invest to Win. Collaborating with Digital Trading, Studio, and Product teams, this position will provide top-tier tools and workflows to ensure an outstanding experience for both customers and colleagues. The Senior Product Manager will utilize automation and AI to create a leading-edge digital workflow that guarantees swift site updates and freshness.

The Senior Product Manager is dedicated to comprehensively understanding, anticipating, and surpassing stakeholder expectations. In a multifaceted environment with varying demands, they advocate for the long-term vision aligned with our overarching business objectives. They also collaborate across teams and the wider product and technology functions to coordinate and prioritize the diverse requirements of their product. By looking beyond daily tasks, they leverage their expertise to establish a clear set of standards, processes, and a guiding vision for the domain.

The role requires a deep understanding of the distinct needs of customers, business, and Engineering/Architecture, utilizing this insight to drive successful delivery. This includes engaging in technical discussions, translating business value, and identifying opportunities. They prioritize their product roadmap effectively using business metrics and collaborate with external partners to integrate best practices and innovative ideas into their product.

To achieve success, the Senior Product Manager must consider market dynamics and articulate the business advantages of both current and prospective products, while monitoring effort and value delivery to pinpoint opportunities for cost savings and quality enhancements.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and support strategic roadmaps and backlogs for products, ensuring comprehensive end-to-end customer experiences that align with core priorities.

• Own the customer and business value for specific products, ensuring alignment with relevant technology teams.

• Be accountable for the complete product management cycle for specific products, ensuring activities are prioritized according to agreed goals and metrics.

• Maintain a realistic 90-day roadmap and a prioritized, estimated fiscal year backlog, regularly communicating progress and proactively managing risks and issues.

• Facilitate collaboration within the core team, other product teams, and third parties to launch new product features, maximizing resource reuse across the division and brands.

• Assess potential partner relationships and identify necessary third-party technologies for evaluation and vendor selection.

• Support communication and resolution of live product incidents, effectively prioritizing and coordinating the resolution of production issues.

• Collaborate with third-party providers to maximize the utility of their technology and influence the development of new features that support business outcomes.

Success Factors

• Translate business and technology strategies, combined with market insights, into a product roadmap that prioritizes value delivery and enables future business agility.

• Determine the appropriate level and type of materials to communicate the experience, benefits, and long-term vision for the product to various audiences, including development teams and stakeholders.

• Contribute to effective prioritization decisions to maximize value and return on investment.

• Build strong collaborative relationships with engineering teams to solve problems for customers and the business.

• Create a positive impact with internal and external stakeholders, ensuring senior advocacy for the product.

• Maintain awareness and understanding of existing product stacks/interfaces and how to enhance them for seamless customer and colleague experiences.

• Utilize data and research to share insights, ensuring the team focuses on making significant impacts for customers and the business.

• Foster a culture of learning, empowerment, experimentation, and collaboration.

• Own key performance indicators to measure success in the role.

• Contribute to the Product Community of Practice.

Required Knowledge

• Comprehensive understanding of retail business dynamics and the technology landscape, maximizing the value that products can provide.

• Familiarity with Agile delivery and modern engineering practices.

• Knowledge of technical product development principles and methodologies.

• Experience in Digital tooling development, particularly PIM and/or DAM, is advantageous.

• Confidence in collaborating with multiple third-party providers to enhance relationships and maximize tooling contracts.

• Awareness of product lifecycle management.

Demonstrated Skills

• Ability to make complex decisions quickly, even in ambiguous situations, driving toward clarity.

• Proven track record of delivering technology-led change in cross-functional environments.

• Focus on delivering customer value and business outcomes rapidly, continuously optimizing activities and workflows.

• Passion for seeking value and motivating technology teams.

• Strong communication and influencing skills, particularly with senior stakeholders.

• Creative problem-solving abilities and enthusiasm for delivering change through technology and people.

• Anticipate risks and opportunities, responding swiftly to escalations and supporting solution development.

• High level of team contribution, seeking opportunities to provide input and support across various areas.

• Embrace shared responsibility and model effective collaboration.

• Influence iterative decision-making processes, managing ambiguity effectively.

Available Resources

• Support from line manager, peers, and the wider team.

• Access to product competency frameworks and communities of practice.

• Opportunities for learning and development.

• Specific budget allocation for products (budget ownership resides with the PPM Line Manager).

Decision-Making Authority

• Authority over all decisions related to the delivery of the product roadmap.

• Product Manager resourcing decisions within the product area.

• Prioritization and value return decisions across the product area with a multi-million-pound capital budget.

Sainsbury's is dedicated to fostering a workplace where individuals thrive, and diverse, engaged teams contribute meaningfully. We are committed to being the most inclusive retailer, welcoming flexible working arrangements, including job sharing, wherever feasible. In Tech, we encourage such discussions and take pride in promoting a diverse and inclusive culture.

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