VP, Product Owner

Job Purpose

This role is responsible for managing the credit and debit cards portfolio at Mashreq across the entire customer life cycle (onboarding, early account management, engagement & usage, portfolio programs, servicing, attrition & retention). This role would also run the credit cards portfolio & servicing squads as part of the bank's digital studio, to lead the design, development and delivery of all digital initiatives associated with Cards. The objective of the role is to achieve sustainable growth in business volumes, revenues and net profits through setting up innovative & robust portfolio actions and delivering best-in-class digital solutions.

The role leads a team of portfolio managers as well as development engineers in the digital squad to deliver on the stated objectives.

Key Result Areas

Digital Portfolio and Servicing Product Owner

• Lead a team of development engineers in the cards' portfolio & servicing squads to design, develop and deliver cards' digital initiatives
• Conceptualize and build towards a digital-only servicing model for credit and debit card products
• Adopt a digital-first strategy for all portfolio actions – card maintenance, card services, portfolio/inorganic sales, engagement programs and customer retention
• Maximize digital reach to customers through the use of native channels (Online, Mobile) as well as pre-login/web platforms
• Increase digital penetration and adoption for customers by expanding the suite of digital services as well as running digital activation programs
• Own the end-to-end customer experience for cards – digitization of services, straight-through processing, first-point-resolution, management of customer complaints and resolution TATs
• Lead existing partnerships and formulate new ones to offer digital servicing and engagement solutions to clients
• Maximize digital reach to customers through the use of native channels (Online, Mobile) as well as pre-login/web platforms. Increase digital penetration and adoption for customers by expanding the suite of digital services as well as running digital activation programs
• Run a strong suite of customer offers and benefits at a portfolio level, leveraging existing partnerships, onboarding new ones, and designing creative customer engagement programs to ensure increase in wallet share
• Work with x-functional stakeholders to ensure all regulations, legal requirements as well as organizational processes, SOPs and guidelines are adhered to

Portfolio Management

• Ensure effective portfolio management across the entire consumer life cycle
• Devise a portfolio management strategy aimed at maximizing the aggregate risk-adjusted revenues and optimizing the yields for the business
• Use a combination of segmentation techniques and sophisticated data models to optimize the portfolio mix between revolving, installment and transacting books, while managing the risk profile of the book within acceptable benchmarks
• Administer the credit line management strategy for the business, and design and execute programs such as CLI and CLD on a regular basis

Operating Environment, Framework and Boundaries, Working Relationships

• The candidate is required to interact with and maintain close working relationships with various internal stakeholders, as well as develop and cultivate relationships with merchant partners, suppliers and vendors
• The candidate is expected to deliver management presentations and updates on regular business performance, opportunities and key risks
• The candidate is required to adhere to the bank's governance practices, and ensure adherence to all regulatory, legal and internal policies at all times

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Bachelors and Masters in Finance/Economics/Strategy/Business Administration with 10 years of banking/payments/consulting experience, with at least 3 years' experience in cards portfolio/product/P&L management
• Prior experience in managing a diverse team of junior to mid-management people is strongly preferred
• Strategic thinking – ability to understand the key dynamics and drivers of the cards business; understand industry trends and visualize what new trends and technologies would emerge in the near to medium term future; and devise strategies to respond to such opportunities/threats to ensure the bank stays ahead of the curve
• Tactical nous – ability to also understand the immediate and short-term priorities for the business and ensure timely actions to honor such priorities
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills – ability to comprehend large problems, break them down into smaller executable tasks, and track such tasks to execution and closure
• Excellent communication skills – ability to easily and clearly convey ideas, action-ables and challenges across all levels of hierarchy in the organization
• A good team player – ability to work with stakeholders across various units; ability to influence and drive decision making in large groups, including in non-reporting relationships; ability to resolve conflicts constructively and lead the team to a consensus
• Passionate about change and making a difference – at Mashreq, the employee is empowered and encouraged to conceptualize and drive change to achieve improved business outcomes
• Self-initiated – open to learning new ideas outside scope or knowledge. Open to operating outside one's comfort zone
• Very strong management presentation skills
• Strong understanding of Agile methodologies is a plus