Product Owner (PE)

Datafin Recruitment · Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape

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ENVIRONMENT

A PE-based global Logistics Operation is seeking a Product Owner who is the single point of accountability for an IT product across its entire lifecycle — from inception through operation to retirement.
In the company's operating model, the Product Owner acts as the "mini-CEO" of the product: owning its P&L, strategic direction and roadmap, stakeholder relationships, service and vendor performance, and security posture on a continuous basis.
This is an ownership and accountability role, not a coordination or reporting role. It demands a customer-centric, commercially astute leader who pairs genuine thought leadership with strong technical depth, able to shape demand, challenge decisions with evidence, and own architecture and technical trade-offs rather than delegate them.
The successful candidate thrives in a fast-paced, global logistics environment and balances strategic thinking with disciplined, hands-on execution.

Ownership & Accountability — takes single-point accountability for a product and drives it forward independently, without micromanagement.
Strong Technical Expertise — deep understanding of IT systems, technical architecture, integrations and data; able to own technical and architecture decisions and hold engineering and vendors to a high bar. Hands-on technical or engineering background strongly preferred.
Thought Leadership — shapes strategy and influences at leadership level; brings original, evidence-based points of view on product, market and technology direction.
Financial & Commercial Acumen — confident with P&L/TCO, unit economics, budget variance, and contract and vendor commercials.
Analytical & Evidence-Based Judgement — interprets data, defines metrics, and makes decisions on evidence — not opinion or activity.
Stakeholder Leadership & Influence — manages relationships across clients, leadership and delivery teams as a trusted advisor; negotiates and resolves conflict constructively.
Delivery & Agile Fluency — applies Agile/Scrum and disciplined backlog, capacity and demand management within a product operating model.
Security & Risk Awareness — understands security, compliance POPIA/GDPR and risk ownership as a core product responsibility.
Communication & Language — fluent written and spoken English; additional languages an advantage given the global footprint.

Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering or equivalent; Product Management Certification e.g., Pragmatic, SAFe PO/PM advantageous.
5+ Years in IT Product Ownership, Technical Product Management or a Senior Technical/Solution role — ideally with P&L or TCO accountability for a product or platform.
Demonstrable technical depth Architecture, Cloud, Integration or Software Delivery and evidence of thought leadership in a relevant technology or industry domain.
IT experience in the Logistics and/or Warehousing industry.
Strong knowledge of the IT market, trends, technologies and best practices, with excellent presentation and interpersonal skills across diverse, global teams.
Willingness to complete a Pluralsight Role IQ baseline for the IT Product Manager role and follow a targeted learning path, consistent with the company's capability-development framework.