Role Profile:

Position Title: Product Manager

Position Start:  Immediate

Reporting to: Group Head of Technical Product / Uganda Country Manager

Department: Product Operations

Location: Watu SIMU HQ (Ad Hoc travel to Field)

Direct Reports: Aftersales Lead, Product Support Officer

Indirect Reports: Aftersales Process Officers, In-House Couriers/Support,  Back Office Lead, Back Officers

The Company:

Watu is an Asset FinTech revolutionising access to mass-market mobility and connectivity across Africa by bridging the gap between people and accessibility to flexible financing.

Our vision is to provide asset financing services for mobility assets (motorcycles, three-wheelers, and vehicles) and smartphones to ambitious individuals who believe that, when provided with the right tools, they can fulfill their dreams as entrepreneurs and prosper in life while supporting the needs of their families and community. We, therefore, have a commitment to Empower Entrepreneurs by providing the means needed to move and improve in their lives.

We have so far provided over 2 million loans across 8 countries and positively impacted the lives of more than 8 million people. We are also actively promoting financial literacy and independence, adoption of digital payments and increased regulatory and safety compliances.

As we expand our footprint across new markets, we have made a conscious decision to be the pioneers of Africa’s movement toward ‘clean and green mobility’. Through the financing of new electric motorbikes, we are leading the way to a cleaner and sustainable continent.

Joining Watu Uganda at this stage provides an opportunity for you to influence the strategy of a growing business, and to make a difference in the lives of millions of Ugandans. We are a vibrant company where ideas and passion are welcomed, and where you get responsibilities from day one. Our people are our greatest asset and, as an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds to work with us.

How will your role contribute to company’s success:

The Product Manager plays a crucial role within the Top Management team by leading the end-to-end design and execution of Watu SIMU’s product strategy, customer experience and aftersales operational processes. 

This includes optimising customer and device onboarding, maximizing user experience and payment flows, overseeing asset protection and fraud detection efforts, driving workflow automation and developing post-sale support. You will achieve this through data-driven decision making, experimentation and collaboration with cross functional leads as well as through the leadership of your own team of Product Support and Aftersales professionals.

. You will constantly look at ways to make our products and customer experience better by coordinating with internal teams and external partners including OEMs, MNOs, Wallet Providers, Credit Reference Bureaus, repair partners,  device seller partners, and their agents to ensure seamless product delivery.

Responsibilities:

1. Product Strategy & Ownership
   • Define, defend & iterate the product roadmap for all digital channels and Aftersales workflows, balancing compliance requirements, automation, and customer satisfaction.
   • Prioritise localised product requirements and collaborate with Group product and in country XFN stakeholders to shape sprint goals.
   • Lead localisation initiatives including regional UX adaptations, language translations, and contextual UX flows.
   • Own digital platform experience across our Android & USSD Apps, WhatsApp & In-App Bots, and IVR channels, with a focus on self service adoption &  first call resolution.
   • Lead the design and execution of experiments and user research to optimise customer experience across our digital channels.
   • Design and roll out support tooling and workflows for frontline teams including branch officers, and field & customer care agents.

2. Product Growth & Marketing
   • Drive product/feature GTM execution in collaboration with XFN stakeholders.
   • Define and maintain locally relevant buyer personas for both onboarding and aftersales use cases.
   • Collaborate on the development of training material, FAQ content, walkthroughs, and targeted product announcements.
   • Drive initiatives that reduce customer support dependency and adoption of digital channels

3. MDM/MIS Platforms Management
   • Establish, maintain and enforce policies for device enrolment, firmware updates, unlocking, and deactivation across all stakeholder channels.
   • Design, test and launch automation initiatives for the on-boarding process. 
   • Liaise with OEMs and MDM providers to address platform bugs, integration issues, and feature customisation.
   • Monitor MDM system usage, device lock status, and audit trails to ensure compliance with internal SLAs and customer protection standards.

4. Asset Security 
   • Lead penetration testing and counter fraud experiments (eg MDM bypass, payment diversion, device tampering etc) and liaise with OEMs and MDM providers to address platform/OS security loopholes
   • Collaborate with Data & Risk to design & execute detection workflows

5. Aftersales Operations
   • Oversee Tier 1–3 customer support processes for device unlocks, returns, replacements, and SLA compliance.
   • Manage escalation channels and the performance of After Sales Support Officers and other teams that deliver SIMU Customer Support.
   • Drive standardisation and process excellence across branches and third party collection points via audit loops, error dashboards, and compliance incentives.

6. Product Partnerships

   • Serve as the primary product interface for Uganda facing stakeholders including MNOs, CRBs, policy regulators, technical integration teams, and retail partners.
   • Champion co-marketing and joint support initiatives with third-party players
   • Liaise with Group Partnerships Manager on long-term interoperability and feature alignment with key ecosystem players.

What we are looking for:

Must - Haves:

• 5+ years’ experience in product management, operations, or customer lifecycle management within fintech/BNPL,
• Hands-on experience localising product experiences across markets,
• Ability to translate operational friction into product and automation opportunities,
• Proficiency in SQL, Google Cloud/Workspace (Apps Script), and workflow design,
• Strong stakeholder communication — across tech, support, marketing, and external partners,
• High bias for execution, field visibility, and data-backed decisions,
• Familiarity with API integrations in the finance and telco ecosystem.

Nice-to-Haves:

• Experience with Customer & Operations Analytics Analytics and ML modelling for credit risk or fraud detection
• Familiarity with API integrations 
• Knowledge of asset recovery workflows and device-level security