545 Product Development Manager jobs in South Africa

Job Description

To manage products throughout the product lifestyle as well as cooperate and work with others in the pursuit of team goals, providing specialist advice and support to all stakeholders

Ensuring optimal product rollout across the entire value chain

Role Purpose

As a Product Development Manager, you will lead the end-to-end development of innovative financial products that meet customer needs, align with business strategy, and comply with regulatory requirements. You will work cross-functionally with design, engineering, compliance, and commercial teams to bring new products to market and continuously improve existing offerings. A strong emphasis is placed on governance, audit remediation, and data privacy principles.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive the product development lifecycle from ideation to launch and post-launch optimization.
• Conduct market research, customer discovery, and competitor analysis to identify opportunities.
• Develop business cases, define product requirements, and prioritize features based on value and feasibility.
• Collaborate with UX/UI designers, engineers, and data teams to deliver high-quality digital experiences.
• Lead agile ceremonies and ensure timely delivery of product milestones.
• Monitor product performance using KPIs and customer feedback, and iterate accordingly.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory, privacy, and records management frameworks throughout the product lifecycle.
• Maintain strong governance practices, including documentation, decision tracking, and stakeholder alignment.
• Partner with Risk, Compliance, and Audit teams to remediate audit findings and proactively manage product risks.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Audit Remediation: Timely and effective closure of audit findings related to product processes and controls.
• Governance: Adherence to governance frameworks, including product committee approvals, documentation standards, and decision traceability.
• Privacy & Records Management: Compliance with POPIA and internal records management policies; zero breaches or escalations.
• Product Delivery: On-time delivery of product milestones and releases.
• Customer Impact: Improvement in customer satisfaction, adoption, and retention metrics.
• Commercial Performance: Achievement of product revenue, margin, or growth targets.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Computer Science, or related field (Honours/Master's preferred).
• 3-5 years of experience in product development or product management, ideally in financial services or fintech.
• Proven track record of launching successful products in a digital environment.
• Strong understanding of agile methodologies, product lifecycle management, and go-to-market strategies.
• Experience working with cross-functional teams and managing multiple stakeholders.

Skills & Competencies

• Strategic thinking and commercial acumen
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management
• Familiarity with tools like Jira, Confluence, Figma, and data dashboards like PowerBi
• Knowledge of APIs, digital platforms, and customer experience design
• Understanding of regulatory, privacy, and governance frameworks in financial services

Job Details

Take note that applications will not be accepted on the below date and onwards, kindly submit applications ahead of the closing date indicated below.

11/09/25

All appointments will be made in line with FirstRand Group's Employment Equity plan. The Bank supports the recruitment and advancement of individuals with disabilities. In order for us to fulfill this purpose, candidates can disclose their disability information on a voluntary basis. The Bank will keep this information confidential unless we are required by law to disclose this information to other parties.

SIQALO Foods
is seeking to employ an
Assistant Product Development Manager
. The role will be based in
Boksburg
and will report into the
R&D Product & Process Manager
.

The Assistant Product Development Manager will be responsible for managing the research, planning, coordination and execution of:

• New product development.
• Product quality improvements.
• Cost saving initiatives.
• Product and technical support from concept brief to product launch.

SIQALO Foods is seeking to employ an Assistant Product Development Manager. The role will be based in Boksburg and will report into the R&D Product & Process Manager.

The Assistant Product Development Manager will be responsible for managing the research, planning, coordination and execution of:

• New product development.
• Product quality improvements.
• Cost saving initiatives.
• Product and technical support from concept brief to product launch.

Strategy into Action:

• Proactively monitor and interpret emerging market dynamics, consumer behaviour shifts, and competitive intelligence to inform strategic direction and innovation pipelines.
• Cultivate deep operational and technical knowledge across product categories, with a focus on recipe architecture, formulation science, and process optimization.
• Lead consumer immersion initiatives, trade audits, and strategic supplier engagements to uncover latent needs, validate hypotheses, and translate insights into actionable innovation opportunities.

New Product Development (NPD):

• Spearhead the design and development of differentiated future-forward products.
• Translate strategic intent into robust project briefs, collaborating cross-functionally with commercial, technical, and marketing teams to ensure clarity of scope, deliverables, and timelines.
• Drive end-to-end execution of product development initiatives, including prototype trials at pilot scale, product sensory evaluations, specification drafting, and analytical assessments.
• Facilitate seamless coordination across internal and external stakeholders.

Project Management & Innovation Execution:

• Exhibit a strong entrepreneurial mindset by identifying whitespace opportunities and translating them into structured project charters aligned with business strategy.
• Lead cross-functional project execution across innovation and renovation phases, ensuring disciplined gate reviews, milestone tracking, and delivery of outcomes that are on scope, on time, within budget, and aligned to safety and quality standards.
• Serve as a project steward, driving accountability, risk mitigation, and stakeholder alignment throughout the development lifecycle.

Product Quality & Cost Optimization:

• Champion initiatives aimed at enhancing product quality and unlocking cost efficiencies across materials, processes, and formulations.
• Conduct feasibility assessments for proposed improvements, leveraging data-driven analysis and cross-functional collaboration to validate impact and scalability.
• Systematically collect, analyse, and interpret data related to raw materials, equipment capabilities, and process flows to inform decision-making and continuous improvement.

Team Coordination & Personal Leadership:

• Demonstrate ownership and accountability in all assigned tasks, consistently delivering with precision and purpose.
• Exhibit self-leadership through proactive goal setting, time management, and performance tracking, ensuring alignment with business objectives.

Technical Expertise & Strategic Insight:

• Provide expert technical product input in project forums, offering solutions grounded in sound scientific principles and industry best practices.
• Act as a trusted advisor to internal stakeholders, delivering actionable insights and recommendations through regular engagements and ad hoc consultations.
• Stay abreast of emerging technologies, ingredient innovations, and process advancements to inform strategic decision-making and maintain competitive edge.

Operational Management & Recipe Optimization:

• Ensure optimal utilization of raw materials within recipe formulations, balancing cost, quality, and functionality to meet product performance targets.
• Collaborate with operations and supply chain teams to align formulation strategies with manufacturing capabilities and efficiency goals.

• A Bachelor's Degree in Food Science or BTech in Food Technology, or a related scientific discipline, is essential to ensure foundational expertise in food systems, formulation science, and regulatory frameworks.
• A National Diploma in Food Technology or an equivalent qualification will be considered, provided it is complemented by substantial industry experience and demonstrated technical proficiency.
• Computer literacy – Excel, Word, Powerpoint.
• 3-7 years' experience in a Food-related FMCG environment with preferably 3 years in a R&D role.
• Required to travel and occasionally work irregular hours.
• Required to work in different environments – factory and office.
• Participation in required taste sessions.

Knowledge and Skills:

• R&D principles.
• Food safety and quality management.
• Production and process management.
• National Food legislation - GMP, HACCP, CPA, R146 compliance requirements.
• Industry and associated local and international trends.

Recruiter:
Western Cape Recruitment

Job Ref:
CPT /CS

Date posted:
Friday, September 12, 2025

Location:
Helderberg, South Africa

SUMMARY:
Leading company in the packaging industry is seeking a New Product Development Manager.

POSITION INFO:
Leading company in the packaging industry is seeking a New Product Development Manager with hands-on experience in a corrugating environment and proven management skills. This role is responsible for coordinating new enquiries, sample making, origination, inks management, and die supplier coordination to ensure business objectives are met. Key responsibilities include supervising the timely and accurate completion of 1st offs, overseeing the Design Department's daily activities in line with sales demand, tracking stereo and die damages, reducing ink usage per division, improving ink naming and coding systems, managing reporting on budget, purchases, and first off failures, and delivering projects in line with business strategy while meeting design demands.

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Requirements:

National Diploma in Production, Business Management or related

3 Years of Corrugating experience

3 Years of Management experience

SIQALO Foods
is seeking to employ an
Assistant Product Development Manager
. The role will be based in
Boksburg
and will report into the
R&D Product & Process Manager
.

The Assistant Product Development Manager will be responsible for managing the research, planning, coordination and execution of:

• New product development.
• Product quality improvements.
• Cost saving initiatives.
• Product and technical support from concept brief to product launch.

Minimum Requirements
:

• A Bachelor's Degree in Food Science or BTech in Food Technology, or a related scientific discipline, is essential to ensure foundational expertise in food systems, formulation science, and regulatory frameworks.
• A National Diploma in Food Technology or an equivalent qualification will be considered, provided it is complemented by substantial industry experience and demonstrated technical proficiency.
• Computer literacy – Excel, Word, Powerpoint.
• 3-7 years' experience in a Food-related FMCG environment with preferably 3 years in a R&D role.
• Required to travel and occasionally work irregular hours.
• Required to work in different environments – factory and office.
• Participation in required taste sessions.

Knowledge and Skills
:

• R&D principles.
• Food safety and quality management.
• Production and process management.
• National Food legislation - GMP, HACCP, CPA, R146 compliance requirements.
• Industry and associated local and international trends.

Duties and Responsibilities
:

Strategy into Action
:

• Proactively monitor and interpret emerging market dynamics, consumer behavior shifts, and competitive intelligence to inform strategic direction and innovation pipelines.
• Cultivate deep operational and technical knowledge across product categories, with a focus on recipe architecture, formulation science, and process optimization.
• Lead consumer immersion initiatives, trade audits, and strategic supplier engagements to uncover latent needs, validate hypotheses, and translate insights into actionable innovation opportunities.

New Product Development (NPD)
:

• Spearhead the design and development of differentiated future-forward products.
• Translate strategic intent into robust project briefs, collaborating cross-functionally with commercial, technical, and marketing teams to ensure clarity of scope, deliverables, and timelines.
• Drive end-to-end execution of product development initiatives, including prototype trials at pilot scale, product sensory evaluations, specification drafting, and analytical assessments.
• Facilitate seamless coordination across internal and external stakeholders.

Project Management & Innovation Execution
:

• Exhibit a strong entrepreneurial mindset by identifying whitespace opportunities and translating them into structured project charters aligned with business strategy.
• Lead cross-functional project execution across innovation and renovation phases, ensuring disciplined gate reviews, milestone tracking, and delivery of outcomes that are on scope, on time, within budget, and aligned to safety and quality standards.
• Serve as a project steward, driving accountability, risk mitigation, and stakeholder alignment throughout the development lifecycle.

Product Quality & Cost Optimization
:

• Champion initiatives aimed at enhancing product quality and unlocking cost efficiencies across materials, processes, and formulations.
• Conduct feasibility assessments for proposed improvements, leveraging data-driven analysis and cross-functional collaboration to validate impact and scalability.
• Systematically collect, analyze, and interpret data related to raw materials, equipment capabilities, and process flows to inform decision-making and continuous improvement.

Team Coordination & Personal Leadership
:

• Demonstrate ownership and accountability in all assigned tasks, consistently delivering with precision and purpose.
• Exhibit self-leadership through proactive goal setting, time management, and performance tracking, ensuring alignment with business objectives.

Technical Expertise & Strategic Insight
:

• Provide expert technical product input in project forums, offering solutions grounded in sound scientific principles and industry best practices.
• Act as a trusted advisor to internal stakeholders, delivering actionable insights and recommendations through regular engagements and ad hoc consultations.
• Stay abreast of emerging technologies, ingredient innovations, and process advancements to inform strategic decision-making and maintain competitive edge.

Operational Management & Recipe Optimization
:

• Ensure optimal utilization of raw materials within recipe formulations, balancing cost, quality, and functionality to meet product performance targets.
• Collaborate with operations and supply chain teams to align formulation strategies with manufacturing capabilities and efficiency goals.

Introduction

Reports to: The Commercial Manager

Location: Travel between all factory sites, customer locations, and the showroom

Package:
Paying R100K + Benefits

This person plays a pivotal role in shaping the product vision and strategy, guiding the entire product development lifecycle from ideation to market introduction. The Manager is responsible for conducting in-depth market research to identify trends and opportunities, driving innovation to create products that exceed customer expectations and adhere to company standards.

In this influential position, the manager will coordinate the marketing team, setting strategic priorities and directing initiatives to ensure successful product launches and impactful promotions. They will develop comprehensive training materials and generate engaging content for social media and marketing tools, enhancing brand visibility and customer engagement.

Additionally, the Manager will oversee pricing structures and master data management, ensuring a cohesive and distinct product offering across multiple factories. By promoting collaboration with suppliers and internal teams, the Group Product Manager ensures that our product range remains competitive and aligned with market demands.

Duties & Responsibilities

Product Development & Innovation

• Lead the development of new products, ensuring technical and aesthetic specifications are met.
• Conduct market research to identify trends, customer needs, and market gaps to inform product development strategies.
• Work closely with Designers, Production managers, and Suppliers to create innovative, cost-effective, and high-quality products.
• Ensure product specifications meet industry standards and align with the company's quality and design expectations.

Range Management Design and Trends

• Analyse trends to meet local preferences and identify new design solutions that encompass all room elements, including floors, walls, features, and sanitaryware.
• Guide manufacturers' designers and in-house designers on the latest trends and successful design development.
• Mentor customers on range building, rationalization, styles, and designs to create effective product ranges.
• Provide guidance to colleagues at sister companies on product selection, range rationalization, and display layout.
• Mentor new suppliers' designers on product design.

Factory Alignment

• Conduct comparative analyses to ensure that products from different factories possess distinctive features and benefits, avoiding overlap in styles.
• Develop strategic product development plans tailored to each factory.
• Identify style trends for the South African market in two divisions.
• Oversee range revamps and the introduction of new products based on set targets.
• Continue to rationalize product ranges and discontinue underperforming items as needed.

Sales Performance

• Conduct periodic reviews of new product sales, analysing performance against targets.
• Develop actionable plans to address gaps in product offerings and adjust strategies to meet sales goals.
• Monitor competitor activities and market trends to proactively adapt product offerings in collaboration with the Commercial team.

Project Management

• Oversee the product development process, ensuring timelines and quality standards are met.
• Manage cross-functional coordination among internal teams (factory development, production, marketing, and sales) and external partners, including glaze manufacturers and direct customer engagement.
• Track the progress of product development projects, troubleshoot issues, and ensure timely market delivery.

Pricing Strategy

• Manage and develop the pricing matrix for products across different factories in collaboration with the Commercial team, aligning pricing structures with market demand, commercial objectives, and factory profitability.
• Monitor and adjust pricing strategies based on market trends and competitor activities.
• Suggest special offers and deals to encourage stock movement and improve sales.
• Assist the master data coordinator in monitoring the integrity and consistency of pricing information across all platforms.

Marketing & Product Launch

• Play an active role in the marketing team by initiating product launch strategies and prioritizing tasks to promote new products.
• Lead the creation of marketing materials, including brochures, training content, and digital assets for social media and other platforms.
• Ensure marketing efforts align with the brand's vision and enhance product visibility in the market.
• Collaborate with sales and marketing teams to develop promotional strategies that increase product awareness and sales.
• Supervise trade marketing initiatives to maintain high standards in showrooms and effectively manage samples for agents.

Training & Content Creation

• Develop comprehensive training materials for internal teams and customers to ensure a thorough understanding of product features, benefits, and installation processes.
• Create engaging content for social media, brochures, and other marketing tools to effectively promote products.
• Provide product training to sales teams, equipping them with knowledge about new product features and advantages.

SOP Systems

• Establish workflow and standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all steps in the development and launch processes to optimize product development and marketing. Workflows outline the sequence of tasks, while SOPs provide detailed instructions for executing each task consistently.
• Manage the database, initiate the creation of new bases, and implement automation to improve workflow and data sharing between product development and production.
• Streamline the development and launch of new products at both factory and sales/marketing support levels.
• Provide ongoing training on the development workflow.
• Encourage the factory to supply product specification information to agents and customers more efficiently, ensuring communication formats meet company standards.

Continuous Improvement

• Monitor product performance in the market and gather feedback to guide future updates.
• Lead initiatives for continuous product improvement based on market demands and customer feedback.
• Position the company as an industry leader by continuously innovating and setting trends in style and design to ensure our products remain at the forefront of the market.

Desired Experience & Qualification

• Min of 7 - 8 years in a Product Dev Manager role.
• Homeware/Sanitaryware/Tile/Fabric design and development background.
• Flair for design and product development.
• Must come from some sort of fashionable/trend/what the market wants type of industry.

Project Manager – Conferences

26,000–34,000 ZAR per month basic + bonus schemes

Global Insight Conferences (GIC) — a market-leading conference and exhibition company — is looking for an ambitious, hardworking and talented individual to join our growing team as a Project Manager / Conference Producer.

Who We Are

We don't just run business conferences; we set the standard. We produce high-quality, bespoke business conferences — live and virtual — in the UK and abroad. You'll join a passionate, friendly, driven team that invests in its people and rapidly develops them into market-leading professionals.

Who We're Looking For

You're already a strong, proactive conference producer with proven experience of researching, planning and delivering profitable events. We're committed to developing those who want to grow and become industry experts, so you'll have ample opportunity for career progression and management if you can bring:

• 2+ years' experience producing B2B events (conference experience is a big plus)
• Minimum grade B/6 in Maths & English Language at GCSE (or IB equivalent) plus a strong set of A Levels
• A pro-active, positive attitude with a passion for results and making things happen
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills (email campaigns and phone work are essential)
• Ambition, drive and passion, plus a calm but urgent approach to deadlines
• Commercial curiosity and a self-directing, tenacious work ethic

What You'll Be Doing

As a Conference Producer you'll be responsible for creating high-quality, profitable conferences from scratch — researching, planning, writing and briefing other departments to deliver an outstanding experience for delegates, speakers and sponsors. You'll handle:

• In-depth sales & telephone research
• Programme and commercial copywriting
• Speaker acquisition from top brands
• Project lifecycle and task prioritisation
• Quality and commercial success indicators for each event
• Excel and data planning/management
• LinkedIn strategy and ROI
• External stakeholder management (speakers/sponsors)
• Internal collaboration with cross-functional teams
• Topic generation and innovation

This role suits highly organised, commercially minded, high-energy self-starters with exceptional organisational, research, grammar and creative writing skills.

What's In It For You

We don't just hire you — we invest in you. Benefits include:

• Competitive salaries & bonus schemes regularly reviewed
• Remote work flexibility
• Referral scheme: know someone great? We'll pay you £500 for your recommendation
• Charity & environmental initiatives: nominate causes close to your heart for our quarterly donations
• Equal, inclusive & diverse culture: over 80% of our leadership team is female, and we employ above the national average rates of people from ethnically diverse backgrounds

Ready to Apply?

Re-read the job specification. Do you have the credentials, passion and drive?

You do? THEN APPLY NOW

By applying for this role, you hereby freely give your prospective employer consent to use, process and store your personal data relating to your job application in accordance with prevailing legislation.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: R26 000,00 - R34 000,00 per month

Experience:

• events production: 1 year (Preferred)

Work Location: In person

The opportunity
We are seeking a motivated and enthusiastic Project Manager Transformers to join our team. In this role you will be responsible for multiple projects for all projects stages. You will be leading the project team, establishing the project execution approach and oversee project hand-over, execution planning, monitoring and control activities for both internal and external resources to accomplish all project goals.

How You'll Make An Impact

• Driving the formal acceptance of the project, contract close-out and its acknowledgement by the customer.
• Acting as the key contact for the customer and an escalation point for project issues.
• Building and maintaining strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensuring the project follows and complies with company health, safety, and environmental policies.
• Defining all project plan documents, including scope and financial plans, schedule and risk management plans.
• Ensuring that the project follows execution best practices and Hitachi Energy policies.
• Monitoring and controlling project progress and efficient resource utilization, project financials, overseeing projects invoicing status, cost, expenses and cash flow.
• Identify, qualify, quantify and manage project risks.
• Ensuring that the project is formally closed out as contractually agreed.
• Coaching and providing feedback for project staff.
• Organizing customer acceptance of transformers and working on removing defects in customer complaints.
• Supervising shipment, transport of the transformer from the plant to the customer and installation at the transformer assembly site.
• You will be responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable external and internal regulations, procedures, and guidelines.
• Living Hitachi Energy's core values safety and integrity, which means taking responsibility for your own actions while caring for your colleagues and the business.

Your background

• Bachelor's or master's degree in electrical/energy engineering.
• The PMP Certificate is an advantage.
• More than 5 – 10 years of experience in Project Management or Project Controlling in a transformer manufacturing industry.
• Experience with project management in the energy sector/Substations.
• Knowledge of MS Office and MS Project.
• Basic knowledge of SAP is beneficial.
• Ability to read technical drawings and documentations.
• Proactive, result-oriented individual with excellent interpersonal and teamwork skill as well as reliability and ability to work under pressure
• You are a real organizational talent, you have an analytical attitude, and you have good communication skills commercial insight and negotiation skills
• No objection to occasional travel abroad.
• Knowledge of various contracts (NEC3, FIDIC, etc)
• Proficiency in both spoken & written English is required.

Hitachi Energy is a global technology leader in electrification, powering a sustainable energy future through innovative power grid technologies with digital at the core. Over three billion people depend on our technologies to power their daily lives.

With over a century in pioneering mission-critical technologies like high-voltage, transformers, automation, and power electronics, we are addressing the most urgent energy challenge of our time – balancing soaring electricity demand, while decarbonizing the power system.

Headquartered in Switzerland, we employ over 50,000 people in 60 countries and generate revenues of around $16 billion USD. We welcome you to apply today.

Location:

Modderfontein, Gauteng, South Africa

Job ID:

R

Date Posted:

Company Name:

HITACHI ENERGY SOUTH AFRICA (PTY) LTD

Profession (Job Category):

Project/Program Management

Job Schedule:

Full time

Remote:

No

Job Description:

The opportunity

We are seeking a motivated and enthusiastic Project Manager Transformers to join our team. In this role you will be responsible for multiple projects for all projects stages. You will be leading the project team, establishing the project execution approach and oversee project hand-over, execution planning, monitoring and control activities for both internal and external resources to accomplish all project goals.

How you'll make an impact

• Driving the formal acceptance of the project, contract close-out and its acknowledgement by the customer.
• Acting as the key contact for the customer and an escalation point for project issues.
• Building and maintaining strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensuring the project follows and complies with company health, safety, and environmental policies.
• Defining all project plan documents, including scope and financial plans, schedule and risk management plans.
• Ensuring that the project follows execution best practices and Hitachi Energy policies.
• Monitoring and controlling project progress and efficient resource utilization, project financials, overseeing projects invoicing status, cost, expenses and cash flow.
• Identify, qualify, quantify and manage project risks.
• Ensuring that the project is formally closed out as contractually agreed.
• Coaching and providing feedback for project staff.
• Organizing customer acceptance of transformers and working on removing defects in customer complaints.
• Supervising shipment, transport of the transformer from the plant to the customer and installation at the transformer assembly site.
• You will be responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable external and internal regulations, procedures, and guidelines.
• Living Hitachi Energy's core values safety and integrity, which means taking responsibility for your own actions while caring for your colleagues and the business.

Your background

• Bachelor's or master's degree in electrical/energy engineering.
• The PMP Certificate is an advantage.
• More than 5 – 10 years of experience in Project Management or Project Controlling in a transformer manufacturing industry.
• Experience with project management in the energy sector/Substations.
• Knowledge of MS Office and MS Project.
• Basic knowledge of SAP is beneficial.
• Ability to read technical drawings and documentations.
• Proactive, result-oriented individual with excellent interpersonal and teamwork skill as well as reliability and ability to work under pressure
• You are a real organizational talent, you have an analytical attitude, and you have good communication skills commercial insight and negotiation skills
• No objection to occasional travel abroad.
• Knowledge of various contracts (NEC3, FIDIC, etc)
• Proficiency in both spoken & written English is required.