Product Manager — Lending | Bedfordview | Permanent

Shape the future of digital lending in a fast-scaling fintech environment. Lead a product that directly expands access to credit and drives real financial inclusion.

This high-impact role places you at the centre of a rapidly growing fintech business, where technology, compliance, and customer experience intersect. As Product Manager Lending, you will take full ownership of a micro-lending product suite, define its strategy, roadmap, and delivery while ensuring alignment with South African regulatory frameworks. You will work closely with cross-functional Agile teams to bring innovative, compliant, and user-centric lending solutions to market.

You will operate as both a strategic thinker and hands-on Product Owner, translating market insights, regulatory requirements, and customer needs into clear, actionable product development. This is an opportunity to build and scale a product that plays a meaningful role in expanding responsible access to credit.

Our client is a dynamic South African fintech company operating across payments, verifications, and lending. With a strong focus on innovation and compliance, they are building scalable platforms that enable seamless financial services for individuals and businesses across the country.

What You’ll Do
• Define and execute the product vision, strategy, and multi-quarter roadmap for the lending product suite
• Identify market opportunities through customer research, competitor analysis, and regulatory monitoring
• Own and prioritise the product backlog using data-driven frameworks
• Act as Product Owner within Agile squads, driving sprint planning, delivery, and continuous improvement
• Translate regulatory requirements into clear product features aligned with the National Credit Act
• Collaborate with Legal, Compliance, Risk, and Technology teams to ensure compliant product design
• Engage internal and external stakeholders, including credit bureaus and payment partners
• Define and track KPIs, using data insights to optimise conversion, repayment, and customer experience
• Run experiments and A/B testing to validate product decisions and improve outcomes

What You Bring
• Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field such as Business, Commerce, Engineering, or Computer Science
• 5+ years’ experience in Product Management within fintech or financial services
• Proven experience in South African micro-lending or credit products
• Strong working knowledge of the National Credit Act and regulatory environment
• Hands-on experience as a Product Owner in Agile/Scrum teams
• Experience with credit bureau integrations and affordability assessments
• Strong analytical capability with experience using data to drive product decisions
• Ability to write clear user stories, manage backlogs, and prioritise effectively
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills

What Success Looks Like
• Delivery of roadmap commitments aligned to business OKRs and timelines
• Strong product performance across origination, approval rates, and disbursement efficiency
• High customer satisfaction and improved lending journey experience
• Full regulatory compliance with zero critical audit findings
• Consistent sprint velocity and well-maintained backlog health
• Reduced defects and improved product quality post-release
• Positive stakeholder feedback and strong cross-functional alignment