Head, Product & Enterprise Solution Development at 9mobile Nigeria

9mobile is a Nigerian private limited liability company. EMTS acquired a Unified Access Service License from the Nigerian Communications Commission in 2007. The License enables EMTS provide Fixed Telephony (wired or wireless), Digital Mobile Services, International Gateway Services and National/Regional Long Distance Services in addition to spectrum assignments in the 900 and 1800 MHz bands.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Head, Product & Enterprise Solution Development

Job ID: IRC4575
Location: Lagos

Job Summary

• Oversee every element of how Product development is developed, integrated, validated, brought to market and serviced from a solution delivery standpoint spanning the BSS/OSS stack.
• Coordinate product platform capabilities and capacity with technology teams in line with the product roadmap, business plan, supplier roadmap, or market/industry trends.  
• Manage interfaces with other partner organizations involved in the development and delivery of products and services (e.g. roaming, interconnect, etc.).  
• Manage key phases of the product lifecycle from concept approval to in-Service Support.

Principal Functions        
Strategic/Tactical:

• Lead and provide broad development support covering design, application architecture, build, integration, quality assurance, support and optimization for large-scale product and service delivery infrastructures. Responsible for driving innovation in the OSS/BSS space geared toward superior products and service delivery.
• Partake in establishing and maintaining a world-class OSS/BSS architecture, consistent with best industry practices and fit for delivering on EMTS' business objectives.
• Establish and maintain a best-fit enterprise software development environment leveraging on latest technologies for quality service support delivery in a cost-effective manner
• Establish and manage relationships with key internal and external stakeholders. Keep abreast of global and local best practice and products/offerings/technologies as it relates to the team's functions.
• Participate in the IT capacity management forums. Also, contribute to cross-program governance to ensure companywide alignment across Architecture, Data Models, Business Processes, Development, Integration, Testing, Deployment and Commissioning processes.
• Ensure the right mix of competencies, tools and manning levels required to achieve the unit/function's strategy and ensure consistency with overall business objectives.
• Support IT Strategy and the program and portfolio management teams & others in the design of OSS/BSS initiatives, project selection, prioritization and scheduling based on commercial objectives.
• Manage relationship with ITO vendor in ensuring ITO business objectives as it relates to product management are achieved.
• Support product innovation/shape product design and drive higher ROI by educating product managers on any untapped platform capabilities.
• Manage inter-departmental relationships, especially with the Commercial, Network Engineering &Operations, Finance, and Internal Control functions.

Operational:

• Provide leadership in translating business requirements into technical designs as well as all the technical deliveries from concept to in-service support.  Lead all solution analysis and design in the product management space.
• Own the product catalogue and ensure that is current/up-to-date and that both commercial and technical catalogues are in sync.
• Support the demand management function in negotiating delivery priorities for new product/service requests, ensuring optimal use of delivery capacity without cost overruns.
• Manage ITO and other product/service implementation partners and ensure defect-free products are delivered for UAT and that defects raised during the UAT are prompted treated.  Coordinate the prompt resolution of post-launch defects.
• Support direct reports/teams in managing deliverables, SLAs/OLAs, and in driving actions /recommendations for improving product and service quality.
• Interface with product managers from various business units on matters related to product management throughout the life cycle.
• Propose / champion the formulation of new policies/processes and/or improvement to existing policies/processes, where necessary, to ensure that service levels match demand.
• Responsible for all BSS/OSS deliverables on projects as defined in project schedules/plans.
• Serve as IT interface for all matters related to Technical Roaming, & Inter-carrier partner/solution integration.
• Manage every indicator of risk within the product management domain and ensure adequate/acceptable mitigation. Accountable for the implementation of agreed audit recommendations related to products and services.
• Perform other duties as assigned by Director, Product & Service Integration

Educational Requirements        

• First Degree or equivalent in Engineering, Computer Science / IT or a related / relevant discipline.  
• Postgraduate and/or professional qualifications in related fields will be an added advantage.
• Minimum of 8 years combined relevant Telecom/IT experience with at least 3 years in a managerial role.
• Experience in leading and high-impact role(s) with progressive levels of responsibilities and at least half of these in solution architecting.
• Strong OSS / BSS experience implementing products and services in large and very dynamic telecom/mobile operations environment.
• Must demonstrate exceptional knowledge of telecoms protocols e.g. SS7, SIGTRAN, IP, CAMEL, etc.;
• Strong technical knowledge of integration /middleware technologies and approaches, core network elements (e.g. SMSC, USSD GW, VAS platforms, etc.) including experience in the Intelligent Networks (IN)/Charging platforms, voucher management, CRM tools, etc.;
• Knowledge or experience in current software development tools and frameworks, virtualization and container technologies, and database management platforms.
• The successful candidate will be a self-starter, possess good people management / exceptional interpersonal and organizational skills; will have strong experience in negotiating solution architectures and implementation options.  
• A strong can-do attitude and aptitude to drive innovation within the OSS/BSS domain.
• Knowledge of/experience in the Huawei IN nodes and the TIBCO middleware suite will be an advantage BUT a comparable experience (i.e. in other OEM IN technologies &middleware) will be acceptable in near equal weight.  
• Working knowledge and experience with service-oriented architecture will be an added advantage.
• Knowledge of/familiarity with TMF or related / comparable standards will be advantageous.
• Ability to communicate excellently (verbal and written), particularly in communicating complex technical details in very simple and clear business terms.
• Ability to cope and deliver at satisfactorily high levels when under intense pressure.
• Exceptional analytical, quick-learning and critical thinking skills.
• Effective at influencing and driving change.
• Experience with producing business cases and UML/other renowned solution modelling experience.

Application Closing Date
Not Specified.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online