Head of Product (Takealot.com)

Takealot.com, a leading South African online retailer, is looking for a Head of Product to join our team in Cape Town. We are a young, dynamic, hyper-growth company looking for smart, creative, hard-working people with integrity to join us. We offer a market-related, Total Remuneration Package which allows full flexibility according to your needs, a great work environment, and a promise that you won’t be bored as long as you are prepared for a challenge and want to build something great. Think you’ve been challenged before? Think again!

• Scale : 4 million happy shoppers shop online on takealot.com. Show them what you can do.
• Learn : We work with the best of the best, and then some. Work alongside industry leaders and up-skill in record time.
• Grow : Expand your career in the fast-growing Takealot Group: takealot.com and Mr D. We like to promote from within: Here’s your chance.

• As Head of Product, you’ll drive the vision for Takealot.com’s customer experience, leading a team of Product Managers to innovate across marketing, search, checkout, payments, and more. You’ll collaborate across teams, refine product practices, and ensure strategic alignment to deliver a seamless shopping journey to our customers.

• Define and execute the vision, strategy, and roadmap for Takealot.com’s customer-facing shopping experience across desktop and mobile, covering marketing, search, product pages, recommendations, checkout, payments, and advertising.
• Lead a team of Product Managers while overseeing BI analysts, UX Specialists, and UI Designers. Guide teams in defining requirements, analyzing competition, and delivering high-quality products.
• Collaborate with engineering, design, operations, and executive leadership to drive products from conception to launch, ensuring alignment with business objectives.
• Champion data-driven, customer-centric decision-making to shape business strategy and product design.
• Ensure consistency in design patterns and advocate for UX-driven solutions to customer challenges.
• Partner with stakeholders to understand strategic priorities and translate them into initiatives that enhance customer-facing products.
• Make strategic prioritization decisions on high-impact projects while influencing engineering team structures and development processes.
• Drive alignment between business and technical goals by assessing technical risks, motivating tech initiatives, and ensuring product teams understand overarching technical strategies.
• Maintain strong stakeholder relationships across verticals, securing buy-in for prioritization and providing clear roadmap updates.
• Establish and refine Product Management practices that drive efficiency, cost-effective execution, and delivery of commitments.
• Mentor and develop direct reports to ensure impact at scale and develop a clear succession plan.
• Build and scale teams for optimal performance, ensuring a structured approach to growth and long-term success.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Proven experience presenting to senior stakeholders
• Strong attention to detail
• Prior experience optimizing the UX/UI of a customer-facing platform
• Proficiency in data analytics tools (e.g., Excel, Looker, SQL)
• Experience with wireframing tools (preferred)

• Bachelor’s Degree or Advanced Diploma in a related field. In the event you don’t have a professional qualification, equivalent experience is sufficient.
• 10+ years of product management experience (including exposure through projects or responsibilities)
• 3+ years of experience managing a team of Product Managers

• The power is in your hands : We offer a market-related, Total Remuneration Package that allows full flexibility according to your needs.
• No doors : We aren’t fans of stuffy offices or siloed work environments.
• Remote working : Takealot.com offers a hybrid working model for the best of both worlds.
• Mentorship programme : Learn from the best.
• Naspers Tech Community & Online Learning : Share ideas and grow with global industry leaders.
• Good times : Regular social events and out-of-office activities.
• Staff discount : Access to millions of products across 28 departments.
• Birthday leave : Enjoy your day off.
• Right tools, right job : Work on the latest tech.
• Help when you need it most : Confidential counselling, legal support, and financial guidance.
• Tech stack : ReactJS, Python, Scala, Kotlin, Swift, Google Cloud, Kafka, Redis, Kubernetes and machine learning.
• Free parking : Convenient parking available.