ABOUT ANDELA
Andela is a network of technology leaders dedicated to advancing human potential. We help companies build high-performing distributed engineering teams by investing in Africa’s most talented software developers. Based in NYC, SF, Lagos, Nairobi, and Kampala, Andela is catalyzing the growth of tech ecosystems across the African continent while solving the global technical talent shortage.
YOUR ROLE
You will be the translator between supply and demand. As such, you determine what we sell and ensure both that there is product-market fit that we are able to effectively produce. If successful, your will work to advance Andela’s overall mission of proving that brilliance is evenly distributed.
This role requires both a product management background, an entrepreneurial mindset, a deep understanding of a technical product lifecycle, and an ability to think about that product lifecycle through the lens of developing human capital.
As VP of Product, you will define product strategy, advocate at the leadership level, and build a team of globally distributed product professionals to refine our value proposition and offerings to the tech community and developer ecosystem. As the Product thought leader, you will build relationships across the organization through collaboration with Talent Development, Partnerships, Success, and Marketing to both empower our developers and improve product-market fit of our unique technical staffing solution.
Ideally, you come with both a complex product and technical programming background, as well as experience with a distributed team working in a disruptive space. You should be comfortable scaling a team at a time of rapid growth, with minimal resources. Importantly, this role will require as much strategic management as it will tactical execution.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
- Define the Andela product strategy both in the immediate- and long-term by driving alignment with diverse stakeholders across four countries and several functions
- Refine the Andela solution and its product roadmap, including both its features (travel, best practices, quality standards) and the structure (services and consulting offerings)
- Own both the Developer Framework and each stack and level as a specific product (collectively, our product catalogue)
- Manage inventory of our developers, by stack and level, to meet demand from our partners and the market and to achieve internal utilization targets
- Build processes and leverage data to guide developer staffing strategy
- Design product development process, partnering closely with our Global Operations team (Supply)
- Grow and manage an internationally distributed team of product managers, attracting and retaining top product talent
- Foster a true product culture to create global recognition of the importance of continuous and rapid testing and learning
- Define, analyze and oversee key metrics to drive constant improvement in our business
- Communicate KPIs, solutions, progress and roadblocks to CEO and executive team weekly
KEY DELIVERABLES
- In the first 30-60 days, you will document the current product and quality standards
- In the first 90 days, you will create a process for inventory management and ensure cross-team visibility
- Beyond first 90 days, you will
- Articulate and refine Andela’s product roadmap, including our suite of tech stacks and the productized services we offer
- Develop systems and a strategy for driving healthy growth on both the supply and demand sides of business
- Operationalize matching/inventory management between Supply and Demand
QUALIFICATIONS
- 10+ years of Product Management experience, 5+ of which must have been at a scaling tech start-up
- Proven leadership in building and leading best-in-class product management teams
- Experience in software engineering, offshoring, and/or consulting/staffing
- Data-driven approach to iterative product prototypes
- Experience balancing competing interests of senior stakeholders within your team
- International experience, preferably in Sub-Saharan Africa or another frontier market