Chief Product Officer/Head of Product - SME Lending - KSA

Who we are

We are Stryber, the leading independent corporate venture and venture studio builder in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific 🚀

We build ventures and venture studios for renowned corporations and investment funds, helping them deliver substantial growth and drive shareholder value. Our latest endeavor is a cutting-edge SME Lending venture in Saudi Arabia. 

As CPO (Chief Product Officer)/Head of Product of our SME Lending venture, you will shape the future of our rapidly growing company. As a seasoned leader with experience in managing and scaling businesses in the financial sector, you will play a vital role in driving the success of our company.

The role of a CPO/Head of Product in an SME lending company is dynamic, requiring a blend of strategic thinking, leadership, and a deep understanding of both the financial services industry and the needs of SME clients.As a passionate ambassador for our brand and vision, you will lead and build a high-performing team to achieve outstanding product-related KPIs. If you're ready to take the reins and drive our company to new heights, apply now.

Responsibilities

As CPO/Head of Product, you are both part of the founding team and fully responsible for the product – building a great team, a scalable product you will:

• Evaluate and implement new technologies, tools, and (scalable) infrastructure, that is in line with relevant regulations
• Skilled in data analysis, A/B testing, and using metrics to guide product development and improve user experience
• Define goals for product research and discovery, driving the team to continuous execution
• Ensure that clear and constantly improving delivery and quality assurance processes are in place
• Set, monitor and report the product goals (OKRs and KPIs) to stakeholders
• Communicate product and technology strategy to customers, partners and shareholders
• Support venture fundraising efforts in partnership with the rest of the founding team
• Continuously improve product processes and methodologies and foster best practices and knowledge sharing across projects
• An understanding of relevant regulations and compliance issues in the financial sector, especially those pertinent to SME lending.
• Apply research methodologies during product discovery in order to understand user problems and explore potential solutions, being creative about testing hypotheses and features in the leanest way possible
• Define the product vision, maintain and communicate a product roadmap and ensure product delivery
• Own, control, and prioritise a well structured product backlog, write detailed user stories and lead SCRUM/KANBAN meetings
• Put the customer first in your day-to-day work to improve the digital product based on deep user/customer and market understanding
• Identifying new product opportunities and staying ahead of market trends
• Attract, hire, manage and mentor great talent (including new employees, freelancers and advisors)

Must-Have requirements and qualifications

You are among the 1% of people who are true entrepreneurs at heart! This is a real founder opportunity. You have a strong burning desire to start your own company and are willing to take all the sacrifices and risks it comes with.

• 5+ years proven work experience in product management in a Senior Level position 
• Have previous work experience in SME Lending or Fintech, with proven track record of success building Fintech products 
• A strong passion for building products that customers love: you never take no for an answer, are always ready to persevere, and want to be on a mission to build
• You have strong knowledge and experience in scaling teams in a scale-up environment and building an engineering culture in which people thrive, grow and perform.
• A deep understanding of the SME market, customer needs, and competitive landscape to guide product development
• Skilled at working effectively with cross functional teams and managing different stakeholders' expectations
• You have a very good understanding of how to translate business and user requirements into a technical roadmap leading to product-market-fit and growth
• Profound understanding of technical aspects of a product (frontend, backend, infrastructure) and ability to discuss them in detail
• A user user-centric approach to product development including user research, designing user experiences, and integrating customer feedback into product development
• Know how to track product delivery efficiency, quality, and agility and actively work on improving those dimensions together with the team
• Effective communicator and empathic moderator even in the most difficult situations, able to calmly listen and be receptive for feedback
• Comfortable making decisions in the face of ambiguity and not discouraged by the inevitable challenges along the way
• Capable of solving every project challenge independently, taking full responsibility for the outcomes
• Proficient in both written and spoken English and Arabic is a must
• Bachelor degree in Business, Computer Science, Engineering or equivalent
• You are currently based in the GCC or you are willing to relocate to Riyadh, KSA

Nice-To-Have Technical Prerequisites:

As a Chief Product Officer (CPO) or Head of Product for our SME Lending venture, you will be leading a team in an environment built on micro-services architecture. The ideal candidate should possess a strong technical background and expertise in technologies relevant to our platform. Key technical prerequisites include:

• Proven experience in working with platforms based on microservices/modular architecture.
• Ability to architect, design, and implement complex solutions and scalable microservices for optimal performance.
• High-level understanding of frontend and backend software development to facilitate effective communication with the engineering team.
• High-level understanding of coding languages like React for frontend development, NestJS for backend development or other languages.
• Familiarity with integrating third-party services, especially in the financial sector, such as AML, KYC, KYB, e-contract signature, and payment gateways, over various protocols such as REST or SOAP
• Track record of successfully implementing and managing integrations to enhance product functionality.
• Strong understanding of relevant regulations and compliance issues in the financial sector from SAMA, specifically those related to SME lending.
• Ability to ensure that the technology stack aligns with regulatory requirements, including cybersecurity frameworks as per SAMA regulations, contributing to a secure and compliant product.
• Proficiency in data analysis, and capability to leverage data-driven insights to enhance user experience and meet product-related KPIs.

It would be awesome, if you:

• Have previous work experience in a startup.
• Are experienced with common no-code / low-code tools such as Webflow or Bubble

You are a superstar, if you: 

• Have successfully executed your own startup or side project

Why you shouldn’t apply

• You expect a high salary from day one (this is a real entrepreneurial opportunity - it comes with an equity package, your salary will evolve with the status of the company)
• You would not be fully committed for a long-term entrepreneurial journey

Let’s build a great startup together and create real impact within the region!