Product Manager – Business Analyst @ Vertical Future Full Time

Vertical Future is a market leading Vertical Farming technology and research and development Company, founded in 2016, and based in London. We design, build, and license high-tech hardware and software solutions. We also own and operate vertical farms and conduct research and development activities across a growing programme of research.

Vertical farming is about far more than just growing crops. Our goal is to improve population health through building a better, more efficient, data-driven food system. That’s why we’re committed to continue developing pioneering technologies to inspire smarter farming.

We are looking for an analytical and strategic Product Manager – Business Analyst to join our Software Development Team based in London and support the development of a complex automation and ERP SaaS solution.

The candidate:

In this key role, as the Product Manager – Business Analyst (SaaS Product), you will support the department head (COO) by assuming responsibility for the daily management of the product development/programme management aspects of the pipeline. You will work closely with various Teams and a variety of stakeholders, giving you great exposure to professional development opportunities.

Our ideal candidate will have a keen eye for gaps in consumer product offerings and the innovative mindset to fill them, and is a highly skilled market analyst with a proven ability to strategize the full lifecycle of product production — from conception through to release. You will also be responsible for investigating and analysing business activities and processes and looking to make them more efficient through the use of IT resources (both hardware and software). You may already be a confident leader who has experience guiding cross-functional teams in the successful creation of products that improve consumer experience and grow market share.

This is a fast-paced environment where you will be given a great deal of freedom to be creative, though you will be expected to drive the COO’s vision in terms of requirements and final product functionality. You will support the rollout of our national and international projects, and further develop of our technologies and production methods. This exercise will be an ongoing effort to define and maintain an industry best standard through VF’s technology offering.

The Role:

• Support the COO by undertaking a deep dive exercise to gain full familiarity of the product across all functionalities;
• Drive the product and business-planning process across cross-functional teams of the company;
• Analyse product requirements and develop appropriate programs to ensure they’re successful;
• Develop, implement, and maintain production timelines across multiple departments;
• Drive the execution of all product lifecycle processes for products, including product research, market research, competitive analysis, planning, positioning, roadmap development, requirements development, and product launch;
• Build and maintain clear development pipeline with supporting documentation;
• Collaborate closely with software engineering, QA, DevOps, and department leadership on the development, testing, and release of products and balance of resources to ensure success for the entire organisation;
• Translate product strategy into detailed requirements for prototype construction and final product development by engineering teams;
• Appraise new product ideas and strategise appropriate to-market plans;
• Assess current competitor offerings, seeking opportunities for differentiation.
• Work together with key internal colleagues to help build the complete documentation suite to support the full VF product suite, for internal and external clients;
• Create a detailed business analysis, outlining problems, opportunities and solutions for VF (including defining business requirements and reporting them back to stakeholders).
• Identify business issues, collect, record and analyse data, and evaluate and present data solutions.
• Other responsibilities may include: planning and monitoring; budgeting and forecasting; variance analysis; pricing; reporting.
• Work with Management level colleagues to review, align and develop SaaS product offering.

Our requirements:

Our ideal candidate will possess the following:

• Bachelor’s degree in product design or engineering (or other relevant degree);
• Relevant related qualifications (desirable);
• Substantial and relevant industry related experience (+ 8 years);
• Strong experience working in the food/agriculture/engineering/technology industry either in a dynamic Product Manager or Business Analyst role, and with management responsibilities (for at least 3 years) that also covered multiple sites (preferred);
• Knowledgeable and experienced in overseeing all elements of the product development lifecycle;
• Experience with programme management and relevant tools (Jira, Confluence, Slack);
• Previous software development experience (preferred);
• Ability to produce clear and concise technical documentation;
• Experience working in a scale up environment and in a small team (desirable);
• Confident and skilled user of Microsoft Office Suite, G Suite, IT systems and other communication tools;
• Familiarity with rules, regulations, best practices and performance standards;
• Clear understanding of the regulatory environment in which the business operates.

Key attributes:

• Exceptional communication skills (both oral and written; able to communicate with colleagues at all levels with ease and communicate complex technical concepts to management level colleagues);
• Strong professional work ethic: is self-motivated, 100% reliable, hardworking, and flexible;
• Robust organisational and motivational capabilities with exceptional attention to detail and ability to work to tight deadlines;
• A strategic and critical thinker who looks at the bigger picture, has excellent taste in and passion for products, and is empathetic, visionary, decisive, and an ability to execute;
• Outstanding numeracy, analytical, problem-solving skills, active listening, multidisciplinary and facilitation skills;
• Talented multitasker who handles both complex and competing demands;
• Eager to roll up sleeves, competent working independently and thrives in high pressure environments;
• Excellent relationship-building and team working skills. Team player with the ability to work well with internal colleagues, and business clients cooperatively and efficiently;
• The ability to work successfully as part of a multidisciplinary team;
• Fluency in English is mandatory; a second, third or fourth language is a bonus.

Benefits:

• Become part of a dedicated friendly and growing team
• Positive and supportive environment
• 25 days of leave (excluding bank holidays)
• Share options after 1 year of service
• Flexible working hours and location
• Access to collaborative workspace across London
• Exposure to an innovative and developing industry
• Access to training resources, a mentoring programme, a developing employee assistance programme and many more benefits!