Technical Product Manager at M&C Saatchi Group, London, 6 Months initial, £Day Rate Option

Fluency (Part of M&C Saatchi Group) are seeking a Technical Product Manager to take ownership of the roadmap and delivery of a key internal and externally facing data product. This role will involve working closely with technical teams while also engaging with commercial stakeholders to communicate progress, challenges, and opportunities.

This role will report directly into the Chief Data and Technology Officer, and will require working closely with the other stakeholders across the M&C Saatchi Group.

This will be an initial 6 month fixed term contract/ day rate.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

As a Technical Product Manager, you will be responsible for the end-to-end ownership of a data-driven product, ensuring it delivers value to both internal users and external clients. You will act as the bridge between technical teams (Data Engineers, Data Scientists, and Developers) and commercial stakeholders, ensuring seamless execution of the product roadmap.

You will play a pivotal role in:

• Owning and managing the product roadmap, ensuring alignment with business objectives.
• Driving the execution of the product delivery process, working with engineering and data teams.
• Translating technical progress into commercial impact, effectively communicating with non-technical stakeholders.
• Managing risks, blockers, and dependencies, ensuring product delivery remains on track.
• Leveraging project management methodologies to deliver high-quality outcomes on time.
• Owning stakeholder communication, ensuring transparency and alignment across teams.
• Reporting directly to the CDTO, escalating critical challenges and aligning on strategic direction.

WHAT YOU'LL DO:

Product Ownership & Strategy

• Define and maintain the product roadmap, ensuring prioritisation aligns with business goals.
• Balance short-term delivery needs with long-term product vision, iterating based on feedback and market trends.
• Drive continuous improvement, leveraging insights from users, data, and technology trends.
• Develop and track KPIs to measure product success, using data-driven decision-making.

Technical & Delivery Oversight

• Work closely with Data Engineers, Data Scientists, and Developers, understanding the technical complexity of the product.
• Facilitate technical discussions and align engineering priorities with business needs.
• Manage and refine the product backlog, ensuring clarity and feasibility of requirements.
• Ensure smooth collaboration between teams by defining and optimising processes.
• Identify and mitigate technical risks, working with engineers to implement best practices.

Stakeholder & Commercial Communication

• Act as the bridge between technical teams and commercial stakeholders, ensuring alignment on priorities.
• Communicate product progress, risks, and opportunities in clear, non-technical terms.
• Manage stakeholder expectations, balancing feasibility with business objectives.
• Work with leadership to justify product investments and strategic initiatives.
• Represent the product in internal and external discussions, ensuring clarity of vision and execution.

Project & Risk Management

• Oversee day-to-day project execution, ensuring tasks are completed on time and within scope.
• Implement agile project management methodologies, managing sprints, stand-ups, and retrospectives.
• Proactively identify and mitigate delivery risks, working closely with the CDTO when escalation is needed.
• Drive efficiency in product delivery by improving workflows, processes, and tooling.

You are a competent project manager and self-starter with an inquisitive mind. You are not afraid to ask questions. You are lateral. You appreciate the importance of data in helping clients transform. You understand the importance of creating scalable solutions. You have a strong POV on how projects are managed. Overall you have an unwavering attention to detail and a desire to learn.

WHAT YOU'LL BRING:

• Proven experience in a Technical Product Manager role, ideally within data-driven products.
• Strong understanding of data engineering and data science concepts, including cloud-based infrastructures.
• Ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear business impact statements.
• Exceptional communication skills, capable of engaging both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Hands-on project management experience, including Agile methodologies, sprint planning, and backlog refinement.
• Strong commercial acumen, able to align technical development with business goals.
• Ability to identify and manage product risks, escalating when necessary..

• You’ll own the product roadmap, ensuring successful execution and alignment with Fluency’s strategic vision.
• You’ll be the go-to person for both technical and commercial stakeholders, translating complex data challenges into business solutions.
• You’ll drive efficiency in execution, implementing best practices in Agile and product management.
• You’ll manage risks and blockers effectively, ensuring smooth product delivery.
• You’ll play a critical role in scaling Fluency’s data product offering.