Products Specialist - Products Strategy Unit

We’re a leading financial institution, a key player in the Maltese market and part of a highly diversified multinational group of companies. Employing a team of over 270 employees, the Bank offers a full range of lending and savings solutions to both personal and business customers. We strive to offer a highly personalised service through our network of thirteen retail branches spread across the Maltese Islands.

‍We’re a team of inspired people who believe that opportunities start with a conversation.

Duties & Responsibilities:
The Product Specialist will work closely with team members and cross-functional streams within the Bank to deliver innovative financial solutions that meet customer needs and drive business growth and profitability. This role requires an understanding of banking products, customer behaviour, market trends, and regulatory requirements. 

You will be responsible for:
Strategic Planning and Execution

• Collaborate with the Head of Products and team members to define product strategies and business plans that align with the bank’s objectives
• Prepare and present the basis for business cases in relation to new products, services, processes and features to stakeholders
• Manage the Products Catalogue
• Keep abreast of new digital developments in the banking industry.

Product Development, Management and Reporting

• Assist in prioritising sprints and product backlog
• Analyse customer needs, market trends, and competition to identify new product opportunities and enhancements for existing offerings
• Write clear and detailed user stories, acceptance criteria and product specifications for the development team
• Maintain updated documentation of product requirements, user stories and acceptance criteria in tools like Jira or Confluence
• Develop and manage product key performance indicators (KPIs) and analyse product performance for continuous improvement
• Develop and maintain dashboards and reports that track KPIs
• Act as a primary point for stakeholders, including product streams, providing guidance on user stories, product requirements and alignment with business objectives
• Act as the subject matter expert (SME) for the product and services portfolio, providing training and support to internal teams
• Gather and translate business requirements into product features
• Identify Minimum Viable Product (MVP) features for effective quick-to-market solutions
• Communicate product progress, updates and changes to stakeholders
• Contribute to the Tariff of Charges review, changes and communication
• Assist in developing product campaigns for the commercial units and the call centre.

Product Testing, Sign-Off and Post-implementation Monitoring

• Design business test cases for System Integration Testing (SIT) and User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and ensure correct functioning
• Develop UAT test plans that reflect real-life usage of the system, ensuring that the product meets business requirements and user expectations
• Collaborate with development and infrastructure teams
• Execute business SIT and UAT testing for self and others within the team
• Monitor the testing process, ensuring that defects or issues are identified, logged and communicated to relevant teams for resolution
• Ensure UAT requirements are communicated to relevant teams
• Maintain documentation of test cases and resolutions
• Develop a go-live plan in liaison with the Products Team Management
• Resolve outstanding issues and update documentation and processes as part of the go-live plan
• Support post-implementation reviews, documenting lessons learnt and apply to future developments
• Monitor and promptly address production live issues.

Customer and Market Analysis

• Conduct market research and competitive analysis to identify opportunities for growth and innovation
• Manage the Bank’s Customer feedback platforms and complaints and analyse such feedback to consider improvements or review existing products and services
• Assist in complaint handling and resolution by supporting administrative tasks, tracking complaints, coordinating with stakeholders, and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and internal procedures.

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Participate in internal teams to ensure smooth product launches and adherence to legal and regulatory requirements
• Keep up to date the Bank's Complaints Register by liaising with different internal stakeholders
• Support product initiatives
• Prepare documentation and reports required for audits and reviews.

Project Management

• Participate in cross-functional project teams to deliver product initiatives on time and within budget
• Support the Head of Products and team members in setting team goals and objectives and contribute to overall team success.

Competencies and experience
You must possess: 

• Analytical and problem-solving skills
• Project management skills, including experience with Agile methodologies
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to be persuasive and assertive
• Working knowledge in product management tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence) and Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, PowerPoint, Word)
• Strong customer-centric mindset with a focus on delivering high-quality products and services
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and manage multiple priorities with attention to detail
• A positive and can-do attitude.

In addition:

• Bachelor’s degree in Banking, Computer Science, Business Management, Economics or a financial-related area
• Have at least 1 year of work experience in banking and product development, ideally with a focus on banking technology
• Knowledge of banking products (e.g. deposits, lending, digital banking) and industry trends
• Experience in banking technology, preferably in Temenos’ suite of products, will be considered an asset.

What we Offer:

• Ongoing personal development
• Preferential interest rates on home loans, personal loans and home value loans
• Comprehensive support for academic advancement through fully subsidized staff study loans
• Private clinic health insurance coverage, extendable to dependants
• Life insurance and personal accident cover
• Free ophthalmic examinations
• Private counselling sessions in collaboration with Richmond Foundation
• Additional half-day leave for birthday celebrations
• Annual performance appraisals and salary reviews
• €250 annual wellness allowance
• Complimentary mammogram screenings for female employees aged over 40 and PSA screenings for male employees aged over 40
• Flexible work arrangements (role permitting); and
• Various corporate discounts.

BNF Bank plc is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.