Security Portfolio Manager

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Here at Zen your gender, race, ethnicity, neurodiversity, sexuality, sub culture, size, introversion, extraversion, family background and everything else that shapes you does matter to us. Because they matter to you and are part of who you are.

We’re interested in you as an individual and here you’ll find opportunities to develop, be recognised and hopefully enjoy yourself along the way. So don’t hold back, there is a warm welcome for everyone at Zen and we look forward to meeting you.

The hiring manager for this role is Lee H, Head of Product. We appreciate that sometimes it’s helpful to talk about the role with someone that works at Zen so if you wish to find out more or discuss any details you’re not sure about, feel free to get in touch by calling 01706 902 275 or if you prefer to send an email – you can to HR@Zeninternet.co.uk and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

FAO Recruitment agencies & organisations: Please note that we do not need agency support to fill this role. We have a small, but great, pool of agencies on our PSL and will contact one of those if we need to.

Overview

Reporting to the Head of Product you will be responsible for the management and development of the Security Product Portfolio and Strategy. You will provide market context, to support technology delivery prioritisation and long-term EBITDA optimisation which guide decision making and execution.  

Working within the Portfolio team and alongside colleagues across the Digital, Brand & Marketing and Commercial teams you will play a pivotal role in driving the Security Strategy by supporting key stakeholders in the trading Divisions to guide planning, trading and investment decisions. You will own the market insights and decision making about Security product development and delivery priorities as well as partnerships. Through ownership of pricing strategy and trading ‘toolkit’ capabilities you will be accountable for Security portfolio margin expansion in line with the financial growth plans.  

You will collaborate across trading and technical divisions and will form part of ‘virtual’ leadership teams that lead our business in order to shape and influence planning and execution decisions. To be successful you will need to possess leading market and product insights, commercial acumen, and cross-functional team working. You will bring insights to life in order to drive the development agenda and to enhance the quality of decision making through the teams you work with.  

Key Responsibilities 

• Security Opportunity: Identify relevant Security opportunities within the acquisition strategy and installed base across all trading divisions (direct and indirect). 

• Commercial Ownership: Responsible for the trading commercials and operating profit of the security portfolio.  

• Developing Security Product Roadmap: create the development priorities of a comprehensive security product roadmap aligned with the company's strategic goals and market opportunities. 

• Market Analysis and Research: Educate stakeholders on market analysis/research on emerging security threats, industry trends, and competitor offerings, providing insights to inform product strategy. 

• Defining Product Requirements: Collaborate with cross-functional teams including development, sales, and marketing to define product requirements, features, and specifications based on customer feedback and market demands. 

• Product Launch and Go-to-Market Strategy: Lead the successful launch of security products by developing go-to-market strategies, including pricing, positioning, messaging, and sales enablement materials. 

• Performance Monitoring and Optimisation: Continuously monitor the performance and effectiveness of security products, analyse key metrics, and drive optimisation efforts to enhance product value and customer value. 

• Thought Leadership and Education: Be a driving force to share security-related information internally and externally. 

• Managing supplier relationships: Owning the commercial and strategic relationship with partners. 

Skills & experience

• Essential: Experience as a Product Manager/Senior Product Manager in a service-focused technology business which is driven by quality and customer service. Track record of driving incremental margin within these roles 

• Essential: Previous experience of developing Security Services and interest and passion for related emerging technologies 

• Subject matter expert in Security and other related services including end to end business processes, customer needs, technical and market insight and leverage this knowledge to develop successful products 

• Effective in building and managing positive relationships 

• Analytical and problem solving skills 

• Able to think creatively and identify and exploit new business opportunities 

• A flexible, consultative and humble approach  

• The ability to adapt to a changing business and market place 

• React in a calm and professional manner when faced with unexpected challenges 

• Positive influencing and negotiation skills 

• Effective in building financial cost models and forecast projections with minimal support 

• Effective in creating and delivering presentations to large / influential audiences with minimal support 

Deliverables

• Comprehensive review of current security portfolio and creation of short & long term plan 

• Create a go-to-market plan to take advantage of existing virtual firewall capabilities 

• Create a migration pathway from legacy firewall customers to cloud alternatives 

• Work with other portfolio managers to create complimentary solution offerings (i.e Ethernet & Virtual firewall) 

• Create relevant propositions for each of the trading divisions 

• Year-on-year margin expansion 

• Increased Year-on-year lifetime value creation through new additions and existing base upsell – drivers of which include customer tenure, margin, upfront investment and costs-to-serve 

• Deliver material Security growth in line with company objectives, in both direct and indirect divisions.