Director of Product

Irembo is a technology company that designs and develops digital products to ease the accessibility of services in users’ everyday lives worldwide, starting with Rwanda. Our pioneer products, IremboGov and IremboPay, have enabled Rwandan citizens and foreigners to access and pay for over 150 public services online through our one-stop-shop e-governance and payment platforms. To date, we have facilitated over 30 million transactions through our platforms and have ambitious goals to scale our technology worldwide to enable more governments and institutions to serve their citizens better. More information is available on irembo.com.

Job Level & Seniority: Director

Role Overview:

We are seeking an experienced, mission-driven product leader to orchestrate the product strategy, performance, and scaling of our entire portfolio of platforms. This is a unique opportunity to lead a world-class team and build the digital platforms that power Rwanda’s digital society.

As Director of Product, you will be the chief architect of our product vision, responsible for transforming our strategic goals into a tangible, multi-product roadmap. You will own the full product lifecycle and will be accountable for key business outcomes like user adoption, retention, and satisfaction across our products. This requires a rare blend of deep execution focus and expansive, imaginative thinking. You will be obsessed with the operational details of our users' experience (e.g., queries and complaints) while simultaneously crafting a bold, long-term vision for our platforms.

You will be a strategic partner to engineering, design, marketing, operations, and executive leadership, and your work will directly influence how citizens access essential services, how service businesses efficiently scale their operations, and how we leverage data and identity to create a seamless, integrated digital society.

Key Responsibilities:

• Product Vision & Strategy: This leader will translate the high-level company vision into a tangible product strategy for each product.
• Portfolio Prioritization & Roadmap Management: The Director will be responsible for orchestrating the overall product roadmap across the entire portfolio and ensuring that it directly supports the company’s strategic goals.
• Performance Measurement & OKR Ownership: The Director will establish and manage a robust system for measuring product success. They will be accountable for translating the product strategy into measurable Objectives and Key Results (OKRs).
• Product Innovation: This role is accountable for driving a culture of continuous innovation. This involves setting the framework and processes for identifying new opportunities and turning them into new sources of value.
• Cross-Functional Leadership & Alignment: The Director will be responsible for ensuring seamless collaboration and alignment on execution across product, engineering, design, and business teams.
  Team Building & Development: A core responsibility is to build, lead, and grow a high-performing product management team.
• Operational Excellence & Process Improvement: The Director is responsible for defining and optimizing the product development lifecycle. This involves establishing scalable processes for discovery, delivery, and launch that improve efficiency and reduce risk as the organization grows.

Experience and Skills:

This role is for an entrepreneurial leader who can balance innovative thinking with intensity in execution. You will be building not just products, but an innovative product organization and the culture that will drive our growth.

• Experience: Minimum of 8 years of experience in software engineering/product management, with a significant portion spent in a leadership role overseeing a portfolio of products at various stages of the lifecycle. Experience in both B2B and B2C product development is highly valued.
• Strategic and innovative thinking: Expansive imagination with the ability to shape product strategy and goals that drive value creation by connecting dots across industry trends, customer insights, business strategy, and more.
• Execution capability: Strong product delivery, problem-solving skills, and passion for intentional intensity. Able to work across functions, navigate ambiguity, and make things happen to deliver product value.
• Communication and stakeholder management: Great collaborator with the ability to influence and align diverse stakeholders by communicating a compelling product strategy with clarity and conviction.
• Leadership & people management: Experience building and managing high-performing product teams. Able to lead through context, coach for excellence, and create a culture of accountability.
• Product lifecycle expertise: from discovery to delivery and everything in between. Comfortable with every phase of the product lifecycle.
• Experience in Platform-Oriented Product Development: Good understanding of the principles of platform thinking and experience building foundational services that create leverage for other products.

What We Offer:

• A Strategic Seat at the Table: You will own our product innovation agenda and shape how it evolves and grows. This is a leadership role with real influence on the company’s future.
• Room to Build: We are growing fast and building deliberately. You will have the autonomy to define direction, structure teams, and raise the standard for which products or features we build.
• Mission Driven Work: Our work sits at the intersection of public service, technology, and enterprise. What you build will help citizens at national scale access and consume essential services.
• Competitive Terms: We offer a compensation package that reflects the importance of the role, with room for growth based on performance and impact.

Recruitment Process:

Step 1: Informal Conversation

An introductory conversation with some members of our senior management team to get to know each other. This is a chance to explore our culture, values, and strategic direction, while giving you a sense of the opportunity and the context in which you would be operating.

Step 2: Vision Statement and Case Study

You will be asked to submit three items as part of your application:

1. Your Resume 
2. A Vision Statement – Your perspective on the role of product leadership in building and scaling multi-product digital platforms in Rwanda.
3. A Case Study Response – We will share short cases, allowing you to demonstrate your strategic, portfolio, and platform thinking.

Step 3: Executive Conversations

You will meet with the CPTO, members of the senior management team, and the CEO for deeper conversations about your leadership approach, strategic thinking, and ability to build a product portfolio to deliver business outcomes. We understand that recruiting for senior leaders requires confidentiality, and we will ensure this recruitment process is handled with the utmost discretion.

Location

• Nyarutarama, Kigali, Rwanda

Application Deadline

• November 20, 2025

We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to providing a positive interview experience for every candidate. We're on a mission to change our continent through technology and are committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage applicants from all backgrounds, nationalities, and walks of life.

Our head office is based in Kigali, Rwanda.