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WOOLWORTHS IS HIRING
PRODUCT OWNER
Details
Closing Date
2026/09/13
Reference Number
WWL260908-26
Job Title
Product Owner
Job Type
Contract
Business Unit
Data and Analytics
Location - Country
South Africa
Location - Province
Western Cape
Location - Town / City
Cape Town
Minimum Education Level
Bachelors Degree | Advanced Diploma
Job Advert Summary
The Data & AI Product Owner is the bridge between the business and the Data & AI delivery teams. The role exists to make sure the data and AI assets we build solve real business problems, get adopted, and deliver measurable value, not simply that they get delivered.
This is a business facing role first and a technical one second. The successful candidate will spend a significant portion of their time embedded with business partners, understanding their operating context, challenging their assumptions, shaping demand into a coherent product strategy, and holding the organisation accountable for the benefits it signed up for. They own the product end to end from problem definition through delivery to ongoing operation and value tracking.
Minimum Requirements
- A bachelor's degree or higher, preferably in commerce, information technology, mathematics, science, data science or engineering.
- 5+ years in Product Management, Product Ownership, or a Business/Systems Analyst role operating at the intersection of technology and business.
- Demonstrable track record of owning senior stakeholder relationships and influencing business decisions without direct authority.
- Evidence of having driven adoption and measurable business value, not only delivery of scope on time.
- Sound commercial reasoning: comfortable building a business case, sizing a benefit, and defending it.
- Strong analytical skills and a working understanding of information systems, data platforms and data flows.
- Excellent verbal and written communication, including the ability to present to and hold your own with senior executives.
PREFERRED
- Experience with data products, analytics products, or AI/ML-enabled products specifically.
- Exposure to retail, financial services or another regulated, data intensive environment.
- Familiarity with modern data platform and ML tooling, enough to have credible conversations with engineers and scientists, without needing to build it yourself.
- Working knowledge of data governance, privacy and responsible AI practice.
- Agile delivery experience (Scrum, SAFe or similar).
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR
- A translator. Equally comfortable in a merchandising or finance forum and in a technical design session, and able to move an idea between the two without losing it.
- Commercially curious. Genuinely interested in how the business makes money and where data and AI can move that needle.
- Persuasive and resilient. Able to hold a position under pressure from senior stakeholders, disagree well, and keep the relationship intact.
- Outcome-driven. Judges own success by what changed in the business, not by what shipped.
- Pragmatic about AI. Enthusiastic about the technology, realistic about what it can and can't do, and honest with the business about the difference.
- Organised and self-directed. Manages a complex portfolio and competing demands without needing to be chased.
HOW SUCCESS WILL BE MEASURED
- Business partner satisfaction and the strength of stakeholder relationships.
- Ability to think and deliver strategic value.
- Adoption and active usage of the Data & AI products in the portfolio.
- Benefits realised against the business cases committed to.
- Reliability, quality and governance posture of the assets owned.
- Predictability and quality of delivery.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Business partnership and strategic influence
- Build trusted advisor relationships with senior business stakeholders, become the person they call before a decision is made, not after.
- Develop deep working knowledge of the business areas served: their commercial drivers, operating rhythms, pain points and success measures.
- Translate ambiguous business problems into clearly framed product opportunities and translate technical constraints and possibilities back into business language.
- Constructively challenge business partners where the requested solution isn't the right one and bring evidence to those conversations.
- Shape and manage demand across competing stakeholders, make and defend prioritisation calls, and explain the trade-offs to those who didn't get what they asked for.
- Build the case for investment: business cases, benefit hypotheses, and the commercial logic behind why a product is worth building.
- Act as the voice of the business inside delivery teams, and the voice of Data & AI inside the business.
- Product strategy and roadmap
- Own and articulate a compelling product vision and multi-horizon roadmap, developed with business partners rather than for them.
- Balance strategic bets against near-term business needs and keep the roadmap credible as priorities shift.
- Maintain a view of the external landscape, emerging Data & AI capability, competitor moves, vendor and platform developments and bring the relevant implications back to the business.
- Identify opportunities the business hasn't yet asked for and sell them internally.
DELIVERY AND EXECUTION
- Own the product backlog: define outcomes, write and prioritise requirements, and make scope decisions.
- Guide initiatives through the full product lifecycle, from inception to delivery to ongoing operation, keeping stakeholders informed on progress, risks and changes.
- Take responsibility across project management, change management, business and systems analysis, solution design input, and user acceptance testing.
- Work closely with data engineers, data scientists, ML engineers, architects and platform teams to sequence work realistically.
ADOPTION AND VALUE REALISATION
- Own adoption as a measurable outcome, not a hand-off. Plan and drive the change management, enablement and communication required for business users to use what's been built.
- Define benefit measures up front with the business, and report honestly against them after go-live including where benefits have not materialised.
- Establish and run the feedback loop between business users and delivery teams.
- Data & AI asset stewardship
- Take overall responsibility for the effective operation of the Data & AI assets in the portfolio: availability, performance, data quality, and fitness for purpose.
- Understand and analyse end-to-end information flows between systems and use that understanding to remove friction and duplication.
- Oversee the ongoing lifecycle of deployed models and data products monitoring, drift, retraining triggers, decommissioning, in partnership with the technical teams.
- Ensure products meet governance, privacy, regulatory and responsible AI obligations (including POPIA), and that business partners understand what those obligations mean for how the product can be used.
- Define, track and evolve success metrics for both the systems and the operations that depend on them.
- Track defects, prioritise remediation, and maintain a continuous optimisation agenda.
Policy
Woolworths is a designated employer in terms of the Employment Equity Act, 55 of 1998, as amended. We are committed to Employment Equity through the filling of this post with a candidate whose transfer/ promotion/ appointment will promote representativity in line with our Employment Equity plan. Preference will be given to internal candidates, provided this supports achievement of our Employment Equity goals.
FOOD PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT MANAGER
Details
Closing Date
2026/09/11
Reference Number
WWL260907-1
Job Title
FOOD PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT MANAGER
Job Type
Full Time
Business Unit
Real Estate Development
Location - Country
South Africa
Location - Province
Western Cape
Location - Town / City
Cape Town
Location Description
Head Office
Minimum Education Level
Diploma | Advanced Certificate
Job Advert Summary
Join the Woolworths Internal Food Production team as the Food Production Manager based at Head Office. Drive operational excellence, process efficiency, and team effectiveness across all food production operations to exceed internal customer expectations, and uphold Woolworths’ commitment to quality and innovation.
Minimum Requirements
Relevant business management diploma or similar
- Up to 5 years working experience in similar environment
- 3 years team leadership experience
- Ability to work under pressure / Stress Tolerance
- Customer Service Orientation
- Decision Making skills
- Communication and Interpersonal skills
- Results Orientation
- Problem solving ability
- Planning & Organising skills
- Numeracy and Accuracy skills
- Drive Quality
Duties and Responsibilities
- Staff Management and Leadership of all kitchen staff including Coaching and Guidance
- Identify and allocate daily operational tasks
- Manage Food Production and all Kitchen operational duties
- Weekly Menu Planning and Ordering of all stock required
- Develop Standard Recipes and costings to ensure profitability
- Provide exceptional customer service (individual and team) to internal customers
- Manage kitchen stock and the maintenance of equipment
- Laise and build relationships with Suppliers to improve service and cost benefit
- Ensure Food safety, Hygiene and Compliance as per standards followed
- Set and ensure achievement of department goals
- Implementation of new initiatives relating to trends within Food Industry
Policy
Woolworths is a designated employer in terms of the Employment Equity Act, 55 of 1998, as amended. We are committed to Employment Equity through the filling of this post with a candidate whose transfer/ promotion/ appointment will promote representativity in line with our Employment Equity plan. Preference will be given to internal candidates, provided this supports achievement of our Employment Equity goals.
TRANSPORT & TRUNKING CONTROLLER (FOODS NORTH)
Details
Closing Date
2026/09/11
Reference Number
WWL260902-21
Job Title
Transport & Trunking Controller (Foods North)
Job Type
Full Time
Business Unit
Supply Chain & Logistics
Location - Country
South Africa
Location - Province
Gauteng
Location - Town / City
Johannesburg
Location Description
Midrand
Minimum Education Level
Grade 12 | National Certificate
Job Advert Summary
Woolworths is seeking a dedicated Transport & Trunking Controller (Foods North) based in Johannesburg, Gauteng, to join our dynamic Supply Chain & Logistics team. This full-time role involves daily planning and management of Foods Trunking loads to meet budget utilization targets, ensuring efficient distribution within our supply chain. You will oversee the collation, reconciliation, and capturing of trunking manifests and proof of deliveries, resolve supplier and DC queries, and produce critical transport reports. Your role supports operational excellence through vehicle hygiene audits and adherence to health and safety legislation, fostering a culture of compliance and customer service excellence. A background in Business Administration or Transport/Logistics, combined with at least 2 years' experience in distribution or supply chain, is preferred. Join Woolworths and contribute to a company committed to quality, innovation, and great customer service in South Africa's leading retail environment. Apply now to be part of our inspiring team.
Minimum Requirements
- Degree/Diploma in Business Administration or Transport/Logistics would be preferable.
- 2 Years’ experience in distribution and within a Supply Chain environment.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Auditing of daily kilometres to ensure adherence to standard kilometres as per agreed process.
- Generate and compile transport/trunking reports (e.g., On-times, Turnaround times, Store late openings, Temperature, Accident reports).
- Provide information to stores and Distribution Centres (DC) in terms of query resolution.
- Conduct vehicle audits as per the Transport/Trunking Assessment Audit.
- Process proof of delivery returns to ensure process compliance (e.g., Arrival and Departure Time, Endorsements, Temperature settings, Driver information, Products, etc.).
- Ensure that all corporate governance requirements are met.
- Provide input into the 1-year Transport/Trunking operating plan.
- Provide input into the Transport/Trunking budgetary process.
- Assist to manage the end-to-end customer service process against the standards as set in the OEC (in line with Best Operating practice) in order to:
- Deliver process compliance
- Achieve customer service levels
- Ensure delivery of KPI’s
- INVOCOMS
- Ensure adherence to company policies, procedures, and legislation (e.g., OHASA and SHE programme) in line with corporate governance
Policy
Woolworths is a designated employer in terms of the Employment Equity Act, 55 of 1998, as amended. We are committed to Employment Equity through the filling of this post with a candidate whose transfer/ promotion/ appointment will promote representativity in line with our Employment Equity plan. Preference will be given to internal candidates, provided this supports achievement of our Employment Equity goals.
