Position: Senior Product Manager (Technology Consulting, Business Analysis)
Location: Sydney, Australia
WorkStyle: Sydney Hybrid based
Simple Machines. Data Engineered to Life™

Simple Machines is a leading independent boutique technology firm with a global presence, including teams in London, Sydney, San Francisco, and New Zealand. We specialise in creating technology solutions at the intersection of data, AI, machine learning, data engineering, and software engineering. Our mission is to help enterprises, technology companies, and governments better connect with and understand their organisations, their people, their customers, and citizens. We are a team of creative engineers and technologists dedicated to unleashing the potential of data in new and impactful ways. We design and build bespoke data platforms and unique software products, create and deploy intelligent systems, and bring engineering expertise to life by transforming data into actionable insights and tangible outcomes.

About You

We are looking for a consultant-minded individual who is passionate about working closely with clients to solve complex problems and lead them on a journey from discovery to technical implementation. You have a knack for understanding client needs and delivering market-leading solutions and have worked in Technology Consulting | Business Analysis | Software Development

You will love and excel in this role if you:

• Have a strong background in Technology Consulting, played a Senior Manager role within a top-tier consulting company.
• Have a refined understanding of how modern software is built and delivered (tools, methodologies, roles, common challenges etc.)
• A demonstrated knowledge of different methods and tools that help you to perform analysis, testing, product management and delivery in a range of environment
• Know how to effectively communicate information between people at all levels of the business, in written and verbal form
• Have a passion for accruing knowledge, and using that knowledge to continuously improve yourself and the team’s performance
• Personal interest in best practice and trends of the technology industry, with the ability to apply these to your day-to-day work
• A relationship builder by nature, and someone who can thrive in new teams and new situations
• A proactive person who knows what needs to be done, how to approach it, and how to influence others to move things forward
• An ambitious person who is excited about the prospect of joining a small, close-knit ANZ team of experts and helping it to grow

The Exciting Part

Simple Machines is not your average consultancy or software engineering firm. Our team is comprised of inspiring industry leaders in Consulting, Data Engineering, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence. Our projects, for a global client base, are data-focused and drive real change.

About the Role

We are looking for someone to join our close-knit team of experts to help deliver our client engagements as we scale our ANZ business. If you excel in client facing roles, have a deep understanding of how modern software is built and delivered, and have a passion for technology then we’d love to hear from you.

Here’s a brief overview of the role’s responsibilities:

Drive the engagement

• Understand each clients’ unique business needs, the ‘why’ behind each project and develop solutions that will fulfil each clients’ success criteria
• Act as a translator between business teams and technology delivery
• Develop domain expertise unique to each engagement

Feed the engineering team

• Provide high quality written requirements, acceptance criteria, feature overviews, test cases and other artefacts for the team to work from
• Run effective meetings with team and stakeholders

Drive the team’s direction

• Clearly articulate the business needs and work with the tech team to translate these into technical requirements
• Persuade the client and the SM team on what should be done and why

Increase the team’s speed

• Understand and anticipate dependencies in software delivery
• Enable decision making through excellent communication

Assure the team’s focus

• Protect the engineering team from day to day ‘noise’
• Embed and optimise processes to handle our scope of work and new demand

Assure SM’s position with the client

• Build and nurture relationships with clients at all levels
• Help to manage SM’s delivery risk

• Financial Services - Leading Super Fund Provider 
• 12 Month Fixed Term Contract 
• Sydney Located 
• Hybrid Working Model - Blend of Sydney CBD Office and Home

Established in 1988, Rest is one of Australia’s largest profit-to-member superannuation funds. We support nearly two million members, with around $86 billion of funds under management and are recognised as a responsible investment leader*. We believe when members understand and engage with their super, they’re more likely to get a better retirement outcome.

Everything we do at Rest is underpinned by our values and behaviours, we want to Be Daring, Keep it Simple, Take Action and Have Grit. To put it simply we want our people to thrive and love the work they do.

About the Job 

“Data, Technology & Delivery are accountable for planning and preparing the organisation for the future through strategic technology innovation as well as charting our business strategy and executing for today and tomorrow”.

Reporting to the Practice Manager Project Management, the Project Coordinator works closely with project team members, managers and leads to help deliver major organisational projects efficiently.

Key Accountabilities/Responsibilities

Project Administration:

• Coordinate meetings, book rooms, and organise workshops, including venue selection, agenda setting, material collation, and minute-taking.
• Assist Portfolio Manager, Program Managers and Project Managers with resource scheduling, including onboarding and offboarding activities.

Reporting and Documentation:

• Create and maintain standard reporting packs for Steering Committees, Sponsor meetings, and Executive Committee working groups, supported by Project Managers.
• Assist Portfolio & project managers with recuring reporting requirements and ensure these are completed on time.
• Manage the flow of invoices and Statements of Work (including DEFs), are in line with budget and resource plans, and ensure costs are allocated correctly to the projects.
• Ensure budget vs. actual financial reporting and forecasting accuracy.
• Assist the Portfolio with benefits tracking.
• Ensure all decisions are logged and tracked.

Project Tracking and Tools:

• Assist with tracking portfolio/program deliverables, milestones, and maintenance of project plans, following up action and milestone status.
• Drive the weekly plan, activities, and keep project management tools such as Confluence and Jira up to date.
• Upload all critical documents to a designated document repository.

Risk and Compliance Management:

• Report against risk assurance plans and manage critical deliverables using effective RAID Management techniques.
• Ensure programs and projects complete compliance attestations on time and adhere to governance activities (Delivery Checklist & Gates).
• Facilitate compliance with company policies, procedures, and health and safety standards.

Communication and Collaboration:

• Foster communication between project team members and external stakeholders to ensure alignment and integration across the project.
• Develop and maintain key relationships with internal teams and external providers.
• Act as a point of contact for project updates, information requests, and coordination issues.

Additional Responsibilities:

• Undertake small delivery activities as directed by the Portfolio Manager and/or Program Manager.
• Support the project team members in tracking and completing actions and decisions.
• Participate in continuous improvement initiatives and suggest enhancements to project processes and tools.
• Ensure resource demand forecasts are up to date from project managers, and work with hiring managers to track supply, escalating any demand and supply gaps.
• Assist with resource scheduling (include onboarding & offboarding activities).
• Collaborate with team members in the project coordinator practice to enable effective knowledge management, process and reporting standardisation and capability maturity development.