Service description:
Elia is undertaking a critical phase in its product transformation journey.
The Product Management Expert will act as an embedded, trusted advisor to SITO's team, supporting the operationalization in the business units of the Product Operating Model (POM) and ensuring successful day-to-day implementation, starting with CMS's division as first priority but not limiting to CMS as other divisions (Assets, Infra) are preparing also their product transition.
As part of the operationalisation of the transformation, the Product Management Expert will be fully embedded in the project transformation team (PACE) guiding, training and coaching Product folks (leads, managers and owners), and accelerating their acquisition of product management best practices.
This role focuses on operationalising product management in practice, not on delivering standalone coaching or training programs.
Key Responsibilities
* Operating model implementation and adoption
* Serve as a sparring partner for the ETB (SITO & business) management team, providing a "second brain" on operational and strategic matters
* Lead various initiatives and pilot changes in the organisation to shape the ideal organisation design to address current and future challenges
* Diagnose gaps between current practices and target POM
* Update (parts of) the POM with best practices and governance when required by observations while coaching
* Establish reporting cadence linking team execution to strategic objectives
* Embed practical tools and frameworks into Elia's routines
* Product Leaders Coaching
* Shadow Product Leaders (from director to manager and owner); provide real-time feedback and advice; champion product management best practices (with a strong emphasis on product discovery),
* Improve the Product Leaders' maturity & timeliness of decision-making by co-designing frameworks
* Ensure smooth translation of strategic objectives into team-level actions
* Support Product leaders in engaging their teams, building psychological safety, and promoting a culture of accountability
* Put strong emphasis on continuous product discovery, coaching leaders and teams to systematically test assumptions, engage users, and make evidence-based decisions
* Identify, escalate and fix clarity gaps in roles and responsibilities for product and adjacent roles
* Design and implement individual capability development plans
* Stakeholder Alignment
* Serve as sounding board for Senior managers and sub-area leads (product leads and managers) on product decisions
* Facilitate alignment sessions between the different stakeholders (chapters, businesses, SITO,...)
* Surface systemic blockers to the transformation sponsor and steer their resolutions
* Centre of excellence in product management
* Support the incubation of a centre of excellence in product management through the formalisation of processes, frameworks, methodologies and other best practices across the division
* Take an active role in the creation and execution of product management upskilling tracks through a blend of learning activities ranging from peer learning sessions to intensive product seminars
* Collaborate with other parties at Elia (Agile Chapter, Learning Academy, etc.) to ensure the establishment of a continuous and intensive product management learning habit post transformation
Key Competencies & Skills
* Product Management Mastery: Applies discovery, delivery, and prioritization frameworks in practice—not just theory. Teaches concepts through context-relevant examples, adapting depth to audience experience level.
* Transformation Track Record: Led or embedded in multi-quarter product management transformation. Demonstrates measurable adoption outcomes, not just participation.
* Coaching Capability: Builds trust with senior leaders quickly. Asks before telling. Navigates resistance without forcing compliance. Holds leaders accountable to their own commitments.
* Stakeholder & Facilitation Skills: Runs workshops that produce decisions, not just dialogue. Synthesizes ambiguous inputs into clear recommendations. Tailors messaging across technical and executive audiences.
* Hands-On Credibility: Models behaviours before expecting adoption. Shadows, co-creates, and debriefs rather than advising from the sideline. Balances doing with enabling.
* Structured Thinking & Organization: Brings clarity to ambiguous situations. Designs lightweight frameworks that create order without bureaucracy. Documents decisions, progress, and playbooks in ways others can sustain after the transformation ends.
* Regulated Industry Fluency: Navigates environments where compliance, safety, and long investment cycles shape product decisions. Earns respect from engineering-minded stakeholders .
Requirements:
* 5-8 years of experience in product management, product leadership, and/or product organisation transformation, including hands-on leadership
* Extensive experience guiding teams in the context of active product discovery and organisational change
* Proven background and work experience in a regulation heavy and data-intensive environment
* Proven track record in building discovery practices from scratch and shifting organisations from feature to outcome mindset
* Proven ability to work in transformation settings where structure and roles are evolving
* Fluent in English and French or Dutch (spoken and written)