DFS Innovation Specialist

KCB is seeking a creative and analytical professional for the position of DFS Innovation Specialist. The role will support the Bank’s Digital Financial Services (DFS) innovation agenda by researching emerging trends, identifying new opportunities and helping transform innovative ideas into practical digital products, services and process improvements.

The successful candidate will work across innovation, product development, customer experience and digital transformation initiatives. The position requires someone who can contribute to ideation, design thinking, proof-of-concept projects, product testing and commercialization while collaborating with internal teams, fintechs, startups, technology providers and other ecosystem partners.

Responsibilities

Innovation Research and Opportunity Identification

• Conduct market research and competitor analysis to identify innovation opportunities.

• Monitor emerging technologies and fintech developments.

  

• Track digital banking trends and changing customer needs.

• Analyse customer feedback and market insights.

  

• Identify opportunities for new products and services.

• Identify opportunities for process improvements.

  

• Support preparation of innovation proposals.

• Assist in developing business cases for innovation initiatives.

  

Innovation Ideation and Development

• Participate in ideation workshops and innovation challenges.

• Participate in design-thinking sessions and brainstorming activities for DFS initiatives.

• Support the development of innovative concepts.

• Assist with the development of solution prototypes.

• Evaluate ideas based on:

  • Feasibility

  • Customer value

  • Commercial potential

  • Strategic alignment

• Assist in preparing innovation concepts for pilot testing.

• Support preparation of concepts for commercialization.

Innovation Project Support

• Coordinate innovation initiatives from concept development through pilot and implementation.

• Support project planning and documentation.

• Track project progress and deliverables.

• Coordinate with relevant stakeholders.

• Assist in executing proof-of-concepts (POCs).

• Support pilot projects and innovation experiments.

• Track project risks and issues.

• Monitor implementation timelines.

Product Innovation and Commercialization

• Support product teams in converting innovation concepts into viable products and services.

• Participate in product testing.

• Support pilot execution.

• Participate in User Acceptance Testing (UAT).

• Collect customer feedback during product testing and implementation.

• Monitor product adoption following implementation.

• Monitor product performance.

• Contribute to commercialization and market rollout activities.

Customer Experience and Design Thinking

• Support customer journey mapping initiatives.

• Contribute to customer experience improvement projects.

• Gather customer insights through:

  • Surveys

  • Interviews

  • Focus groups

  • Market research

• Identify customer pain points.

• Recommend innovative solutions to address customer needs.

• Promote design-thinking methodologies.

• Support customer-centric innovation practices.

Ecosystem and Partnership Support

• Support engagement with fintechs and startups.

• Work with innovation hubs, universities and accelerators.

• Support engagement with technology partners.

• Assist in evaluating external partnership opportunities.

• Evaluate innovative solutions offered by external providers.

• Coordinate innovation events and ecosystem engagements.

• Support hackathons and partnership activities.

• Maintain relationships with innovation stakeholders and ecosystem participants.

Reporting and Performance Monitoring

• Maintain innovation pipeline records.

• Maintain innovation project documentation.

• Prepare innovation reports and dashboards.

• Prepare presentations and management updates.

• Track innovation KPIs.

• Monitor project outcomes and business impact.

• Provide recommendations for improving innovation effectiveness and execution.

Knowledge Management and Innovation Culture

• Promote innovation awareness across the Bank.

• Support knowledge-sharing initiatives.

• Support innovation campaigns.

• Participate in employee engagement initiatives.

• Maintain innovation repositories.

• Document best practices and lessons learned.

• Encourage collaboration and experimentation across teams and business units.

Qualifications Required

Applicants should have:

• A Bachelor's degree from a recognized university.

• Professional qualifications or training in Product Management, Project Management or Agile Practices will be an added advantage.

• A Master's degree in a business-related field will be an added advantage.

Experience Required

Candidates should have:

• At least 3 years of cumulative professional experience.

• Experience in innovation, digital financial services, product development, digital banking, project management or a related field will be beneficial.

• Exposure to design thinking, Agile methodologies, product testing or commercialization will be an advantage.

• Experience conducting market research, customer research or competitor analysis will be beneficial.

Skills and Competencies

The ideal candidate should demonstrate:

• Strong research and analytical skills.

• Creativity and an innovative mindset.

• Understanding of digital financial services and emerging technologies.

• Knowledge of product development and innovation processes.

• Understanding of Agile and design-thinking methodologies.

• Good project coordination skills.

• Strong customer-centric approach.

• Excellent communication and presentation skills.

• Strong stakeholder management abilities.

• Good problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.

• Ability to work collaboratively across different teams.

• Ability to analyse market and customer information and convert insights into actionable opportunities.

How to Apply

Interested and qualified candidates should submit their applications through the official KCB recruitment platform. Applicants should provide accurate information and ensure that their academic qualifications and professional experience meet the requirements of the DFS Innovation Specialist position.

Final Thought

The DFS Innovation Specialist position provides an opportunity to contribute to the development of innovative digital financial solutions while working across research, product development, customer experience, technology and commercialization. Candidates with a Bachelor's degree and at least three years of relevant experience, particularly those interested in digital innovation and emerging financial technologies, should consider this opportunity.