Associate Director Product & Strategy

appnovation; Kuala Lumpur; Hybrid; MYR 260,000 - 460,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working model

Direct Access to Cutting-Edge AI Plata

Growth opportunities for personal and

Diverse and Inclusive Culture

Job summary

Appnovation in Kuala Lumpur is seeking an Associate Director to lead high-value engagements across product strategy, CX, service design, and transformation. You will mentor senior practitioners, shape strategic direction, and drive value creation for top clients.

You will champion AI-driven approaches, foster a culture of learning, and build the practice through standards and talent development while maintaining a strong client focus and cross-functional collaboration.

Qualifications

• 10–14 years of experience in product management, strategy, customer experience, service design, transformation consulting, or an integrated combination.
• Experience leading complex, multi-workstream engagements and advising senior stakeholders across a broad product and strategic scope.
• Fluency across at least three core P&S domains: product strategy, CX strategy, service design, transformation planning, martech strategy, change strategy.

Responsibilities

• Lead high-value client engagements across product strategy, customer experience, service design, transformation planning, martech strategy, and change strategy
• Advise senior clients on product direction, strategic priorities, and phased transformation
• Shape integrated product and strategic direction across complex, multi-disciplinary engagements
• Oversee the quality of product definition, strategic thinking, requirements, and delivery direction across teams
• Ensure that the work is grounded in clear value creation, strategic logic, and practical action - at every stage of the engagement lifecycle
• Shape and lead major proposals, pitches, and RFP responses
• Identify and develop account growth opportunities - deepening and broadening client relationships
• Strengthen the practice through methods, quality standards, and the development of Senior Managers and Managers
• Shape how the team uses AI as a strategic and creative tool - setting the expectation that AI is part of how we think, not just how we work
• Mentor leaders and junior practitioners with intentionality and consistency, helping them grow their ambition as well as their capability
• Actively protect and build the culture of the practice - always learning, always executing, always pushing

Skills

Product strategy

Customer experience

Service design

Transformation

Change management

Executive communication

AI prototyping

Tools

AI platforms

Job description

About us

Appnovation is a global, full-service digital partner that combines Strategy, Experience & Design, Engineering and Managed Services. We build digital solutions that deliver real impact today and serve as foundations for future growth. Bold ambition. Practical action. Endless possibilities.

ABOUT THE PRACTICE

Product & Strategy is a consulting practice that integrates product management, strategic thinking, customer experience, service design, and transformation into a single capability - delivered by practitioners who are fluent across all of them. Our work spans the full range of challenges facing modern organisations: defining what to build, shaping how to build it, and leading the teams that make it real. We are advisors, builders, and embedded partners, depending on what the work requires.

THE ROLE

As an Associate Director, you are responsible for high-value engagements and the quality of the teams and thinking behind them. You advise senior clients across the full range of what Product & Strategy does - product direction, customer experience, service design, transformation, and the organisational change required to sustain it. You lead and mentor a team of senior practitioners, and you strengthen the practice through the standards, methods, and talent you develop. You are also a cultural leader - someone who sets the tone for how the team learns, executes, and pushes the boundary of what the practice can do.

HOW WE WORK

We are a practice built on momentum. We learn constantly - because the work demands it and because we want to. We carry ideas into action, because thinking that stays in a deck doesn't count. We stay curious - asking better questions, pushing deeper, exploring what others miss. And we treat AI as a creative partner, not just a productivity tool - using it to expand what we can imagine, prototype, and build. If you are never satisfied with "good enough" and you want to do better every single time, you will find a home here.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Lead high-value client engagements across product strategy, customer experience, service design, transformation planning, martech strategy, and change strategy
• Advise senior clients on product direction, strategic priorities, and phased transformation
• Shape integrated product and strategic direction across complex, multi-disciplinary engagements
• Oversee the quality of product definition, strategic thinking, requirements, and delivery direction across teams
• Ensure that the work is grounded in clear value creation, strategic logic, and practical action - at every stage of the engagement lifecycle
• Shape and lead major proposals, pitches, and RFP responses
• Identify and develop account growth opportunities - deepening and broadening client relationships
• Strengthen the practice through methods, quality standards, and the development of Senior Managers and Managers
• Shape how the team uses AI as a strategic and creative tool - setting the expectation that AI is part of how we think, not just how we work
• Mentor leaders and junior practitioners with intentionality and consistency, helping them grow their ambition as well as their capability
• Actively protect and build the culture of the practice - always learning, always executing, always pushing

WHAT YOU'LL BRING

• 10-14 years of experience in product management, strategy, customer experience, service design, transformation consulting, or an integrated combination
• A proven ability to lead complex, multi-workstream engagements and advise senior stakeholders across a broad product and strategic scope
• Experience working across at least three of the core P&S domains: product strategy, CX strategy, service design, transformation planning, martech strategy, change strategy
• The ability to shape major commercial opportunities and lead compelling proposals
• A track record of raising the quality of a team or practice - not just individual deliverables
• Strong executive communication - you are trusted by senior stakeholders to advise on direction
• Deep fluency with AI and prototyping - used as creative and strategic tools, not just accelerators
• A leadership style that develops curiosity, drive, and standards in the people around you

What Appnovation Offers

• Challenging and rewarding work with real impact
• Direct Access to Cutting-Edge AI Platforms
• Diverse and Inclusive Culture
• Growth opportunities for personal and professional development
• A collaborative and innovative work environment where your ideas are valued
• Exposure to exciting projects and high-profile clients
• Supportive work environment with access to company leaders
• Hybrid working model

What Benefits Appnovation Has to Offer

• EPF
• Wellness Allowance
• ME Days
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Fertility and Menopause Leave

At Appnovation, we recognize that diverse teams are the stronges