Group Product Manager, Digital Lending at Forward Financing in Canada

Forward Financing is a financial technology company based in Boston, Massachusetts with team members throughout the United States, Dominican Republic, and Canada. The company is on a mission to unlock the capital that fuels small businesses across America. Recognized as a Best Place to Work by Built In Boston and certified as a Great Place To Work®, Forward is investing in its employees, technology, and customer experience – with long-term success in mind every step of the way. Forward Financing is a financial technology company headquartered in Boston, MA with an operational hub in the Dominican Republic, a satellite office in Salt Lake City, Utah and a growing team in Canada. Forward is on a mission to unlock the capital that fuels small businesses across America. Recognized as a Best Place to Work by Built In Boston and certified as a Great Place To Work®, Forward is investing in its employees, technology, and customer experience – with long-term success in mind every step of the way. We are seeking a Group Product Manager, Digital Lending, to own the end-to-end customer and broker (ISO) digital experience. You will lead the strategy and execution for all customer-facing touchpoints—from marketing sites to funding portals—turning complex underwriting and payment capabilities into fast, transparent, and AI-powered personalized user experiences. In this role you will own: - Product Strategy & Funnel Optimization - Own the Portfolio: Set the vision, strategy, and roadmap for the marketing site, application flows, customer portal, and ISO/broker portal. - Drive the Funnel: Optimize the origination funnel end-to-end (from first visit to funded deal) to materially improve pull-through and conversion rates. - Treat Brokers as Customers: Govern the ISO digital experience (submissions, payouts, deal status) with the same rigor as the small-business-owner experience. - AI Integration & Execution - Ship AI-Native Experiences: Deeply embed AI into the product (e.g., chat bots, auto-decisioning explanations, intelligent document collection, conversational support, agentic self-service). - Lead with AI: Use AI fluently in your daily product craft (research synthesis, rapid prototyping, spec writing, SQL queries) to set the standard for the team. - Data, Analytics & Experimentation - Govern Instrumentation: Treat event taxonomy and tracking plans as first-class deliverables. No feature ships without strict data instrumentation. - Own the Analytics Stack: Partner with Data/Analytics to own digital analytics tools (e.g., Pendo, Amplitude, Tableau, Looker) and foster a daily habit of self-serve metrics. - Run Continuous Experimentation: Lead a structured A/B and multivariate testing program grounded in rigorous hypothesis and data discipline tied to funnel optimization. - Cross-Functional Collaboration & Governance - Partner with Design & Platform PMs: Collaborate closely with a Senior Product Designer to maintain high UX craft, and translate platform capabilities (Salesforce, Underwriting, Money Movement) into seamless user experiences. - Manage Risk & Compliance: Ensure all digital and AI innovations align with credit policies, regulatory obligations, and operational risk frameworks. - Executive Communication: Deliver clear, data-backed updates to leadership regarding trade-offs, performance, and strategic requests. Why you should apply: - This is a unique opportunity to drive the digital lending strategy experience for our customer and ISO partners with AI-powered personalized experiences and data-driven decisions - Mission driven company: Forward is a trusted source of fast, flexible funding for small businesses that have often been underserved by traditional financing options. When you join the team, you will help ensure all small businesses have access to the financial support they need to succeed. - Flexibility is a top priority: Our employees are empowered to choose where they want to work (whether that’s from home, in the office, or a combination of both) with flexible hours. Role Requirements: - Experience: 8+ years in product management, including 3+ years in fintech or digital lending - ideally in a high-velocity B2B or B2C credit product. - Funnel Ownership: Proven track record of driving measurable conversion and time-to-revenue wins. - AI Fluent: Fluent in using AI tools for daily PM work and hands-on experience shipping customer-facing AI/ML features (including monitoring and evaluation framework design). - Data & Tech Savvy: Deep fluency with product analytics (Amplitude, Mixpanel, etc.), data instrumentation/taxonomies, and the ability to write or leverage AI for SQL queries. - Experimentation: Experience running structured A/B testing programs with rigorous statistical discipline. - Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional peers (Design, Engineering, Risk, Marketing) without direct authority - Communication Skills: Demonstrates excellent skills in communicating with leadership—presenting vision, technical concepts, and new builds with a sharp analytical and commercial focus to secure buy-in and build consensus. - Strongly Preferred: - Familiarity with digital lending or other digital fintech products (banking, payments, insurance, brokerage, etc.) - Familiarity with the modern AI landscape, including how to leverage LLM tools (e.g. Claude Code) to improve shipping quality and velocity, as well as deploy functional agent workflows to deliver seamless, intelligent and personalized user experiences. Compensation: Annual Targeted Salary: $183,000 - 253,000 CAD Annual Target Bonus: 15% At Forward Financing, we're committed to fair and transparent compensation. We believe in providing a compensation package that recognizes your skills, experience, and the unique value you bring to our team. We take a market-based approach to pay, regularly reviewing benchmark data to ensure our compensation remains competitive, equitable, and aligned with our performance-driven culture. Final offers are determined by a variety of factors, including the candidate's qualifications, relevant experience, specific skills, and internal equity. This approach ensures that our compensation is competitive and equitable. Your recruiter will provide specific details on the expected base and variable earnings as it pertains to this specific role. This position is to fill an existing vacancy. Total Rewards: Additionally, we offer a comprehensive total rewards package, including but not limited to: medical, dental, vision, a flexible time-off policy, paid parental leave, RRSP match, wellness reimbursement, volunteering days, annual professional development budget, and charitable donation match. Forward is proud to be a remote-first company, keeping workplace flexibility a top priority for our employees. As a business, we are focused on impact; we are more concerned with your contributions to the success of the company than where you get your work done. To help facilitate in-person collaboration, employees are welcome to work from one of our premiere office locations. When we aren’t collaborating to drive business and support our customers, we’re finding virtual and in-person ways to get to know our colleagues, celebrate team wins, and have fun together! Our Core Values: - Drive the Mission: We believe in financial opportunity for underserved small businesses. We say “yes” when others say “no.” - Keep It Real: We value direct communication, candid feedback, and authenticity. We are an open book. - Act With Kindness: We create an environment where caring is cool and helping is the norm. We do the right thing. - Shoot for Extraordinary: We are inspired by innovative thinking and continuous improvement. We never settle for yesterday’s best. About Us: Forward Financing is a fintech company based in Boston, Massachusetts with team members throughout the United States, Dominican Republic, and Canada. The company is on a mission to unlock the capital that fuels small businesses across America. Whether facing challenges accessing traditional financing or simply needing a convenient, flexible solution, Forward is committed to funding more of the millions of small businesses nationwide. By simplifying the requirements, streamlining the process, and using advanced proprietary technology, Forward is often able to deliver approvals within hours and funds that same day – giving more businesses the financial opportunity they need to thrive. Plus, with their dedicated teams and award-winning service, customers get personalized support when they need it most. Since 2012, Forward has expanded access to capital by providing over $4.8 billion in funding to more than 92,000 small businesses. The company is A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau with an Excellent / 4.7 stars rating on Trustpilot.com http://Trustpilot.com. Recognized as a Best Place to Work by Built In Boston and certified as a Great Place To Work®, Forward is dedicated to empowering both its team and the customers they serve, helping them succeed and thrive. Equal Opportunity Employment Information It is the policy of Forward Financing to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, religion, national origin, status, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other basis protected by law. We welcome and encourage applications from people with disabilities. Please let us know should you require any accommodations. As part of our commitment to a streamlined and equitable hiring experience, we use AI tools to assist with candidate screening and assessment.