SENIOR BUSINESS CONSULTANT (Product Strategy - AI Focused)

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Business Consultant (Product Strategy - AI Focused)

Company: TotalSoft

Location: Voluntari, Romania

Job Type: Full-time

Category: Business Consulting / Product Strategy / AI Implementation

Date Posted: June 25, 2026

Experience Level: Mid-Senior Level (5-10 years)

Remote Status: Hybrid

🚀 Role Summary

• Drive product strategy and AI-focused solution design for financial services clients, acting as a key product owner to prioritize value and delivery.

• Bridge the critical gap between business requirements and technical execution, focusing on developing scalable, AI-native features and intelligent workflows.

• Leverage AI tools daily for analysis, design, documentation, testing, and communication to accelerate project timelines and enhance solution quality.

• Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams including developers, AI specialists, technical consultants, UX designers, and QA to ensure seamless solution delivery.

• Champion pragmatic and lean solution development, emphasizing platform reuse and core product improvements over one-off customizations.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is positioned as a Senior Business Consultant with a strong emphasis on Product Strategy and AI integration, particularly within the financial services sector. The "AI Focused" aspect is central, requiring daily use of AI tools and contribution to AI-native features. The role demands a blend of business acumen, product ownership, and technical understanding, acting as a translator between business needs and technology capabilities. The expectation is to influence product direction and champion reusability within the core platform.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Understand, challenge, and simplify client business needs to define clear problem statements rather than just documenting requirements.

• Define and own the solution scope and strategic product direction for specific client engagements and product areas.

• Prioritize project tasks and features based on a rigorous impact vs. effort analysis, ensuring focus on high-value deliverables.

• Translate complex business processes into simple, usable, and scalable technology solutions.

• Analyze and deeply understand standard product/business flows, identifying opportunities to adapt client processes to the product for greater efficiency and reusability.

• Advocate for lean solutions, avoiding over-engineering and unnecessary complexity in design and configuration.

• Configure and customize the platform with a strong emphasis on reusability and contributing to core product improvements.

• Continuously strive to reduce complexity in workflows, configurations, and user interactions.

• Actively improve delivery processes by reducing effort, shortening timelines, and increasing overall product quality for clients.

• Utilize AI tools daily to enhance efficiency in analysis, documentation, test generation, and solution design.

• Contribute to the development of AI-driven features such as intelligent automation, copilots, and smart workflows.

• Proactively identify project risks and propose simpler, alternative solutions to mitigate delays and ensure successful delivery.

• Drive continuous improvement of the core product by suggesting reusable features, streamlining unnecessary steps, and enhancing user experience.

• Own UX quality by collaborating with UX teams to ensure simple user interfaces, clear workflows, and minimal user effort.

• Align business and technical teams, providing clear communication and pushing back constructively to protect product quality and strategic direction.

• Build and maintain strong client relationships through clarity, transparency, and the consistent delivery of high-quality, working solutions.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a proactive and strategic approach to client engagement and product development. Key themes include challenging client requests to ensure value, prioritizing reusability and lean solutions, and integrating AI across the project lifecycle. The emphasis on "adapting the client to the product" suggests a strategy to leverage existing platform capabilities rather than extensive customization, which is a hallmark of efficient operations and product management.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Economics, Business, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field. Experience:

• 5-10 years of progressive experience in business consulting, product management, or a similar role, with a significant portion focused on technology solutions.

• Proven experience within the financial services industry, including sectors like leasing, credit, or insurance.

• Demonstrated experience in understanding and optimizing financial services processes. Required Skills:

• Product Strategy: Ability to define and articulate a clear product vision and roadmap, especially in an AI context.

• AI Implementation: Practical experience and strong interest in using AI tools for analysis, design, documentation, testing, and communication in a business context.

• Financial Services Expertise: Deep understanding of financial industry processes, regulations, and common client needs.

• Product Ownership: Experience defining requirements, prioritizing backlogs, and owning product delivery with a focus on business value.

• Business Analysis: Skill in understanding client needs, mapping business processes, and translating them into functional requirements.

• Solution Design: Ability to design simple, scalable, and lean solutions, avoiding over-engineering.

• Stakeholder Management: Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to build trust and manage expectations with clients and internal teams.

• Problem Solving: Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities with a focus on pragmatic and efficient solutions.

• Agile Prioritization: Proficiency in prioritizing work based on impact and effort in an agile development environment.

• Process Optimization: Experience in identifying inefficiencies and implementing improvements in business workflows.

• Requirement Analysis: Ability to gather, analyze, and document complex business requirements effectively.

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with AI-native feature development, including automation, copilots, and smart workflows.

• Familiarity with UX design principles and collaborating with UX teams to enhance user experience.

• Experience in configuring and customizing enterprise software platforms, with a focus on reusability.

• Ability to manage multiple work streams concurrently while maintaining focus on strategic priorities.

• Detail-oriented approach with the ability to maintain focus on the big picture.

• Strong team player with proven ability to collaborate effectively across diverse functional teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The qualifications emphasize a unique blend of domain expertise (financial services), strategic thinking (product strategy, AI), and practical execution (business analysis, solution design, AI tool utilization). The "Must Have Mindset" section explicitly reinforces the core values and approaches expected of candidates, highlighting a preference for simplicity, automation, reusability, UX focus, and AI adoption.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Solution Design Case Studies: Examples of business problems translated into well-defined, scalable, and lean technology solutions, ideally with an AI component or leverage of AI tools in the design process.

• Process Optimization Projects: Documented instances where you have analyzed existing business processes, identified inefficiencies, and implemented streamlined solutions, demonstrating measurable improvements.

• Product Strategy & Prioritization Examples: Evidence of defining product direction, prioritizing features based on impact vs. effort, and managing a product backlog effectively, showing how you balanced client requests with strategic goals.

• AI Integration Examples: Demonstrations of how AI tools were used to accelerate analysis, design, documentation, or testing, or how you contributed to building AI-driven features.

• Client Relationship & Communication Samples: Examples of how you've managed client expectations, communicated complex technical information clearly, and built trusted advisor relationships.

Process Documentation:

• Workflow Design & Optimization: Showcase examples of how you've mapped complex business flows, simplified them, and ensured they are scalable and reusable within a product context.

• Configuration & Reusability: Provide examples of platform configurations or customizations that emphasized reuse and contributed to core product enhancements, rather than one-off fixes.

• Metrics & ROI Demonstration: Highlight instances where you have measured the impact of your solutions or process improvements, demonstrating ROI and value creation for clients.

📝 Enhancement Note: For this role, a portfolio demonstrating the ability to simplify complexity, champion reusability, and integrate AI is crucial. Candidates should prepare case studies that not only showcase problem-solving but also illustrate their strategic thinking in product development and their pragmatic approach to solution design, aligning with the company's "lean" and "AI-native" philosophies.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range:

• Based on industry benchmarks for Senior Business Consultants with 5-10 years of experience in Romania, specializing in Product Strategy and AI within the financial services sector, the estimated annual gross salary range is approximately €40,000 - €65,000. This range can vary based on the candidate's specific experience, qualifications, and negotiation.

• Methodology: This estimate is derived from analyzing publicly available salary data for similar roles in Bucharest and surrounding areas, considering the technology and consulting sectors, and factoring in the hybrid work model and specialized AI focus.

Benefits:

• Career Development Programs: Opportunities for professional growth, skill enhancement, and advancement within TotalSoft.

• Hybrid Way of Working: Flexible work arrangement combining remote and in-office collaboration.

• Exposure to cutting-edge technologies and products, particularly in AI.

• Involvement in national and international projects, providing diverse experience.

• Collaborative work environment with skilled professionals. Working Hours:

• Standard full-time working hours are approximately 40 hours per week. The hybrid model offers flexibility in structuring these hours, balancing project demands with personal needs.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary estimate is based on general Romanian market data for senior consulting roles. Specific compensation will depend on the candidate's proven expertise in AI, product strategy, and financial services, as well as the company's internal compensation structure. The provided benefits highlight opportunities for professional development and work-life balance.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Technology / Software Solutions / Financial Services Technology. TotalSoft is a leading provider of business software solutions, with a significant focus on digital transformation for various industries, including a strong presence in financial services.

Company Size: While the exact number isn't provided, TotalSoft is a well-established company in the Romanian IT market, suggesting a mid-to-large enterprise size with potentially hundreds or thousands of employees. This implies a structured organization with dedicated teams for product development, consulting, sales, and support.

Founded: Founded in 1994, TotalSoft has a long history in the IT sector, indicating stability, deep market knowledge, and a mature approach to business operations and product development.

Team Structure:

• Cross-functional Teams: The role explicitly mentions working with developers, AI-builders, technical consultants, UX designers, QA, and infrastructure teams, indicating a collaborative, matrixed team structure often found in agile environments.

• Reporting: While not explicitly stated, a Senior Business Consultant likely reports to a Consulting Manager, Product Lead, or a similar senior leadership role within the consulting or product division.

• Client Interaction: The role involves direct client engagement, requiring close collaboration with client stakeholders at various levels.

Methodology:

• AI-Driven Development: A core methodology is the daily integration of AI tools across the project lifecycle, from analysis to testing and communication.

• Lean & Agile Principles: Emphasis on simplicity, reusability, impact-driven prioritization, and continuous improvement aligns with agile and lean methodologies.

• Product Ownership: Acting as a product owner means adopting a value-focused approach, prioritizing based on business impact, and guiding the technical teams toward delivering optimal solutions.

• User-Centric Design: A strong focus on UX quality, ensuring simple screens, clear flows, and low user effort.

Company Website: https://www.totalsoft.ro/

📝 Enhancement Note: TotalSoft's long history and focus on business software, particularly in financial services and with an emerging AI emphasis, suggest a company that values innovation, stability, and deep industry expertise. The team structure is likely agile and cross-functional, requiring strong collaboration and communication skills.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role represents a Senior Business Consultant position, a mid-to-senior level within the consulting and product strategy domain. It requires a strong foundation of experience (5-10 years) and the ability to operate with significant autonomy, driving product direction and client solutions. The focus on AI and product ownership indicates a move towards strategic product management and specialized consulting.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Business Consultant will likely report to a Manager or Director of Consulting Services or Product Management. They will collaborate closely with team leads and members from development, AI, UX, and QA departments, as well as directly with client stakeholders.

Operations Impact: The role's impact is significant, directly influencing client success through the design and delivery of effective, AI-powered solutions. By championing product strategy and lean development, the consultant contributes to client efficiency, digital transformation, and competitive advantage. Their work also feeds back into the core product, driving innovation and market leadership for TotalSoft.

Growth Opportunities:

• Specialization in AI Product Strategy: Deepen expertise in applying AI to financial services, becoming a go-to expert in AI-native solutions and product development.

• Leadership Roles: Transition into Product Management, Lead Consultant, or Team Lead positions, managing larger projects, teams, or product portfolios.

• Client Advisory: Develop into a trusted advisor for major financial institutions, influencing their digital transformation strategies.

• Contribution to Core Product: Drive innovation by suggesting and implementing reusable features that enhance TotalSoft's core offerings, impacting a broader market.

• Continuous Learning: Access to career development programs and exposure to new technologies and methodologies, fostering ongoing skill enhancement.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is ideal for professionals looking to leverage their financial services and consulting background into a more strategic, AI-focused product leadership track. The emphasis on both client delivery and core product improvement offers diverse growth paths.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: TotalSoft operates with a hybrid work model, meaning employees will spend a portion of their week in the office and the remainder working remotely. This suggests a modern office setup designed to facilitate collaboration, innovation, and team interaction when employees are present.

Office Location(s): The primary office location is Voluntari, Romania, a well-connected area near Bucharest, offering accessibility for employees in the region.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Spaces: The office environment likely includes meeting rooms, brainstorming areas, and open spaces designed for cross-functional team collaboration and client presentations.

• Technology Enabled: Expect access to standard office technology, high-speed internet, and potentially specialized hardware or software environments for AI development and testing.

• Team Interaction: The hybrid model necessitates intentional efforts for team connection, likely through scheduled in-office days for key meetings, workshops, and team-building activities.

Work Schedule: The standard working hours are approximately 40 hours per week. The hybrid arrangement provides flexibility, allowing professionals to manage their time effectively between remote work and scheduled office days, which is beneficial for deep work and focused analysis typical in consulting roles.

📝 Enhancement Note: The hybrid model is a key feature, indicating a company that values flexibility and work-life balance while still recognizing the importance of in-person collaboration for strategic initiatives and team cohesion.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

1. Initial Screening: A review of your CV and application to assess alignment with the role's core requirements, particularly AI experience and financial services background.

2. Hiring Manager/Team Lead Interview: An in-depth discussion focusing on your experience, problem-solving skills, understanding of product strategy, and how you approach AI integration. Expect questions about your "Must Have Mindset."

3. Case Study/Technical Challenge: A practical exercise where you'll be asked to analyze a business problem, propose an AI-focused solution, outline its strategy, or demonstrate your approach to process optimization and lean design. This is a prime opportunity to showcase your portfolio.

4. Cross-functional Team Interview: Interaction with potential colleagues from development, AI, or UX teams to assess collaboration style, technical understanding, and cultural fit.

5. Final Interview: Potentially with senior leadership to discuss your strategic vision, leadership potential, and overall fit with TotalSoft's culture and goals.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Curate Strategically: Select 2-3 of your strongest projects that best demonstrate your Product Strategy, AI Implementation, Financial Services expertise, and Process Optimization skills.

• Focus on Impact: For each project, clearly articulate the business problem, your role, the solutions you designed (especially AI-driven ones), the methodology used, and the measurable results (e.g., efficiency gains, cost savings, revenue impact, improved UX).

• Highlight AI Usage: Specifically detail how you used AI tools in the project – for analysis, design, automation, testing, or documentation. Quantify the benefits if possible (e.g., "reduced documentation time by X%").

• Showcase Lean & Reusable Design: Explain how your solutions were kept simple, scalable, and designed for reuse within a core product, aligning with TotalSoft's philosophy.

• Prepare for "Why": Be ready to explain your decisions, especially why you chose a particular solution or approach, and how you challenged client requests to ensure value.

• Structure: Use a consistent structure: Problem -> Your Role -> Solution (including AI) -> Process -> Results -> Key Learnings.

Challenge Preparation:

• Understand the "Mindset": Re-read and internalize the "Must Have Mindset" section. Be prepared to answer questions or frame your solutions through this lens.

• AI Tool Familiarity: Brush up on common AI tools and techniques relevant to business consulting and product strategy (e.g., generative AI for documentation, AI for data analysis, automation tools).

• Financial Services Processes: Refresh your knowledge of common processes in leasing, credit, or insurance.

• Lean Thinking: Practice simplifying complex scenarios and identifying opportunities for automation and reuse.

• Presentation Skills: Prepare to present your case studies clearly and concisely, focusing on impact and strategic thinking.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process is designed to assess not only technical and strategic capabilities but also cultural fit and alignment with TotalSoft's core values, particularly regarding AI integration and lean product development. A well-prepared portfolio that directly addresses these points will be a significant advantage.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools:

• CRM/ERP Systems: Likely experience with enterprise-level systems common in financial services (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, or specialized financial platforms).

• AI & Machine Learning Platforms/Tools: Familiarity with AI development frameworks, ML model integration, and generative AI tools for productivity (e.g., OpenAI APIs, Microsoft Azure AI, Google AI Platform, or specialized AI solutions for finance).

• Business Process Management (BPM) Tools: Tools used for workflow design, modeling, and automation (e.g., Bizagi, Camunda, Pega).

• Project Management Software: Tools for managing tasks, timelines, and team collaboration (e.g., Jira, Asana, Trello).

Analytics & Reporting:

• Data Analysis Tools: Proficiency in tools for data manipulation, analysis, and visualization (e.g., SQL, Python with Pandas/NumPy, R, Power BI, Tableau, QlikView).

• Reporting & Dashboarding Tools: Experience creating insightful reports and dashboards to track KPIs and communicate progress to stakeholders.

CRM & Automation:

• CRM Platforms: Experience with CRM systems for client management and sales process tracking (e.g., Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics CRM).

• Workflow Automation Tools: Tools that enable the creation of automated business processes and workflows.

• Integration Platforms: Understanding of how to integrate different systems to ensure data flow and process continuity.

📝 Enhancement Note: While specific tools aren't listed, a candidate's ability to adapt to and leverage enterprise-level systems, coupled with a strong understanding of AI tools and data analytics, is implied. The emphasis is on practical application rather than deep technical development for most tools.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Client-Centricity (but not Client-Driven): A core value is to deeply understand and serve clients while maintaining strategic integrity and focusing on what truly adds value, not just fulfilling every request.

• Simplicity & Efficiency: A strong bias towards simplifying processes, configurations, and user interactions, with a constant drive to reduce complexity and improve efficiency.

• Automation & Reusability: A proactive mindset towards identifying opportunities for automation and ensuring that solutions and features are reusable within the core product.

• User Experience (UX) First: Prioritizing the end-user experience by designing intuitive interfaces, clear flows, and minimizing user effort.

• AI Adoption: Embracing AI tools as integral to daily work for accelerating tasks, improving quality, and developing innovative features.

• Pragmatic Problem Solving: Focusing on practical, lean, and scalable solutions rather than over-engineering.

Collaboration Style:

• Cross-Functional Integration: Encourages close collaboration between business, product, and technical teams to ensure holistic solution development.

• Open Communication & Transparency: Fosters clear, honest communication with clients and internal stakeholders, building trust through transparency.

• Constructive Challenge: Values the ability to challenge ideas and directions constructively to uphold product quality and strategic alignment.

• Team Player Mentality: Emphasizes working together effectively across different functions to achieve common goals and deliver high-quality outcomes.

📝 Enhancement Note: The culture emphasizes a results-oriented, client-focused, yet strategically independent approach, heavily influenced by modern tech practices like AI integration, lean principles, and a strong UX focus. This creates an environment that rewards innovation, efficiency, and collaborative problem-solving.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Balancing Client Demands with Product Strategy: Effectively managing diverse client requests while ensuring alignment with the core product's strategic direction and reusability principles.

• Integrating AI Seamlessly: Successfully embedding AI tools and features into client solutions and core products in a practical and value-driven manner.

• Simplifying Complex Financial Processes: Translating intricate financial workflows into user-friendly, efficient, and scalable technology solutions.

• Driving Adoption of Reusable Components: Encouraging clients and internal teams to leverage existing platform features and reusable components over custom development.

• Navigating Evolving AI Landscape: Staying current with rapid advancements in AI technology and identifying practical applications for TotalSoft's products and clients.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• AI Specialization: Opportunities to become an expert in AI applications within financial services, potentially leading to specialized AI consulting roles.

• Product Management Skills: Developing a deeper understanding of product lifecycle management, roadmap creation, and market strategy.

• Cross-Functional Expertise: Gaining broad exposure to development, UX design, and infrastructure, enhancing overall technical and business acumen.

• Industry Conferences & Training: Access to industry events and training programs to stay abreast of the latest trends in AI, FinTech, and business consulting.

• Mentorship Programs: Potential for mentorship from senior leaders within TotalSoft to guide career progression and skill development.

📝 Enhancement Note: The challenges are typical for a senior consulting role focused on innovation and client delivery, offering significant opportunities for professional growth and skill development, particularly in the rapidly evolving field of AI.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• "Describe a time you had to challenge a client's request because it conflicted with product strategy or best practices. How did you handle it, and what was the outcome?" (Prepares for: Client-Oriented but not Client-Driven, Challenging Needs)

• "Walk us through your process for translating a complex business requirement into a simple, scalable solution, especially when AI could be involved." (Prepares for: Simplicity, Scalability, AI Usage, Business Analysis)

• "How do you prioritize between building a reusable feature for the core product and addressing a specific client's one-off customization request?" (Prepares for: Reusability, Product Improvement vs. Customization)

• "Give an example of how you've used AI tools to accelerate your work or improve the quality of your deliverables." (Prepares for: AI Usage, Efficiency, Quality Improvement) Company & Culture Questions:

• "What interests you most about TotalSoft's focus on AI in financial services?" (Prepares for: Company Research, AI Interest)

• "How do you approach ensuring a positive user experience (UX) in your solution designs?" (Prepares for: UX First Mindset, Design Principles)

• "Describe your ideal cross-functional team collaboration. How do you ensure alignment between business, product, and technical teams?" (Prepares for: Collaboration Style, Teamwork)

• "How do you measure the success of a solution or process improvement you've implemented?" (Prepares for: Results-Focused, Metrics) Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• STAR Method for Case Studies: Structure your portfolio examples using the Situation, Task, Action, Result method. Clearly define the context, your specific role, the actions you took (highlighting AI use and lean principles), and the quantifiable results.

• Visual Aids: If possible, use simple diagrams or flowcharts to illustrate processes or proposed solutions. Keep them clean and easy to understand.

• Emphasize the "Why": For each project, be prepared to articulate the strategic rationale behind your decisions, especially how they align with TotalSoft's values (simplicity, AI, reusability).

• Conciseness: Aim for clarity and brevity. Focus on the most impactful aspects of your experience and how they relate directly to the Senior Business Consultant role.

• AI Integration Narrative: Weave the story of AI integration throughout your examples – how it enabled your work, what new possibilities it opened, or how it contributed to the final solution's value.

📝 Enhancement Note: Preparation should focus on demonstrating alignment with TotalSoft's specific values and methodologies, particularly their emphasis on AI, simplicity, and reusability. Candidates should be ready to provide concrete examples that showcase these traits.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this operations position:

• Submit your application through the provided application link on TotalSoft's careers portal.

• Curate Your Portfolio: Select 2-3 key projects that best showcase your experience in product strategy, AI implementation within financial services, process optimization, and lean solution design. Prepare to articulate the problem, your solution (especially AI's role), and the measurable impact.

• Tailor Your Resume: Highlight keywords and experiences directly related to AI, financial services, product ownership, business analysis, and process improvement. Use action verbs and quantify achievements wherever possible.

• Prepare Your Narrative: Practice explaining your "Must Have Mindset" and how your experience aligns with TotalSoft's values of simplicity, AI adoption, and reusability. Be ready to discuss case studies thoroughly.

• Research TotalSoft: Understand their core products, their strategic direction in AI and financial services, and their company culture. This will help you tailor your answers and demonstrate genuine interest.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.

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