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Head of Product

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Head of Product job description

This page details everything you need to know about the Head of Product Management role. From the key responsibilities through to how to approach product recruitment.

What does a Head of Product do?

The Head of Product role is responsible for overseeing the development and delivery of the product roadmap. 

As a senior member of the product team, they play a crucial role in delivering projects on time and ensuring products perform well. This role is often a hands-on and a leadership role.

Key responsibilities

Although the duties of the role can vary from business to business, the main responsibilities include:

  • Define the product roadmap: Support with managing the product roadmap, including its creation, execution and optimisation.
  • Optimise processes: Regularly look for opportunities to improve the product decision making and development processes.
  • Evaluate product success: Establish key performance indicators (KPIs). Work with the product management team to evaluate successes and challenges.
  • Team leadership: Build and oversee a team of Product Owners, Managers and Designers. The Head of role is responsible for leading the team's learning and development.
  • Build internal relationships: Work closely with different areas of the business, including design, engineering and data science. Establish strong, productive relationships to ensure a collaborative development team.


Skills and requirements

The average Head of Product Management should have the following skills and experiences:

  • Minimum of 10 years of experience in product
  • Proven success in strategic planning, using competitive analysis and an understanding of user experience to improve a company's product
  • An innovative thinker, with the ability to quickly problem solve
  • Excellent leadership skills, with established stakeholder management experience
  • Strong project management skills, with the ability to oversee multiple projects at once


Salary expectations

What is a Head of Product paid?

Salary expectations can vary based on industry, company size and the candidate's years of experience. For the Head of Product role, you can expect to pay a full-time salary of between £90,000 - £130,000. Meanwhile, for a contractor you can expect to pay a day rate of £450 - £800.

To learn more, download our latest product salary guide.

Side-by-side bar charts comparing salary and day rate income, with the salary bar in pink reaching £125K and the day rate bar in blue reaching £850.

Career path & progression

With more and more brands investing in product-led growth, we're seeing a growing demand for Product Leaders in a range of businesses. The market is positive for businesses hiring Heads of Product. However, when they're ready to move on from the role, they might choose to pursue the following job titles...

With enough experience in a product leadership role, Heads of can pursue the Director job title. In this capacity, candidates will work more closely with a business' senior leadership team and have more management experience. Often, Product Directors can also oversee the product design team.

Sitting as part of the board, the Chief Product Officer (CPO) role is the natural next step in product careers. Responsible for the entire product lifecycle, this role is common in brands that have truly invested in product growth. 

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