Head of product jobs · Vacancies · Permanent first
Head of product jobs · permanent, interim and fractional
Head of product jobs are roles that lead a company’s product management: setting the product strategy and roadmap, running the product managers, and deciding with engineering and design what gets built next. In a scale-up the head of product is often the most senior product leader; in a larger business the seat reports to a chief product officer. The board below shows the product leadership roles on our board, permanent roles first where the posting says full-time.
We recruit permanent, interim, fractional and part-time product leaders. Hiring rather than looking? On every brief we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
How a brief runswhat we undertake
- 01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
- 02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
- 03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
- 04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
- 05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief
Shortlist3–5
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire a head of product
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with head of product candidates, their day rates and availability.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02We scope the role and the days a week
- 03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
- 04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs
Pick a day that suits · live availability
On the board · last 3 months
Head of product jobs jobs on the board
Current product leadership roles on our board
Fractional Quest is a fractional recruitment agency: send a head of product brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.
01/ the role
Head of product jobs: the seat and what the board holds
The board on this page holds the product leadership roles on our board: head of product and chief product officer roles in every mode of work. Our pipeline files the head of product seat with chief product officer roles, so both appear. Roles whose posting says full-time come first; interim and fractional roles follow under their own labels. When there are few, the board widens to senior product manager and combined technology and product roles, and says that it has.
What the seat does
The government’s Digital and Data capability framework puts head of product at the top of five product management levels: the person who leads on product strategy, sets and raises the standard of product management in the organisation, and manages recruitment, development and performance across the product team. Its product manager role balances user needs against business needs and decides the team’s priorities. In a company with a chief product officer, the head of product runs that work and the CPO owns the product’s place in the company strategy. See what a CPO does for the seat above.
In the public sector the role works to the Service Standard, whose fourteen points run from understanding users and their needs to operating a reliable service, and the Service Manual lists the product manager first among the roles a service team must have.
02/ scope
How to get a head of product job
1. Ship products, then lead the people who do
Most heads of product were senior or lead product managers first. The DDaT framework sets out the path: associate product manager, product manager, senior and lead product manager, then head of product, with the lead level already managing people and a portfolio. Show the outcomes your products moved, the decisions you made with data, and the product managers you hired and coached.
2. Add a recognised certificate
There is no chartered route for product management. The BCS Practitioner Certificate in Digital Product Management covers stakeholder management, market analysis, the product delivery lifecycle and product development techniques, and has no formal entry requirements. It shows the language; the shortlist is decided on the products you shipped.
3. Own the decisions the seat answers for
A head of product decides what a product collects and keeps. The ICO’s guidance on data protection by design and by default requires privacy to be considered at the design stage and throughout the product’s lifecycle, and the ICO takes the measures in place into account when it considers a fine. Expect a question on it.
4. Pick the route in
Not every head of product job is permanent. Fractional head of product jobs hold the seat for set days a week; interim cover usually sits under interim CPO jobs. If you work through your own company, the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply: status turns on how the engagement runs, and a medium or large client makes the determination. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
03/ related roles
Head of product jobs by type
Every page we keep for the head of product seat and the product seats around it. We recruit permanent, interim, fractional and part-time product leaders.
04/ vetting
How we vet heads of product
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify head of product tenure, sector context and stage fit.
SOURCING - 02
Mandate fit
Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.
MATCHING - 03
Reference deep-dive
We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.
VERIFY - 04
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
SHORTLIST OF 3–5
05/ vacancies
Head of product vacancies: reading the title
Head of product vacancies are advertised under several titles. Head of product, product director and VP product often describe the same seat; group product manager and lead product manager usually sit one level below it. In a start-up without a chief product officer, the head of product is the senior product leader and often reports to the CEO or the CTO.
Read the posting for three things: how many product managers the seat leads, whether it still owns a product hands-on, and who decides the roadmap. A head of product who reports to a CPO runs the product team. One who reports to the CEO is closer to a chief product officer: see fractional CPO for that seat part of the week, or chief product officer recruitment for a permanent search.
Some head of product vacancies combine product and technology, or product and design. Ask which teams report in before you apply.
06/ permanent jobs
Permanent head of product jobs: the head of product salary
Permanent head of product jobs are full-time employed roles, and they are the ones listed first on this page. Robert Half’s 2026 salary guide puts a UK head of product at £77,000 at the 25th percentile, £97,750 at the median and £113,250 at the 75th percentile (Robert Half). Robert Half is a recruiter, and these are its own starting-salary projections.
Base pay is one part of a permanent package. Equity or share options are common in venture-backed companies, so compare offers on the whole package. Your employer must give you a written statement of employment particulars on your first day, covering your job title or a description of the work, pay, hours and holiday.
For the seat above, with its permanent and fractional pay, see CPO salary.
07/ questions
Head of product jobs FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a head of product.
Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5
Bring the brief. We architect the team.
A shortlist of 3–5 with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.
