The appointment owns
The interim Chief Product Officer reviews customer evidence, decides the product scope within delegated limits and records open trade-offs for the successor.
interim executive recruitment
Hire Interim Chief Product Officer
Hire Interim Chief Product Officer: write the product leadership gap or change the interim must carry, the decisions they can make and the evidence the successor should inherit.
Brief us on this role →Chief Product Officer briefChoose a part of the brief
Part 01 / 04
Assignment
Name the vacancy or product change that requires temporary executive ownership.
Part 02 / 04
Live decisions
List the roadmap, launch and portfolio decisions that cannot wait for a permanent appointment.
Part 03 / 04
Authority
Set what the interim may decide on product priorities and what needs CEO or board approval.
Part 04 / 04
Exit
Name the successor and the product record they must receive.
Hire Interim Chief Product Officer: what must the role own?
Name the vacancy or product change that requires temporary executive ownership.
AssignmentName the vacancy or product change that requires temporary executive ownership.
Live decisionsList the roadmap, launch and portfolio decisions that cannot wait for a permanent appointment.
AuthoritySet what the interim may decide on product priorities and what needs CEO or board approval.
ExitName the successor and the product record they must receive.
Role reference: SFIA 9: product management. SFIA describes product vision, lifecycle decisions, user needs, roadmap, pricing and portfolio direction as product-management work; the scope of this executive seat still depends on the organisation.
What changes when the Chief Product Officer is interim?
An interim Chief Product Officer holds a defined product leadership assignment through a vacancy, transition or programme. The end should be a clear handover of priorities, decisions and unresolved product risks.
interimChoose a part of the brief
Part 01 / 04
Outcome
Write the transition or programme outcome before searching.
Part 02 / 04
Term
Agree the expected end, a review point and what could extend the assignment.
Part 03 / 04
Authority
Give the interim the authority needed to hold the seat during the assignment.
Part 04 / 04
Handover
Name the person or team who takes ownership when the interim leaves.
How would this work in a real brief?
The hiring decision becomes clearer when the work and its boundary are written down together.
Illustrative brief · a product leadership vacancy before a launch
The product executive has left while teams must settle a launch scope and a permanent search is under way.
The interim Chief Product Officer reviews customer evidence, decides the product scope within delegated limits and records open trade-offs for the successor.
Another owner retains
Engineering owns delivery, the commercial team owns customer commitments and the CEO holds reserved investment decisions.
How should you assess Chief Product Officer candidates?
Put the same work and evidence in front of each candidate before comparing answers.
The evidenceChoose a part of the brief
Part 01 / 04
Comparable transition
Ask what product decisions the candidate held during a previous executive gap and how the assignment ended.
Part 02 / 04
First review
Ask what customer and team evidence they would inspect before changing a roadmap.
Part 03 / 04
Decision authority
Test how they would escalate a contested launch decision.
Part 04 / 04
Successor record
Ask how they would hand over decisions, customer evidence and unresolved risk.
Acas recommends a consistent, fair selection process: choosing who to interview.
Does this hiring pattern fit the work?
Test the amount of the week, the expected end and the continuity needed before writing the contract.
The working pattern · interim
An interim Chief Product OfficerAn executive holds a defined assignment or transition. Agree the outcome, authority and handover before the start.
What must happen before the Chief Product Officer starts?
Agree the transition end, review point and handover owner.
A clear startChoose a part of the brief
Part 01 / 04
Outcome
Agree the transition end, review point and handover owner.
Part 02 / 04
Access
Share the product portfolio, customer evidence, roadmap and current decision record.
Part 03 / 04
Authority
Tell teams which product decisions the interim may settle.
Part 04 / 04
Handover log
Record open choices, evidence and owners from the first product review.
- 1
Outcome
Agree the transition end, review point and handover owner.
- 2
Access
Share the product portfolio, customer evidence, roadmap and current decision record.
- 3
Authority
Tell teams which product decisions the interim may settle.
- 4
Handover log
Record open choices, evidence and owners from the first product review.
A useful Chief Product Officer brief names the decision, the working pattern and the evidence before it names a candidate.
What should the brief say?
Hire Interim Chief Product Officer begins with assignment, a stated working pattern and the evidence you will ask every candidate to show.
15 minutes · video or phone
Brief us on a Chief Product Officer
Tell us what the role must own, how it will work and when it must start.
- 01A brief built around the decisions and working pattern.
- 02A shortlist of 3–5 with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
- 03Five-stage vetting before a candidate reaches you.
Pick a day that suits · live availability
