Product & Customer Experience Director

Salt; Dubai; On-site; AED 400,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

Salt in Dubai seeks a senior leader to own product portfolio strategy and end-to-end CX across its group portfolio. You will steer the innovation pipeline, shape the customer journey, and ensure a differentiated brand experience at every touchpoint, in every business.

You’ll lead cross-functional teams, build compelling business cases for investments, and partner with portfolio leaders to drive commercial outcomes. Fluent English required; Arabic a plus.

Qualifications

• Significant senior leadership experience in FMCG or consumer-facing contexts.
• Proven track record managing product lifecycles from concept to portfolio optimization.
• Experience building or elevating a CX function across multiple touchpoints.
• Comfort operating within a holding company or multi-business-unit structure.

Responsibilities

• Own product portfolio strategy across the group's businesses and drive growth alignment.
• Lead the innovation pipeline, prioritise and launch new products and offerings.
• Map and sharpen the end-to-end customer journey across all touchpoints.
• Build the business case for product and CX investments with measurable outcomes.
• Lead cross-functional teams with marketing, digital, IT and operations to execute initiatives.
• Set brand experience standards and governance across portfolio touchpoints.

Skills

Product portfolio strategy

Customer journey mapping

Brand experience design

Cross-functional leadership

Commercial/P&L acumen

Digital product thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline

Job description

Role Overview

Own product and customer experience strategy across the group's entire portfolio. You'll set the portfolio direction, drive the innovation pipeline, and shape the end-to-end customer journey - building a consistent, differentiated brand experience across every touchpoint, in every business.

What You’ll Do

Product & Portfolio Strategy

Own the product portfolio strategy across the group's businesses, aligned to growth priorities. Lead the innovation pipeline - identify, prioritise and bring new products and offerings to market. Continuously assess portfolio performance, evolving or retiring offerings based on market and customer insight. Apply stage-gate discipline to guide products from concept through to launch. Build and maintain product roadmaps that turn strategy into a clear, sequenced plan.

Customer Experience Leadership

Own end-to-end CX strategy across every touchpoint - physical, digital and service. Map and continuously sharpen the customer journey, hunting down friction and opportunities to differentiate. Set the standards and frameworks for brand experience across every customer-facing function and business. Build customer segmentation and personas that shape product, experience and marketing decisions. Translate product and CX thinking into digital products and services - apps, websites, UX and UI.

Commercial & Cross-Functional Leadership

Be the strategic bridge between product, marketing, sales and operations - one joined-up customer proposition. Build the business case for product and experience investment, with a clear line to commercial outcomes. Represent product and CX priorities to executive leadership and portfolio company stakeholders. Work cross-functionally with marketing, digital, studio, IT and developers to bring initiatives to life.

Team & Stakeholder Leadership

Build and lead a high-performing team across product and CX disciplines. Act as a strategic partner to portfolio leaders - embedding shared standards while respecting different business models. Champion the voice of the customer at the senior leadership table. Operate effectively within task forces and cross-functional project teams.

Key Deliverables

• Group product portfolio strategy
• Innovation and pipeline roadmap
• Product roadmaps across the portfolio
• End-to-end customer experience framework
• Brand experience standards across portfolio touchpoints
• Customer journey maps and improvement plans
• Customer segmentation and persona frameworks
• Executive product and CX dashboard

How Success Is Measured

• Portfolio performance and innovation throughput
• Customer experience and satisfaction scores
• Brand experience consistency across touchpoints
• Time-to-market for new product launches
• Commercial impact of product/CX initiatives
• Portfolio adoption of shared standards

What You Bring

• Significant senior leadership experience in an FMCG or consumer-facing environment, with real exposure to product/brand management and portfolio strategy.
• A proven track record managing product lifecycles - from innovation and launch through to portfolio optimisation.
• Experience building or elevating a CX function across multiple touchpoints (retail, digital, service).
• Comfort operating inside a holding company or multi-business-unit structure.
• Experience working within task forces and cross-functional project teams.
• Regional (GCC) experience is a plus, not a must.
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline; postgraduate or professional qualifications desirable for senior candidates.
• Fluent English required; Arabic is a plus.

Core Skills

• Product portfolio strategy & innovation pipeline management
• Customer journey mapping & brand experience design
• Commercial/P&L acumen & customer insight and research
• Cross-functional stakeholder management & multi-touchpoint CX delivery
• Stage-gate process & product roadmap developmentCustomer segmentation and personas
• Digital products, apps, websites, UX/UI