Head of Product Management

Candour; Warrington; Hybrid; GBP 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Pension

Life insurance

25 days annual leave

Healthcare

Professional development access

Cycle to work

Mobile phone reimbursement

Free gym membership

Friday lunch

Job summary

Candour in Manchester is seeking a Head of Product to lead and develop its Product Management function, translating strategy into high‑quality products and measurable outcomes. This hands‑on operator-coach role combines strategic oversight with close attention to delivery across multiple initiatives.

You'll lead a high‑performing team of Product Managers, partner with Engineering, Quality and Commercial to drive discovery, prioritisation and delivery with a disciplined, outcome-led approach.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach and develop a team of Product Managers as a hands-on player-coach.
• Set clear expectations around discovery, prioritisation, planning, delivery and product quality.
• Challenge assumptions, estimates and proposed solutions using evidence and sound product judgement.
• Maintain active oversight of portfolio plans, progress, dependencies, risks and trade-offs.
• Ensure significant initiatives have clear problem statements, intended outcomes and meaningful success measures before investment is committed.
• Help Product Managers develop the confidence and judgement to make trusted, independent decisions.
• Step directly into complex product challenges when required.
• Work closely with Engineering leadership to understand technical complexity, architecture, delivery constraints and long-term product health.
• Partner with Quality to make quality part of the product process rather than something addressed at the end.
• Balance customer value, commercial impact, effort, quality, risk and strategic fit when making prioritisation decisions.
• Provide senior leadership with clear, concise visibility of priorities, outcomes, progress, risks and decisions.
• Continuously improve Product Management practices, tools and ways of working as the function evolves.
• Support the responsible adoption of modern technology, including AI and automation, where it can create genuine customer or product value.

Job description

Head of Product - Manchester - £100,000 - £120,000 + Bonus & Benefits

Hybrid (3 days in office)

Manchester

A leading enterprise software business is looking for a Head of Product to lead and develop its Product Management function, turning strategy into high-quality products, confident decisions and measurable customer and commercial outcomes.

This is a hands‑on operator‑coach role. A strong product vision means little if quality slips, estimates go unchallenged or delivery drifts. Your role will be to make sure that doesn’t happen. You'll lead a high‑performing team of Product Managers while staying close enough to the detail to understand what is really happening across the portfolio. You'll review plans, evidence, risks, dependencies and decisions, challenge where necessary and remove blockers before they become bigger problems. Working closely with Engineering, Quality, Commercial and Operations, you'll establish a disciplined, outcome‑led approach to discovery, prioritisation and delivery without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.

The Role

You’ll translate leadership's product vision into clear priorities, investment decisions, budgets, scope and measurable outcomes across multiple concurrent initiatives. You’ll be expected to:

• Lead, coach and develop a team of Product Managers as a hands‑on player‑coach.
• Set clear expectations around discovery, prioritisation, planning, delivery and product quality.
• Challenge assumptions, estimates and proposed solutions using evidence and sound product judgement.
• Maintain active oversight of portfolio plans, progress, dependencies, risks and trade‑offs.
• Ensure significant initiatives have clear problem statements, intended outcomes and meaningful success measures before investment is committed.
• Help Product Managers develop the confidence and judgement to make trusted, independent decisions.
• Step directly into complex product challenges when required.
• Work closely with Engineering leadership to understand technical complexity, architecture, delivery constraints and long‑term product health.
• Partner with Quality to make quality part of the product process rather than something addressed at the end.
• Balance customer value, commercial impact, effort, quality, risk and strategic fit when making prioritisation decisions.
• Provide senior leadership with clear, concise visibility of priorities, outcomes, progress, risks and decisions.
• Continuously improve Product Management practices, tools and ways of working as the function evolves.
• Support the responsible adoption of modern technology, including AI and automation, where it can create genuine customer or product value.

Product Leadership & Capability

You’ll raise the quality bar across the Product function. That means creating an environment where Product Managers are encouraged to think critically, test assumptions and use evidence rather than simply execute a predetermined roadmap. You’ll provide the right balance of challenge, coaching and autonom, helping the team become stronger, more commercially aware and increasingly independent. You won't manage through process for process's sake. Instead, you'll use direct engagement with teams and their work to spot issues early, improve decision-making and keep delivery moving. Success will be measured not simply by whether a roadmap is delivered, but by the quality of product decisions, the strength of the team and the outcomes those decisions , delivery & commercial impact. You'll sit at the intersection of product strategy, customer needs, technology and commercial priorities. You'll bring structure to prioritisation and portfolio decisions, making sure teams understand not just what they're building, but why, what success looks like and what evidence supports the investment. You should be comfortable asking difficult questions:

• Is this solving the right customer problem?
• What evidence do we have?
• Is the scope right?
• Are the estimates realistic?
• What are we choosing not to do?
• What are the risks and dependencies?
• How will we know whether this has worked?
• Are we building something customers genuinely value?

You’ll be constructively sceptical without becoming obstruct, this is an opportunity to have autonmy and make an impact with it!

Package

Up to £120k + Bonus. Benefits include Pension, life insurance, 25 days' annual leave, Healthcare, Profressional development access, cycle to work scheme, mobile phone reimbursement, plus free gym membership and Friday lunch for office-based staff.