Principal Product Lead (CX) in Manchester

Principal Product Lead (CX) in Manchester

Manchester Full-Time 90000 - 90000 £ / year (est.) Home office (partial)
Doist

At a Glance

  • Tasks: Lead the strategy and delivery of customer experience tools at Autotrader.
  • Company: Join Autotrader, the UK's trusted automotive marketplace and tech innovator.
  • Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, share options, 28 days holiday, and comprehensive health cover.
  • Other info: Hybrid working model with opportunities for remote work during set periods.
  • Why this job: Make a real impact on customer experiences while working with diverse teams.
  • Qualifications: Experience in product strategy and platform delivery, especially in CX technology.

The predicted salary is between 90000 - 90000 £ per year.

About Autotrader

You’ve probably heard of Autotrader, but do you know what we’re all about? We're the most trusted, most visited automotive marketplace in the UK. A heritage brand and a tech innovator. We bring together vehicle buyers and sellers to give them real choices. Cars may be what we're best known for but we’re also the place for pretty much everything else on wheels, from e-bikes to caravans. In the automotive world, change is a constant, that’s why we take our job of untangling the complex car-buying journey very seriously. At our core, we’re all about people. We go our own way while embracing diversity and celebrating our differences. We dedicate ourselves to the idea that we work better together. Autotrader is a beautiful, surprising and vibrant place to work. We might not be for everyone, but we could be perfect for you.

About the Role

The Principal Product Lead (CX) owns the strategy and delivery of Autotrader's customer experience tooling and internal product capability. Working across cross-functional teams, you will deliver quality interactions between consumers, customers, and colleagues through best-in-class technology, process design, and evidence-led product thinking. This role sits at the intersection of CX strategy, internal product development, and platform optimization, balancing off-the-shelf platform capability (such as CRM, ticketing, and contact centre) with bespoke internal product development where business needs are unique. Sitting within Product & Technology, you will work in close partnership with Sales, Operations, Finance, Marketing, and commercial teams. A strong awareness of overall business priorities and building trusted relationships with senior leaders is essential.

What you’ll do

  • CX Tooling Strategy & Platform Ownership: Own the ongoing strategy and roadmap for Autotrader's CX tooling estate, including our off-the-shelf CRM, ticketing, messaging, and telephony platforms alongside supporting internal tools. Ensure platform capability is continuously aligned to evolving customer, consumer, and colleague needs. Lead platform optimisation initiatives, balancing off-the-shelf capabilities against custom builds, including working with third parties to evaluate opportunities and risks. Build, maintain, share, and socialise a principled approach to enable overall business transformation.
  • Internal Product Development: Directly lead the development and adaptation of custom internal product capabilities for activities not serviced by off-the-shelf tooling. Define and prioritise an internal product roadmap that reflects genuine business need, evidenced through data and stakeholder input. Champion product management discipline across internal tooling, ensuring teams focus on proactive, outcome-oriented roadmaps over reactive backlog management.
  • Cross-Functional Process & Experience Design: Review and help redesign cross-functional processes supporting customer experiences and interactions, ensuring they are efficient, effective, well-supported by technology, and easy to report on. Work closely with operations, sales, finance, and marketing teams to ensure technology and process changes land well operationally. Apply service design principles to ensure high quality of experience across consumer, customer, and colleague touchpoints.

What We’re Looking For

  • Proven experience leading product strategy and platform delivery across internal tools, enterprise platforms, or CX technology estates (e.g., CRM, ticketing, telephony, contact centres).
  • Demonstrated capability in balancing off-the-shelf software solutions with bespoke internal product development (buy vs. build decisions).
  • Strong track record applying service design and evidence-led product thinking to complex cross-functional business processes.
  • Excellent senior stakeholder engagement skills, with experience working alongside Sales, Operations, Finance, and Marketing teams.
  • A passion for championing the Product discipline, elevating teams from reactive backlog execution to outcome-driven roadmaps.

Benefits and more

We’re offering a salary of £90k+ plus an additional 10% of your salary awarded to you in shares each year. These awarded shares will become yours in yearly instalments over the next three years, and you can choose to either sell them or keep them as shares. And you'll receive 28 days holiday, plus bank holidays and comprehensive private medical cover. That’s not all. You'll be enrolled in our pension scheme, where our standard contributions are 7% and employee contributions are 5%. We also have comprehensive private medical cover, enhanced family leave provisions, a car salary sacrifice scheme, share-save options, and much more. We always want to give you the support you need and help prioritise your wellbeing, that’s why we provide access to 24/7 online GP and dentist, as well as specialist support for assisted fertility, gender dysphoria, menopause, period care plans and lots more. On top of all that, our hybrid model, Connected Working, combines the best of both worlds - office and home working. You'll spend a minimum of 3 days a week in the office with your team, focused on collaboration and connection. Additionally, we have our remote-first periods at set times during summer and winter. During these periods, you can work remotely anywhere in the UK and from certain locations abroad.

Principal Product Lead (CX) in Manchester employer: Doist

Brink's is an exceptional employer that fosters a collaborative and innovative work culture, empowering employees to drive global commercial strategies in the ATM lifecycle solutions sector. With a strong focus on professional development and growth opportunities, employees are encouraged to expand their skills while contributing to sustainable growth and operational excellence. Located in a dynamic environment, Brink's offers unique advantages such as a diverse team and the chance to build long-term partnerships with global customers, making it a rewarding place to advance your career.

Doist

Contact Details:

Doist Recruitment Team

StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫

We think this is how you could land Principal Product Lead (CX) in Manchester

Join Product Management Meetups

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Show Off Your Product Sense

Create case studies or mini-projects showcasing your product management skills, and share them on platforms like Medium or LinkedIn. This not only puts your skills on display but also boosts your visibility in the product community. Imagine how impressed the hiring team at Doist would be by your initiative!

Utilise Online Communities

Dive into online product management communities like Product Coalition or Mind the Product. Engage in discussions, ask questions, and share your insights. These platforms are goldmines for networking and finding hidden job opportunities—many companies often scout talent from within these circles.

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We think you need these skills to ace Principal Product Lead (CX) in Manchester

Product Strategy
Platform Delivery
Customer Experience (CX) Technology
CRM Systems
Ticketing Systems
Telephony Platforms
Cross-Functional Collaboration

Some tips for your application 🫡

Show Off Your Product Passion:When applying for a product management role like Principal Product Lead (CX), let your passion for developing products shine through in your cover letter. Share specific examples of products you've managed, how you solved user needs, and any successful outcomes you've achieved. This is your chance to showcase your understanding of the product lifecycle!

Highlight Your Cross-Functional Skills:Product management isn't just about understanding the product; it’s about collaborating with different teams! Make sure to emphasise your experience working with developers, designers, and marketers. Use your CV to showcase your ability to bridge gaps between these areas, and include relevant experiences that demonstrate your communication and leadership skills!

Include Your Metrics and Achievements:In a full-time product management application, data speaks volumes! Quantify your achievements wherever possible. Did you increase user retention by a certain percentage? Launch a product ahead of schedule? Include these metrics in your CV to paint a picture of your impact and effectiveness in previous roles.

Tailor Your CV to the Role:Make sure your CV is tailored for the Principal Product Lead (CX) position at Doist. Use keywords from the job description and ensure your relevant experiences are front and centre. Highlight any certifications or relevant training you’ve completed that will make you stand out as a strong candidate for the role. And remember, we’re excited to see your application on our website!

How to prepare for a job interview at Doist

Understand the Product Life Cycle

As a product management candidate, we need to get our head around the complete product life cycle. Be prepared to discuss real-world examples of how you’ve managed product development from ideation to launch. Bring specific insights on tools like JIRA or Trello that can help streamline these processes.

Showcase Your Cross-Functional Skills

Product management is all about collaboration. We should be ready to highlight how we’ve worked across teams—think marketing, engineering, and design. Prepare to discuss scenarios where you had to mediate differing opinions and how you got everyone on board with a shared vision.

Prepare for Case Studies

In a full-time role, we can expect to encounter case study questions during our interviews. Practise solving hypothetical product problems on the spot, such as prioritising features for a new app or improving user engagement metrics. This will show our analytical thinking and decision-making skills.

Know Your Metrics

Let’s face it, numbers are our best friends in product management. We should prepare to discuss key performance indicators (KPIs) and how we've used analytics to inform product decisions. Dive into examples where data has driven our strategy for improvements or justified product changes.