Chief Product Officer — Managed-Services Unit

The mandate

The investment committee has withheld further expansion pending clarity on a broad portfolio lacking clear product accountability within a institutionally backed enterprise technology and digital-products group. The immediate arena is the managed-services unit during a product-line consolidation. For mandate 147, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Product Officer operating perimeter covers approximately £2,050 million in annual recurring revenue portfolio, with activity spanning several managed-services unit customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Product Officer Technology remit carries direct influence over roughly 550 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors want a Chief Product Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the managed-services unit. The Chief Product Officer Technology seat must resolve a product-line consolidation, while preserving the underlying strengths of the managed-services unit. For mandate 147, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Product Officer’s first year on the managed-services unit is expected to end with portfolio coherence, product economics and customer adoption. In mandate 147, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a newly created Chief Product Officer — Managed-Services Unit seat, established because a product-line consolidation now requires one accountable executive rather than distributed ownership. The board has classified the appointment as urgent and intends to move from qualified shortlist to offer within 6–8 weeks. Interim governance protects the managed-services unit, but it is not a substitute for a permanent appointee. The external search remains confidential to avoid unnecessary disruption before the appointment is agreed.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Product Officer value-creation thesis for the managed-services unit, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately £2,050 million in annual recurring revenue portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Product Officer Technology organisation of about 550 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the managed-services unit economics and execution constraints created by a product-line consolidation, with Chief Product Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Product Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the managed-services unit; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have owned portfolio economics, roadmap choices and adoption across a multi-product customer base in mandate 147.
• Build the Chief Product Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the managed-services unit, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Technology organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the managed-services unit baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to a broad portfolio lacking clear product accountability, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief Product Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the managed-services unit, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable managed-services unit trend against portfolio coherence, product economics and customer adoption, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Chief Product Officer’s agreed first-year managed-services unit value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Product Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the managed-services unit’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Product Officer mandate’s highest-priority managed-services unit risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical managed-services unit talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Product Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Product Officer-owned improvement in the managed-services unit operating constraint behind a product-line consolidation, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 147: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a Chief Product Officer, SVP Product or Product Business GM in a institutionally backed Technology or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the managed-services unit, your Chief Product Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from software, cloud services, digital platforms, IT services or technology-enabled business services will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Chief Product Officer brief.

As a Chief Product Officer candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Technology or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of £1,200 million and led an organisation of at least 375 people.

For mandate 147, the board wants two transitions: a difficult managed-services unit portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a product-line consolidation. As the prospective Chief Product Officer for this managed-services unit, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 147 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Product Officer must be based in London; international relocation is supported, but this Technology role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of Chief Product Officer, SVP Product or Product Business GM, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Technology governance forum.
• Proven Chief Product Officer ownership of at least £1,200 million and leadership of no fewer than 375 employees in a comparable managed-services unit context.
• One completed Technology or adjacent-sector example of a broad portfolio lacking clear product accountability with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from software, cloud services, digital platforms, IT services or technology-enabled business services; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief Product Officer-level managed-services unit consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the London location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 147.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Product Officer package is £290,000–390,000 base + annual incentive and LTI, calibrated to the final managed-services unit scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 147 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Product Officer appointment in London, centred on the managed-services unit, offers regular exposure to the chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 147.

Confidentiality

Client identity is withheld at this stage and will be disclosed under mutual confidentiality after an initial fit discussion for mandate 147. Rounded ranges and blended context prevent this document from being used to triangulate the organisation for mandate 147.