Updated October 2026
A strong startup head of product job description says which product decisions move from the CEO to the new hire, separates strategy from roadmap, and states whether the role builds a PM team or inherits one. It lists six-month outcomes and shows salary and equity ranges.
Put the decision-rights split in the job description itself. A list of duties attracts roadmap managers who expect the CEO to set strategy and would-be CEOs who expect to set it alone. A short table of who decides what sorts them before the first call, and forces the founder to choose what to give up.
Our illustrative example is a Series A accounts payable software company of 35 people. The CEO has run product herself. Her first draft asked the hire to "own the product vision"; the final one named the calls she was handing over.
Copy-and-paste head of product job description
About [Company]
[Company] builds [one sentence on the product] for [who the customer is]. We raised [round] from [investors] in [month, year]. We are [number] people, including [number] PMs, and [CEO name] has led product until now.
The role
We're hiring our first head of product to take over the roadmap and the product team from [CEO name]. You'll report to [CEO name], lead [number] PMs and grow the team to [number] by [date]. The attached decision-rights table shows what you decide, what [CEO name] keeps and what we decide together.
What you'll do in your first 6 months
- Agree and publish a written decision-rights split with [CEO name] within [number] weeks.
- Replace the current [feature list / backlog] with a roadmap tied to [company goal, e.g. net revenue retention].
- Hire [number] product managers, starting with one for [area].
- Run a monthly review of what changed for customers after each launch.
- Present product strategy at the [month] board meeting yourself.
What you'll bring
- You've owned a roadmap at a company of [X to Y] people.
- You've hired and managed product managers.
- You've taken product over from a founder before.
- You can write a product strategy in two pages and defend it to a sceptical board member.
- Enough technical depth to make trade-offs with [CTO / engineering lead].
- Experience with [sales motion, e.g. B2B sales cycles].
Nice to have
- Experience in [industry or domain].
- You've led a pricing or packaging change.
- You've managed designers as well as PMs.
What we offer
- Salary: [£/$/€ X to Y], depending on experience.
- Equity: [X% to Y%] in [options / shares], [vesting schedule].
- [Remote / hybrid, X days a week in City].
- Stage: [Seed / Series A / Series B] with [number] months of runway. [Benefits].
Drafting from notes, try the free job description builder. Our head of product interview questions test each scorecard row below.
How a head of product job description changes by stage
| Seed | Series A | Series B | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Usually no PMs yet | One to three PMs | Several PMs, often a design lead |
| Main job | Find what customers will pay for next | Turn founder instinct into a roadmap | Several product areas and pricing |
| With the CEO | CEO sets direction | Written split; CEO keeps the long bets | Runs product; CEO joins the big bets |
| Title to consider | Senior PM, unless building a team soon | Head of product | Head of product or VP Product |
At Seed, the title often promises more authority than the founder will give. Benchmark pay against current data for your market.
Runs the backlog
Owns the roadmap, shares strategy
Owns strategy across product lines
Scorecard: how you'll judge success
Every row should be something the hire controls under the decision-rights split.
| Outcome | What good looks like at 12 months | How you'll test it in interviews |
|---|---|---|
| Decision rights | The split is written down and escalations are rare | Ask how they agreed rights with their last CEO |
| Roadmap and strategy | A roadmap tied to [goal] that the leadership team can repeat | A two-page strategy memo, critiqued in the final round |
| PM team | [Number] PMs hired, each owning an area with clear goals | Walk through one PM they hired and one they managed out |
| Product results | [Metric] moved; features judged on results after launch | Ask for a feature they killed after launch, and the evidence |
| Board and investors | Presents product strategy at board meetings | A mock board question in the final round |
30-60-90 day plan
| Days | Focus | By the end they should have |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 30 | Listen: shadow the CEO's product calls and meet customers | Decision-rights draft agreed, plus a list of work they would stop |
| 31 to 60 | Take over: run next quarter's planning and open the first PM role | A roadmap they own and a PM scorecard |
| 61 to 90 | Build: start the product review and write the first strategy memo | First PM at offer stage and the memo approved |
Mistakes founders make in head of product job descriptions
Asking for vision without giving any away. If the CEO still has the final say on every feature, the role is a senior PM with a bigger title.
Leaving out the CTO. The head of product and the CTO share the roadmap. Say who settles a clash between new features and technical debt.
Skipping the founder's side of the handover. In our example, the CEO wrote that she would stop attending sprint planning by month three, which showed candidates the handover was real.
Where Funded.club fits
We've helped 500+ startups from Seed to Series D across North America, Europe and APAC. Our fee is fixed and agreed upfront: for roles paying above $150,000 it runs from $15,900 to $21,900, against 20 to 25% of salary with a typical contingency recruiter (see pricing).
Part of the fee is an advance, and if we don't deliver a shortlist of at least 3 qualified candidates within 30 days, you can claim it back in full. Our guide on how to hire a head of product covers the full process.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a head of product and a VP Product?
A VP Product usually runs several product areas through managers, while a head of product often still owns one area directly.
Should the decision-rights split go in the public job advert?
Put a short version in the advert and share the full table at the first interview.
Should a startup hire a head of product or a senior PM first?
Hire a senior PM if the CEO will keep setting direction. Hire a head of product when the CEO is ready to hand over the roadmap and a PM team needs building.
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