Director, Head of Product Operations

This job is with Xceptor, an inclusive employer and a member of myGwork – the largest global platform for the LGBTQ+ business community. Please do not contact the recruiter directly.

ABOUT XCEPTOR

Data is at the heart of everything we do: Xceptor has been designed around data manipulation in its broadest sense. We source data from wherever it flows. We curate, normalise, validate, repair, and enrich that data so it reaches its destination in a reliable and consistent format. Data coming out of Xceptor is data our clients can trust.

We are recognised as an expert in the Financial Services vertical, which strongly aligns with Business Users in Middle and Back-Office teams. We enable these users to solve their data challenges by themselves, rather than through a technology-led project.

Our mission - we empower business users within financial institutions to build automated processes that deliver trusted data.

Our values sit at the heart of our business, driving who we are and how we work. At Xceptor, we are:

• Client Centric; we prioritise our Clients’ experience and needs.
• One Team; we actively support one another to achieve our goals.
• Impactful; we focus, we innovate, we make every minute matter.

🚀 Your Role:

We are seeking an experienced Director, Head of Product Operations & Process Excellence to act as a key strategic and operational partner to the Chief Product Officer (CPO). This role spans the full range from strategy to execution - helping shape where the Product organisation is going, while owning the operational machine that gets it there. You will drive the effectiveness, alignment, and performance of the Product organisation, using data, insight, and increasingly AI-enabled tooling to keep that machine running smoothly as we scale.

This is a dual strategy-and-operations role. You will help shape product strategy and portfolio direction alongside the CPO, while also owning the operational infrastructure that turns that strategy into results - managing the product portfolio, driving delivery, preparing board and executive materials, shaping the roadmap, allocating resource and budget, and contributing to pricing decisions. The role rests on three pillars: business and data insights, customer and market insights, and process and governance. If the Product Operating Model is the blueprint for how Xceptor creates and delivers product value, this role keeps the building systems running - ensuring product teams are aligned, prioritised effectively, and equipped to deliver high-quality outcomes at scale.

🎯 Who we're looking for:

We’re looking for a senior product leader who combines strategic and operational strengths, with a track record of building effective operating models and managing complex portfolios.

Product & Delivery Leadership

• 15 years’ experience in Product, Product Operations, or related roles, including prior product leadership experience (e.g. former Head of Product, VP Product, or Product Director).
• A blend of management consulting and in-house product experience is strongly preferred - someone equally comfortable structuring strategic problems and rolling up their sleeves to run delivery.
• Strong experience designing and scaling product operating models and governance.

Product & Operating Model Expertise

• Deep understanding of product management practices.
• Experience implementing planning, prioritisation, and governance frameworks.
• Experience managing a product portfolio, including roadmap planning, resource allocation, and board-level reporting.
• Experience building or scaling the core pillars of product operations - business and data insight, customer and market insight, and process and governance.

Data & Performance Orientation

• Experience defining and tracking product KPIs.
• Strong analytical capability and data-driven decision making.
• Experience connecting commercial or financial metrics to product delivery data to inform prioritisation.
• Exposure to pricing strategy or commercial decision-making is a plus.

Cross-functional Leadership

• Ability to influence across product, engineering, and business and drive transformation in an organisation.
• Strong stakeholder management in complex environments, including experience preparing materials for and presenting to boards or senior leadership.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional launch or go-to-market readiness processes.

Execution Excellence

• Strong organisational and operational discipline.
• Ability