Did you know interest in the term ‘product manager’ doubled in the US in the last five years? With huge growth experienced throughout the technology sector, it’s a fair conclusion that statistic rings true world wide.

Product managers are just one of many critical roles within tech businesses that don’t require an in depth knowledge of coding. They’re responsible for managing product strategy, the overall user experience and creating a roadmap for Development teams. Product Managers are responsible for guiding the overall success of the product and its evolution over time.

As Head of Product and Innovation for the UK’s first and largest car sharing platform, Liftshare, Sarah Roberts is well placed to tell us about what product management entails and how she built her career.

What does a Head of Product do?

As Head of Product, you have ownership of the business’ complete Product suite, and drive innovation throughout. Your responsibility is to design and deliver an end-to-end strategy for the development of products to maximise existing customer bases and engage further customers. You oversee the development of products, projects and enhancements and keep a very close eye on the market you’re in, constantly using this knowledge to feed back into your strategy.

How did you get the role?

After finishing a linguistics degree, I thought I wanted to be a librarian so started working in University libraries. Through shadowing and research, I then decided libraries weren’t for me so I then moved to work in IT at a county Constabulary.

I went from admin to project work which gave me Business Analyst experience. I then moved to a software company as a Product Owner, where I managed the roadmap of a large development team, trained the company on new features and managed the Customer Feature Voting system along with a beta-test program. I was then head-hunted for my current role at Liftshare as Head of Product and Innovation.

What advice would you give someone wanting to be a Head of Product?

Put listening to your customers at the top of your list, and make it part of your routine! It’s so easy to get side tracked with what a big new client wants, or what the board THINKS you should develop, but by having direct conversations with your customers and analysing feedback, you can determine whether you meet, fall short of, or surpass your customer expectations.

Are you looking for a new role, or wanting to step into tech? Our partners have an array of roles operating at all levels throughout the technology sector. Get in touch with our specialist head hunters. We might have the perfect job for you!