Contract / Interim Product Manager
We are seeing a large increase in the number of contract Product Manager jobs in the market. Product Manager contract job vacancies are required to cover short-term skill gaps, to help businesses to get a fresh perspective or to solve a specific problem, or to upskill their current team.
If you are looking for a contract Product Manager job role or would like to find out how to become a Product Manager contractor, what skills you need, and what day rates are on offer, you will find a complete guide below.
If you’re an employer looking to recruit a contract Product Manager, please see our product recruitment services page, and the full overview of our services to employers. If you need to hire and would like our services, contact us today.
We place contract Product Manager candidates within London based companies each month. With the rise of flexible working over the last 2 years, we are extending our recruitment services to candidates across the UK, Europe and North America.
Contractor day rates
In today’s market, a day rate for a contract Product Manager can vary between £500 to £1,000. This day rate would vary depending on your seniority and experience, with interim Product Managers and Senior Product Managers achieving between £500 and £750 per day. Those contract Product Managers’ working within London could expect a day rate at the higher end of this scale, but with the rise in demand from candidates for flexible working, employers are tending to level out this playing field.
If an employer requires a contract Product Manager with specific niche experience and knowledge, the candidate will often be able to negotiate a salary at the higher end of this scale.
Other factors that could affect the salary of a contract Product Manager job are:
- Urgency of position to fill. Is there short term skill gaps?
- Expertise required. Is there a problem to solve? Do you need specific domain experience?
- The employers budget
Example job description
A typical contract Product Manager job description will read something like the below:
A contract Product Manager is needed by an exciting, data SaaS start-up to set up process and principles of product during a fast stage of growth.
The Product Manager – Contract must:
- Have excellent experience in Product Management from a B2B, SaaS / Software as a service brand
- Be at a senior level with the ability to manage the full product roadmap across the business
- Have strong experience in user research and the ability to work closely with customers to gather requirements
- Ideally be educated to degree level or equivalent
- Be available for an immediate start for a 3-month contract in London
- Have excellent communication skills in written & verbal English
This is an excellent opportunity for a Product Manager – Contract to join a growing brand at an exciting time of growth where they can have a real impact on the direction of Product.
Read another relevant job description: Interim Senior Product Manager
Contract Product Manager skills
Creating a job description is a difficult task for a contract product management job – each business will have different requirements depending on its size, how established the business is, the budget, and what product the business sells, from software, a service to a tangible product. Saying this, businesses looking to fill a product manager interim vacancy, are more than likely looking for these skills:
Customer first approach
Evidence of combining product experience and knowledge with market insight to deliver a product roadmap that has met and exceeded the actual needs of customers – rather than the perceived needs.
Agile working
Defined as ‘bringing people, processes, connectivity and technology, time and place together to find the most appropriate and effective way of working to carry out a particular task. It is working within guidelines (of the task) but without boundaries (of how you achieve it).’This is an important team management skill, creating the right environment for success.
Problem solving
The ability to foresee pain points and roadblocks within the product roadmap and creating a plan to overcome these in a timely and cost-effective way.
Coaching
Evidence of taking teams on a journey, from understanding the business vision and buying into the product direction completely. Businesses will want to see candidates who have showcased influencing skills and can give proven examples of coaching teams towards success.
Lifecycle experience
Becoming increasingly popular is the requirement for candidates to have ‘full stack’ experience and taking products through the whole product lifecycle, from research and development to maturity.
Interview questions
Read our guide to 28 interim product interview questions that employers often ask at interview.
