Director of Product

Role Purpose:

The Director of Product has overall leadership responsibility for defining the product strategy & roadmap required to deliver on the Car Trawler’s ambitious strategy. The Product strategy will be based on a deep understanding of both the car rental customer and the Car Trawler car rental business partners. This role will play a key part in enabling high-velocity, high-quality software delivery by partnering closely with engineering and delivery teams to streamline execution.

As the thought leader and customer champion, the Director of Product will nurture the creative, collaborative and innovative product development capabilities of the Product & Technology function. The Director of Product will consistently look outwards, taking the best-in-class product practice, ideas and customer trends from both within and outside of travel to deliver the best possible customer experience and therefore deliver the best outcome for the CarTrawler partners.

Reporting to: Chief Product & Technology Officer

Main accountabilities and key tasks

- Provide strategic leadership within the Product & Technology management team, shaping the direction of our portfolio and setting a high standard for product excellence.
- Own the end-to-end product lifecycle—from strategy and discovery through to delivery and continuous improvement—leveraging market feedback and performance insights to evolve our product offerings.
- Establish and embed best-in-class product management practices that align with business goals and enable scalable, repeatable delivery of customer and commercial value.
- Inspire, lead, and develop a high-performing team of Product Managers, empowering them to build innovative software solutions that meet the evolving needs of the Car Rental customer.
- Continuously scan the market—customers, competitors, and adjacent tech sectors—for trends, ideas, and emerging technologies that can inform and future-proof our product strategy.
- Challenge the status quo by holding both business and engineering teams to account on user experience, product quality, and customer satisfaction.
- Partner with engineering teams to drive value through efficient planning, estimation, development, and deployment processes—ensuring product decisions are informed by technical insight and business impact.
- Track and improve team performance, using data and feedback to optimise the productivity, efficiency, and collaboration within the Product Management and Design teams.
- Foster cross-functional collaboration across departments to co-create solutions that address both near-term business needs and long-term strategic goals.
- Champion a culture of growth and high performance, working with People Partners and function leads to nurture talent, drive engagement, and support career progression across Product & Design.
- Advocate for Product Design excellence, ensuring quality, usability, accessibility, and performance are integral to every release.
- Act as a key voice at the leadership table, communicating proactively with senior stakeholders to ensure alignment, secure buy-in, and build strong partnerships across the organisation.

Critical Interfaces

- Director of Engineering to ensure alignment on meeting product visions and goals
- Director of Technology Strategy & Execution - Portfolio Management to create clear plans for delivery of priority projects and initiatives
- Trading function, Partner Relationship Management, Supply & insurance and Customer to ensure quality technical solutions are being delivered to all customer stakeholder groups
- Commercial team to define and understand our proposition to our business partners, and to ensure that our product and technology deliver that proposition
- Head of Products to ensure we are providing the required thought leadership for the Product function.

Knowledge and Experience

- Minimum of 7 years’ experience in a senior product leadership role, with a strong track record of driving impactful outcomes across complex product portfolios.
- Exceptional communication, organisational, and leadership skills, with the ability to influence at all levels and drive alignment across cross-functional teams.
- Entrepreneurial mindset—highly collaborative, self-motivated, solutions-oriented, and capable of bringing structure to ambiguity.
- Strategic thinker with a proven ability to shape, communicate, and execute product vision and strategy aligned with broader business objectives.
- Relentlessly customer- and partner-focused, with a deep commitment to understanding needs and translating them into differentiated product experiences.
- Inherently curious and growth-minded, continuously exploring new sectors, emerging technologies, and evolving best practices in product design and development.
- Demonstrated experience leading high-performing product and design teams, fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
- Expertise in agile methodologies and modern software development practices, ensuring efficient, iterative delivery of customer value.
- Proven success managing diverse initiatives across user experience, design, and product delivery—from concept through to launch and optimisation.
- Strong prioritisation and time-management skills, ensuring timely and high-quality delivery in fast-paced, evolving environments.
- Recognised innovator, with a history of generating creative, commercially viable product ideas that drive competitive advantage.
- Proven leadership capabilities, empowering teams to deliver strategically, proactively, and with measurable impact.

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