Competency Framework Template

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1		Competency Framework
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6	Title	Junior		Mid		Senior		Lead	Group	Director	VP	CPO
7	Theme	Breaking into Product Management and learning the basics		Deepening the craft		Mastering the craft		Expert IC	People manager	Tribe leader	Leads product function	Leads product and other functions
8	Salary	[optional: fill in £X-Yk]		[optional: fill in £X-Yk]		[optional: fill in £X-Yk]		[optional: fill in £X-Yk]	[optional: fill in £X-Yk]	[optional: fill in £X-Yk]	[optional: fill in £X-Yk]	[optional: fill in £X-Yk]
9	Track record	Typically 0-2 years experience		Typically 2-4 years experience		Typically 4-6 years experience		Typically 6-8 years experience	Typically 8-10 years experience	Typically 10-12 years experience	Typically 12-15 years experience	Typically 15+ years experience
10	Scope	Responsible for major features, or small sub teams (up to 3 engineers)		Responsible for a full cross functional team		Responsible for a large cross functional team, or 2+ smaller sub-teams		Responsible for a large cross functional team, and line managing 1-2 JPMs	Line managing 3-4 PMs / SPMs	Line manages 6-12 PMs with 2-3 GPMs. Runs product for a complete tribe (business unit).	Runs product management function for company. All PMs in company report into this person. On the leadership team.	Runs product management and adjacent functions (e.g. design, UX, data, engineering, customer support). On the exec team.
11	Sub-level	JPM I	JPM II	PM I	PM II	SPM I	SPM II	LPM	GPM	Director	VP	CPO

12	Company level mapping	IC1	IC1	IC2	IC2	IC3	IC3	IC4	M4	M5	M6	M7
13	Strategy
14	Strategy & Comms * Strategy and vision * Creates order from chaos	* Advocates a clear point of view on feature-level decisions * Escalates problems that they cannot solve themselves * Materials are clear, concise and well formatted * All data can be traced to appropriate sources * Uses templates as necessary to support communication style	* Can take substantial features from inception through to release	* Has a clear view of the work the team should be doing for the next quarter, and documents approach thoroughly	* Creates high level plan that outlines main areas of opportunity, and communicates work within this structure	* Has a long term view of the work the team should be doing (6 months +) and clearly documented approach	* Has a long term view of the work the team should be doing (12 months +) and clearly documented approach	* Has a compelling narrative that delivers enhanced user experience and business performance, that is well documented	* Has an inspiring vision and coherent strategy for driving long term business value for all teams they are responsible for * Articulates how work from separate teams combines in a unified way, and how this contributes to company's overall goals	* Has an inspiring vision and coherent strategy for increasing business value of their tribe * Explains how work from each team in tribe is coherent and supports company's overall goals * Makes the most of headcount in their control; team staffing is driven by strategy	* Has an inspiring vision and coherent strategy for how product as a whole increases business value * Explains how work from each tribe is coherent and supports company's overall goals * Allocates teams against company goals to deliver strategy	* Has an inspiring vision and coherent strategy for how company will succeed. This is shared with other functions. * Assesses and builds company capabilities to deliver strategy
15	Commercial positioning * Competitor positioning * Commercial awareness	* Limited understanding of our main competitors	* Familiar with a broad range of competitors	* Uses competitor research to inform feature design	* Assesses quality of competitor features based on feedback from and empathy of users * Can build basic model of product impact with limited support	* Clear understanding of what best-in-class functionality looks like in their domain * Models the business impact they can have by moving different product metrics	* Clear understanding of what best-in-class functionality looks like in their domain * Models the business impact they can have across different sub-teams by moving different product metrics	* Detailed knowledge of key competitors in space, and how functionality compares to them * Intimate knowledge of the levers the team can pull to drive business impact	* Clear view on where we need to match competitor functionality vs. exceed it * Understands and champions impact in a commercial sense	* Produces business cases to support increasing / decreasing headcount in team * Tribe strategy supports a unique value proposition which delights customers, increases margins and is hard to copy	* Monitors overall ROI of product team, and adjusts headcount and strategy accordingly * Product strategy supports a unique value proposition which delights customers, increases margins and is hard to copy	* Can clearly communicate ROI of investment in technology teams at board level * Company strategy supports a unique value proposition which delights customers, increases margins and is hard to copy
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17	Insight
18	User research	* Validate new features in user tests	* Speaks regularly to users to understand their experience and challenges	* Combines qualitative and quantitative research to find opportunities to drive impact * Speaks to users on a regular basis and generates novel insights * Defines key user flows and funnels they are working on	* Rich understanding of the main flows they are working on, informed by both qualitative and quantitative research * Speaks to users on a regular basis and generates novel insights	* Rich understanding of user needs driven by combined qualitative and quantitative research * Can design and run user interviews to test specific questions	* Rich understanding of user needs across multiple workstreams driven by qualitative and quantitative research * Can design and run user interviews to test specific questions, removing obvious sources of bias	* Nuanced understanding of user problems and JTBD across their domain, driven by extensive qualitative and quantitative research * Initiates discovery that results in critical insights, and evangelises these to wider business	* Stretches their teams to continually enrich their understanding of users through qualitative and quantitative methods * Coaches teams on the best qualitative methods to understand their users	* Makes sure tribe as a whole has a high bar for user research * Staffs and deploys user researchers effectively	* Makes sure company as a whole has a high bar for user research * Staffs and deploys user researchers effectively across product org * Invests in tools, processes and culture to maximise the impact of user researchers' expertise across product org	* Assesses and builds user research capability across the company * Designs and manages ratio of user researchers to other disciplines * Champions the voice of the customer at all levels of the organisation
19	Analytical skills	* Understands basic funnels and KPIs	* Familiar with key product metrics and tracks team's progress against these * Understands the user flow they are working on in a quantitative manner	* Understands how product metrics drives business results * Runs A/B and other quantitative tests with support	* Understands key product metrics that drive business results and focuses effort on these * Runs A/B and other quantitative tests with little support	* Familiar with all relevant KPIs in their domain, and trade offs between them * Runs A/B and other quantitative tests without support	* Familiar with all relevant KPIs in their domain, and trade offs between them * Designs A/B and other quantitative tests specific to their needs without support	* Can develop and evaluate new metrics and quantitative analyses to improve their team's understanding of users	* Coaches teams on the best metrics and quantitative analyses for them to use, given their context * Pulls in data analysts and other experts as necessary to support teams	* Makes sure tribe as a whole has a high bar for quantitative analysis * Staffs and deploys data analysts effectively	* Makes sure company as a whole has a high bar for quantitative analysis * Staffs and deploys data analysts effectively across product org * Invests in tools, processes and culture to maximise the impact of data analysts' expertise across product org	* Assesses and builds analytical capability across the company * Champions the data-informed approach at all levels of the organisation
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21	Execution
22	Accountability & ownership * Breadth of scope * Goal setting and prioritization * Impact delivered * Planning	* No track record of delivery * Responds quickly and positively to feedback	* Thinks about features in terms of their contribution to the team's OKRs * Track record of delivering small, well executed features * Identifies specfic risks to feature delivery and escalates resolution appropriately	* Contributes to definition of team OKRs, and prioritises features rigorously to maximise team impact * Can drive results across a clearly defined problem space with known levers for action * Track record of delivering projects as expected * Identifies and addresses problems within the team with guidance	* Sets OKRs with support, and prioritises features rigorously to maximise team impact * Track record of delivering a team's roadmap as planned * Identifies and seeks guidance on resolving team issues * Can drive results across large problem spaces that drive significant business value	* Sets OKRs with limited support, and prioritises features rigorously to maximise team impact * Can drive results across large, complex problem spaces with a wide variety of stakeholder interests * Track record of delivering significant impact with a team * Responsible for a large cross functional team * Can resolve most problems within the team, and escalates threats to delivery from outside the team quickly	* Sets OKRs without support, and prioritises features rigorously to maximise team impact * Can drive results in novel problem spaces that have not been tackled before * Track record of individually delivering impact in parallel workstreams * Complete responsibility for multiple sub-teams and what they deliver	* Sets OKRs without support to drive team towards this vision, and prioritises features rigorously to maximise team impact * Can drive results across the most ambiguous problem spaces, where levers for impact were previously unknown (e.g. multi-channel growth) * Track record of delivering substantial amounts of impact through parallel workstreams, including through direct reports * Rarely blocked. Proactively removes most obstacles to team, whether from within production or wider business	* Sets OKRs to drive teams towards this vision, and helps them prioritise features in robust way * Track record of delivering substantial amounts of impact to the business through direct reports * Responsible for 2-4 product teams; has similar number of direct PM reports * Always has a plan. Proactively removes obstacles to teams whatever the root cause * Defines best practices within the product team	* Responsible for product function within a single tribe (business unit) * Able to lead managers of PMs (i.e. Group PMs or equivalents) * Leads quarterly product planning and OKRs for their tribe * Track record of delivering substantial amounts of impact to the business through direct reports	* Responsible for all PMs across business * Credible leader of managers of PMs (i.e. Directors, Group PMs and equivalents) * Leads quarterly product planning and OKRs for company * Track record of delivering substantial ROI from headcount / budget, and able to quantify this.	* Responsible for all product managers, as well as several other functions * Routinely delivers significant business results * Runs major company transformation projects (e.g. new product launches, M&A, outsourcing, etc)
23	Delivery * Agile practices * Technical fluency * Design fluency	* Actively participates in team rituals * Fills in details for tickets, release notes and other documentation where structure is given * Follows up on releases, and quantifies the impact they have had in product terms	* Actively participates in team rituals * Respects value and needs of other roles in the production team * Writes basic tickets and documentation without support * Follows up on releases, and quantifies the impact they have had in product terms	* Can run solid team rituals (stand up, retros, etc.) * Works effectively with ADM, tech lead and other team members * Ensures that designs and features are appropriately tested * Works with marketing to ensure that releases are publicised to users * Follows up on releases and quantifies the impact they have had in business terms	* Runs great team rituals (stand up, retros, etc.) * Works effectively with all team members * Proactively challenges team members to work in a lean manner and maximise impact for effort * Always builds robust product marketing into release plans * Continually reevaluates backlog based on performance of recent releases	* Identifies and escalates staffing gaps, and challenges team rituals to be more effective * Regularly challenges x-functional team members to get the most out of them * Stretches team to deliver lightweight MVPs, test these robustly and double down on them as appropriate * Uses a variety of product marketing tactics to maximise impact of releases	* Presents options for varying levels of impact based on different staffing scenarios * Proactively challenges x-functional team members to get the most out of them * Stretches team to deliver lightweight MVPs, test these robustly and double down on them as appropriate * Uses a variety of product marketing tactics to maximise impact of releases	* Identifies and proactively drives resolution of staffing gaps, and continually improves team rituals to be more effective * Effective at challenging x-functional team members to get the most out of them * Minimises a variety of risks (value, useability, feasibility) early, with appropriate testing tactics * Uses a variety of product marketing channels to maximise impact of releases	* Identifies problems with teams' staffing or rituals, and resolves these with production leadership peers * Effectively challenges x-functional team members to improve their performance * Coaches teams to minimise risks early, with a variety of testing tactics * Coaches teams to effectively market product releases to maximise impact * Ensures teams double down and iterate on features that have potential	* Builds and maintains an effective operating system for rapid, consistent delivery * Understands bottle necks to tribe velocity and continually works to remove these * Coaches teams to minimise risks early, with a variety of testing tactics * Coaches teams to effectively market product releases to maximise impact * Accountable for all tribe delivery	* Builds and maintains an effective operating system for rapid, consistent delivery across entire org * Understands overall team velocity and drivers, and continually works to increase this * Accountable for all product delivery	* Excels at assessing and increasing team velocity on company-wide scale * Continually drives process, tooling and cultural innovation to increase execution ceiling * Accountable for delivery of major projects and transformation across org
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25	Stakeholder & People Management
26	Collaboration * Stakeholder management * Conflict resolution * Team motivation	* Sensitive to conflicting interests when dealing with stakeholders * Practices "obligation of dissent" to drive team towards better outcomes	* Clarifies details for, and gathers feedback from stakeholders * Leads exploration and delivery of individual features in clear, confident and respectful manner * Practices "obligation of dissent" to drive team towards better outcomes	* Engages stakeholders at all levels within existing channels * Leads team with support from other key team members (tech lead, ADM) * Identifies points of tension and feedback in team, and can address these with support	* Proactively engages stakeholders at all levels with support on sensitive topics * Comfortable presenting to large groups (e.g. All Hands, Product Review) * Leads team in, clear, confident and respectful manner * Occasionally gives feedback to team members	* Proactively engages stakeholders at all levels with limited support * Leads team in, clear, confident and respectful manner, even in challenging circumstances * Diffuses conflict between team members and between stakeholders	* Proactively engages stakeholders at all levels with limited support. Capable of managing expectations and competing demands * Leads team in, clear, confident and respectful manner, even in challenging circumstances. Recognised as a strong leader in the business * Preempts conflict between team members and between stakeholders by addressing varying interests	* Proactively engages stakeholders at all levels from board down, and across entire company. Capable of managing expectations and competing demands * Leads team in, clear, confident and respectful manner; able to win team round and maintain morale in challenging circumstances * Can win round senior stakeholders by addressing their concerns and adapting style of communication	* Proactively engages stakeholders at all levels from board down, and across entire company. Skilled at managing expectations and competing demands * Able to mediate between warring factions; seen as a peace maker * Improves product understanding with stakeholders outside the wider production team	* Maintains the trust and respect of other tribe (business unit) leaders, and wider product team * Clearly articulates value that product delivers at tribe level * Works collaboratively with other tribe leaders to set and execute on integrated strategy	* Maintains the trust and respect of other VPs, execs, and wider product team * Clearly articulates value that product delivers at company level * Works collaboratively with company leadership to set and execute on integrated strategy	* Maintains the trust and respect of the board, other execs and wider product team * Can clearly articulate to board the value that product delivers and plan for the future * Works collaboratively with other execs to develop and execute on a joint plan for success * Inspires wider product team to greatness and gives them abundance of context and clear direction to act
27	People leadership * Recruiting * Performance management	NA	NA	* Reliable contributor to interview process for Jnr / Mid PMs	* Conducts interviews alone and consistently identifies strong candidates	* Can own a stage of the recruiting funnel for JPMs / PMs, and consistently identify strong candidates * Gives regular feedback to team members and manager * Occasionally contributes to the overall knowledge of the product team	* Can own a stage of the recruiting funnel for JPMs / PMs, and consistently identify strong candidates * Gives clear and empathetic feedback to team members and manager * Contributes to the overall knowledge of the product team	* Complete responsibility for multiple sub-teams and what they deliver; 1-2 direct reports * Regularly adds to the overall knowledge of the product team * Able to run hiring process for Jnr / Mid / Snr PMs with limited support * Able to identify and coach Jnr / Mid PMs on key areas of development * Coaches direct team members on underlying product principles	* Hiring manager for production teams they oversee. Able to run recruitment process end-to-end and consistently hire above average candidates * Identifies and coaches the key areas of focus for Snr / Lead PMs. Able to give direct feedback in an empathetic way that lands with the recipient	* Hires, inspires and coaches great product people including managers (GPMs or equivalent) and expert ICs (leads) * Identifies and coaches the key areas of focus for Group PMs. Able to give direct feedback in an empathetic way that lands with the recipient * Holds product managers within tribe to exceptionally high standards	* Hires, inspires and coaches ambitious, capable people managers (Directors, GPMs and equivalents) * Able to run recruitment for managers end-to-end and consistently hire top performers * Holds product managers across organisation to exceptionally high standards	* Inspires and coaches ambitious, capable VPs from multiple functions * Maintains exceptionally high standards for performance across organisation * Designs org for optimal performance
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