Chief Product & Technology Officer - CPTO in Amsterdam

A piece of the moon, a complete dinosaur skeleton, the Pope's hat, the world's smallest book - are things we have seen on our platform. At Catawiki, every day we passionately discover extraordinary objects and more importantly the stories behind these unique objects. As Europe’s fastest growing curated marketplace for passionate enthusiasts, our mission is to help people make discoveries worth treasuring. In fact, we see more than 20 million visits on our platform every month. 

The journey started in 2008 in the Netherlands, as a platform for collectors to manage their collections online. In 2011 we hosted our first online auction and haven’t looked back since. Today we successfully auction more than 50,000 unique items every week across more than 55 categories. With a customer footprint in almost every country across the globe, we now have 500+ Catawikians working in Europe, backed by leading investors such as Accel, Northzone and Lead Edge Capital.

Over the last few years, Catawiki has grown rapidly by expanding into multiple categories and countries. To support the next phase of growth, we are looking for an exceptional leader who will help steer a growing, complex marketplace business to long-term sustainability. 

Catawiki’s GMV is €300M+ (currently growing at 30%) with a potential to be a 1B+ business in the next 3-5 years. You will define and drive the vision for technology and product for the next phase of growth in line with overall business value proposition. The role is based in Amsterdam and involves taking ownership of all aspects of product/technology; leading a team of 100+ people across sub-functions like Product, Engineering, Design, UX, Analytics & Data Science. 

This role reports into the CEO and is an integral part of the company’s Management Team. The other key stakeholders are the other CXOs/VPs and the board of the company.

1. Product Leader

Ability to define and drive a “customer-first” product strategy which drives and inspires the entire company. The CPO/CTO needs to complement the CEO vision for the company and take them to the next level – so the ability to define and effectively communicate a vision is essential. Taking vision to the next level by developing a roadmap and sequencing in the most effective way is a major requirement. The organization must be able to execute on this vision, so a person with experience in leading through influence and persuasion, vs. strict solid line authority, is critical. 

1. Technology Leader

Proven track record of managing technology at fast growing B2C tech company. Ensuring that the business has a reliable, scalable and versatile tech stack for each phase of growth. This not only means delivering the needed product features, but building the tech stack in a way that it unlocks further opportunities (on topline or bottomline) for the business. This means technology choices should be able to create business impact and vice versa. 

Specific experience in building teams that understand the importance of continuous and rapid testing and learning, while moving in sync with other departments. This includes building customised frameworks for relevant MVP, A/B tests and prototypes, and at the same time exploring the latest techniques in machine learning, deep learning and AI, and how those can drive product excellence.

1. People Leader

Demonstrated ability to attract, develop and retain a strong team of engineers, data scientists, product managers and designers. Build a strong connection for the tech teams with the commercial, marketing and customer service functions in the company. Be a visible leader  both internally and externally. Actively build networks to source high quality talent and enhance Catawiki’s employer brand.   

1. Business Leader

You have a strong business acumen with proven experience of scaling up a product / business in a fast-paced tech environment. 

• Ability to connect the economics drivers of the business / market to the tech & product roadmap. 
• Coupled with the ability to effectively communicate with simplicity (e.g., with Board of Directors) or become detailed where needed (e.g. within or across teams). 
  
  

1. Bias for action

Ability to get things done rapidly, and effectively is key. Should be able to roll up sleeves and get things moving. Communicating plans and progress to all stakeholders will be important - around customer insights, product roadmap, technology roadmap and the product development process. 

1. Data-Driven Learning Culture 

Data is at the heart of our decision making process. Ability to define the right metrics, instrument all necessary touch-points and use these insights to drive effective business decisions. Taking risks is encouraged and continuously learning from them and evolving is a sign of success. 

1. A role model for Catawiki Values 

We are passionately trying to build these 6 values in the company: Be Open, Move in Sync, Take Ownership, Be Passionate, Be Geeky, and Delight our Customer. As part of the Management Team, the expectation from someone in this role would be to be a role model for these values.