Head of Customer Experience & Engagement

Career Guide
Leads company-wide customer experience and engagement strategy to improve satisfaction, retention, and lifetime value. Oversees customer insights, journey design, and omnichannel programs; sets KPIs and manages teams to deliver consistent, measurable improvements across touchpoints.

Key Responsibilities

  • Define CX vision, roadmap, and KPIs (NPS, CSAT, retention)
  • Build and run Voice of Customer programs and feedback loops
  • Map end-to-end journeys; prioritize and deliver service design improvements
  • Lead omnichannel engagement (email, in‑app, chat, contact center)
  • Partner with Product, Marketing, and Ops to reduce friction and churn
  • Own CX analytics, dashboards, and executive reporting
  • Manage budgets, vendors, and CX tech stack (CRM, CDP, analytics)

Career Progression

Can Lead To
VP of Customer Experience
Chief Customer Officer (CCO)
General Manager, Customer Operations
Transition Opportunities
Head of Customer Success
Director of Product Management (Customer Experience)
Director of Lifecycle/CRM Marketing
Head of Support/Contact Center Operations

Common Skill Gaps

Often Missing Skills
Customer journey mapping and service designVoC program design and NPS/CSAT analyticsLifecycle modeling (LTV, churn) and cohort analysisExperimentation and A/B testing strategyOmnichannel CRM/marketing automation strategy
Development SuggestionsComplete CCXP prep plus a service design course; run a CRM-driven retention A/B test and report results with cohort analysis.

Salary & Demand

Median Salary Range
Entry Level$130,000–$165,000
Mid Level$165,000–$200,000
Senior Level$200,000–$260,000
Growth Trend
growing: Retention focus and digital CX investment are increasing leadership hiring

Companies Hiring

Major Employers
AmazonSalesforceAmerican Express
Industry Sectors
Technology (SaaS)E-commerce & RetailFinancial Services

Recommended Next Steps

1
Earn or prepare for CCXP; draft a 90-day CX plan including VoC program, KPI stack, and a prioritized journey fix.
2
Complete a hands-on course in Salesforce Marketing Cloud or Braze and launch a small A/B retention experiment.
3
Join CXPA and a local chapter; present a short case study and schedule 3 informational interviews with CX leaders.