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.

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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.

Market Intelligence Report

Head of Customer Experience & Engagement is part of the Customer Success category.Explore our market intelligence report to see how AI and hiring demand are shifting for these roles.

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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

Earn or prepare for CCXP; draft a 90-day CX plan including VoC program, KPI stack, and a prioritized journey fix.

Complete a hands-on course in Salesforce Marketing Cloud or Braze and launch a small A/B retention experiment.

Join CXPA and a local chapter; present a short case study and schedule 3 informational interviews with CX leaders.