Interim Product Strategy Advisor

📍 Job Overview

Job Title: Interim Product Strategy Advisor

Company: Advidi

Location: Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands (Hybrid preferred, with remote flexibility)

Job Type: Freelancer / ZZP

Category: Product Strategy & Operations Consulting

Date Posted: 2026-08-11

Experience Level: 10+ Years (Senior/Expert)

Remote Status: Hybrid (Amsterdam preferred)

🚀 Role Summary

• This is a high-impact, independent advisory engagement focused on transforming Advidi into a product-led organization.

• The role requires a seasoned product leader to partner with executive leadership in shaping the company's product vision and roadmap, particularly around their proprietary platform, Sumify.

• Key responsibilities include designing and implementing a product-led operating model, establishing structured frameworks for product discovery and prioritization, and acting as a strategic thought partner.

• The advisor will leverage their expertise to challenge assumptions, refine strategy, and elevate the overall product practice within Advidi, influencing product, technology, and business operations.

📝 Enhancement Note: This role is explicitly described as an "independent advisory engagement" and "freelancer/ZZP," indicating a contract-based position rather than a full-time employee role. The focus on "product-led" transformation and the mention of "Sumify" (proprietary platform) suggest a deep dive into the company's core technology and go-to-market strategy. The role emphasizes influence and coaching rather than direct management, aligning with senior-level consulting or advisory functions.

📈 Primary Responsibilities

• Collaborate closely with Advidi's leadership team to articulate and document a compelling product vision that aligns with business objectives and drives company-wide understanding.

• Develop and propose a comprehensive product-led operating model, defining how product, engineering, and commercial teams will integrate and collaborate effectively.

• Establish and embed structured frameworks and best practices for product discovery, prioritization, and roadmap communication across the organization.

• Act as a critical thought partner to leadership, pressure-testing strategic decisions, identifying potential risks, and exploring alternative solutions for major product initiatives.

• Provide strategic guidance and mentorship to the Senior Product Owner and the broader product team, fostering their development and elevating their product practice.

• Engage directly with key stakeholders, including affiliates and advertisers, to gather market insights, validate product direction, and strengthen partner relationships.

• Drive the strategic evolution of Advidi's proprietary platform, Sumify, ensuring it surpasses existing third-party tooling and supports the company's growth ambitions.

• Facilitate alignment on product strategy and roadmap priorities across executive leadership, product, engineering, and commercial teams.

📝 Enhancement Note: The responsibilities highlight a strategic and advisory capacity, focusing on shaping direction and processes rather than direct execution. The emphasis on "product-led operating model" and "embedding frameworks" points to a need for practical, implementable strategies that can be adopted by the internal teams. The requirement to engage with external stakeholders (affiliates, advertisers) indicates a need for strong market understanding and communication skills beyond internal product development.

🎓 Skills & Qualifications

Education: While no specific degree is mandated, a strong academic foundation in business, technology, or a related field is beneficial. The emphasis is on demonstrated expertise and practical experience.

Experience: A minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in product leadership roles, with a proven track record of building and maturing product functions within technology-driven companies.

Required Skills:

• Seasoned Product Leader: Demonstrated experience in building, scaling, and maturing product organizations from the ground up.

• Product Strategy & Vision Craft: Expertise in defining clear, compelling product visions and translating them into actionable, long-term roadmaps.

• Product Discovery & Prioritization: Mastery of frameworks and methodologies for effective customer and market research, opportunity identification, and strategic prioritization.

• Product-Led Operating Model Design: Proven ability to design and implement organizational models that leverage product as a primary driver of growth and customer engagement.

• Executive Communication & Influence: Exceptional ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and persuasively to executive leadership, technical teams, and external stakeholders, influencing without formal authority.

• Strategic Advisory & Coaching: Experience operating as a trusted advisor, comfortable challenging assumptions, providing constructive feedback, and coaching teams to higher performance.

• Framework Implementation: Skill in developing and embedding structured processes for product management, including discovery, roadmap planning, and OKR alignment.

• Business Acumen: Deep understanding of business strategy, market dynamics, and how product decisions impact overall company performance.

• Engagement Commitment: Availability for a substantial, focused commitment (up to full-time) for the duration of the engagement.

Preferred Skills:

• Adtech/Performance Marketing/Affiliate Networks Expertise: Direct experience within the advertising technology, performance marketing, or affiliate network industries.

• Two-Sided Platforms/Marketplace Experience: Familiarity with the unique challenges and opportunities of building and scaling platforms that serve multiple user groups (e.g., advertisers and affiliates).

• Proprietary Platform Development: Experience in transitioning from third-party tools to successful in-house proprietary solutions and driving innovation beyond initial parity.

• Scaling Operations: Experience establishing product-led ways of working in a rapidly scaling organization.

📝 Enhancement Note: The "Required Skills" section has been expanded to elaborate on the implications of the listed skills for an advisory role. The "Preferred Skills" are directly drawn from the "It's a plus if you have" section and are framed to highlight their strategic value in the context of Advidi's business.

📊 Process & Systems Portfolio Requirements

Portfolio Essentials:

• Product Strategy & Roadmap Examples: Showcase instances where you've defined and executed successful product strategies and roadmaps, demonstrating clear prioritization logic and alignment with business goals.

• Product-Led Operating Model Design: Provide examples of organizational structures, processes, or frameworks you've designed or implemented to foster a product-led culture and operational efficiency.

• Product Discovery & Frameworks: Illustrate your approach to product discovery, including methodologies used, tools employed, and how insights were translated into product decisions. Include examples of structured frameworks you've introduced.

• Impact & ROI Demonstration: Present case studies that clearly articulate the impact of your product leadership on key business metrics, such as revenue growth, customer acquisition/retention, or platform adoption, quantifying the ROI where possible.

Process Documentation:

• Strategic Vision Articulation: Examples of how you've documented and communicated product vision narratives that rallied teams and stakeholders.

• Roadmap Planning & Communication: Demonstrations of roadmap artifacts, prioritization frameworks, and communication strategies used to ensure stakeholder alignment and clarity.

• Product-Led Workflow Design: Documentation or descriptions of how you've designed and implemented workflows for product development, discovery, and decision-making in a product-led environment.

📝 Enhancement Note: Given the advisory nature of this role, the "Portfolio Essentials" are geared towards demonstrating strategic impact and the ability to design and implement operational frameworks. The "Process Documentation" section focuses on the tangible outputs of strategic product work, such as vision statements and workflow designs, which would be critical for an advisor to present.

💵 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: As this is an independent advisory engagement, compensation will be based on an hourly rate, invoiced monthly. Based on industry benchmarks for senior/expert-level Product Strategy Advisors with 10+ years of experience, particularly in the Netherlands and for contract roles, the estimated hourly rate range is €100 - €175 per hour. This rate reflects the high level of expertise, strategic impact, and the independent advisory nature of the engagement.

Benefits:

• High-Impact Mandate: Direct involvement in a company-defining transition with significant strategic influence.

• Executive Access: Close collaboration and direct access to Advidi's leadership team.

• Genuine Influence: Opportunity to shape product direction and the company's future operating model.

• Capable Team: Work alongside a motivated product and engineering team.

• Autonomy: Clearly scoped engagement with the freedom to define your approach and add value.

• Flexible Work Arrangement: Hybrid model preferred in Amsterdam, with remote flexibility for the right candidate.

Working Hours: The engagement is scoped for up to full-time capacity (approximately 40 hours per week), with a preference for concentrated senior attention over a defined period (approximately 6 months). Flexibility may be discussed based on the candidate's availability and the scope of work.

📝 Enhancement Note: The salary range is estimated based on the role's seniority, the freelance nature, the location (Amsterdam, Netherlands), and the specialized expertise required (product strategy, adtech). Research indicates that senior-level independent consultants and ZZP professionals in tech and product strategy in the Netherlands often command rates within this range. The benefits are framed to highlight the unique advantages of this specific advisory role.

🎯 Team & Company Context

🏢 Company Culture

Industry: Advidi operates within the Adtech and Performance Marketing sector, specifically focusing on affiliate networks. They leverage technology to connect advertisers with affiliates for performance-based marketing campaigns.

Company Size: Advidi is a growing company, implied by the need for product-led transformation and the mention of a "scaling company." While exact numbers aren't provided, the move towards a proprietary platform (Sumify) suggests a significant operation.

Founded: Advidi was founded in 2009. This longevity indicates a stable business with established market presence, now undergoing a strategic shift towards product innovation.

Team Structure:

• Leadership Team: The advisor will work directly with the executive leadership team, who own product strategy and direction.

• Product Team: Close partnership with the Senior Product Owner, who is responsible for product delivery.

• Engineering Team: Collaboration with the engineering department, which is instrumental in developing and running the proprietary platform.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: The role necessitates working across product, engineering, and commercial functions to embed a product-led operating model.

Methodology:

• Product-Led Transformation: The core initiative is to shift Advidi towards a product-led growth (PLG) model.

• Data-Driven Strategy: Implied by the need to leverage their proprietary platform (Sumify) and performance marketing expertise.

• Agile/Iterative Development: The move to a proprietary platform and the focus on roadmap and discovery suggest an adoption of agile principles.

• Stakeholder Alignment: Emphasis on ensuring buy-in and understanding from leadership, product, engineering, and commercial teams.

Company Website: https://www.advidi.com/

📝 Enhancement Note: The company context is derived from the provided description and general knowledge of the Adtech/Affiliate network industry. The emphasis on "product-led" transformation and the proprietary platform "Sumify" are key strategic indicators. The founding year provides historical context. The team structure and methodology are inferred from the role's responsibilities and the company's strategic direction.

📈 Career & Growth Analysis

Operations Career Level: This role represents a Senior Expert/Principal Advisor level within the product strategy domain. It's a contract position designed for individuals who have already reached the pinnacle of product leadership and are now sought for their strategic guidance and ability to enact significant organizational change. The impact is high, with direct influence on the company's future direction.

Reporting Structure: The advisor will report directly to and work closely with the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and other members of the executive leadership team. They will also collaborate closely with the Senior Product Owner.

Operations Impact: The advisor's impact will be measured by their success in shaping Advidi's product vision, roadmap, and operating model. This includes driving the adoption of a product-led strategy, enhancing the capabilities of the Sumify platform, and ultimately contributing to the company's growth and competitive positioning in the Adtech/Affiliate marketing space. The role is critical for defining how product innovation will fuel business success.

Growth Opportunities:

• Strategic Leadership Development: Opportunity to hone skills in influencing executive teams and driving large-scale organizational change in a product-led context.

• Industry Specialization: Deepen expertise in Adtech, performance marketing, and two-sided platforms through direct engagement with Advidi's unique business model.

• Thought Leadership: Contribute to Advidi's transformation, potentially leading to future advisory engagements or board positions for successful candidates.

• Portfolio Enhancement: Gain a high-profile case study demonstrating expertise in product strategy, operating model design, and product-led transformation.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section interprets the role's seniority and impact based on the "Interim Product Strategy Advisor" title, the required experience, and the advisory nature. The growth opportunities are framed around the unique aspects of an advisory role, focusing on strategic impact and knowledge acquisition rather than traditional career ladder progression.

🌐 Work Environment

Office Type: The role is based in Advidi's Amsterdam office, offering a hybrid work arrangement. This suggests a professional office environment designed for collaboration, innovation, and team engagement.

Office Location(s): The primary office is located at Watertorenplein 8, 1051 PA Amsterdam, Netherlands. This location is noted as preferred for hybrid work.

Workspace Context:

• Collaborative Hub: The office environment likely fosters interaction between leadership, product, and engineering teams, facilitating the strategic discussions and alignment required for this role.

• Tech-Enabled: As an Adtech company, Advidi likely provides modern technological infrastructure to support product development and collaboration.

• Hybrid Model: The arrangement allows for a blend of in-office collaboration and remote flexibility, catering to the need for focused work and in-person strategic sessions.

Work Schedule: The engagement is anticipated to require up to full-time capacity (approx. 40 hours/week) for a defined period of about 6 months. While hybrid is preferred, remote flexibility exists for the right candidate, allowing for adaptability in managing work schedules around strategic initiatives and meetings.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section infers the work environment based on the "Hybrid" status, the Amsterdam location, and the nature of the company (tech-focused). The emphasis is on the collaborative and strategic aspects conducive to an advisory role.

📄 Application & Portfolio Review Process

Interview Process:

• Initial Screening: A review of your CV, hourly rate, availability, and motivation letter. A concise example of product function maturation will also be assessed.

• Leadership Discussions: Likely involves in-depth conversations with the CTO and other senior leaders to assess strategic thinking, advisory capabilities, and cultural fit.

• Product Team Engagement: Potential discussions with the Senior Product Owner and key members of the product and engineering teams to evaluate collaboration style and technical understanding.

• Case Study/Scenario Discussion: You may be asked to walk through your experience with a specific product challenge or present your approach to a hypothetical scenario related to Advidi's situation.

• Final Evaluation: Assessment of your overall fit, strategic vision, and potential to drive the desired product-led transformation.

Portfolio Review Tips:

• Focus on Impact: Prioritize showcasing achievements that demonstrate significant strategic influence and measurable business outcomes.

• Highlight Product Function Maturation: Explicitly detail instances where you've built, scaled, or significantly improved a product organization or its processes.

• Strategic Frameworks: Present examples of frameworks you've developed or implemented for vision setting, roadmap planning, discovery, and prioritization.

• Advisory Experience: Emphasize your ability to influence without direct authority, coach teams, and provide strategic counsel to leadership.

• Conciseness and Clarity: Given the initial application requirements, ensure your provided example is impactful and clearly communicates your value proposition.

Challenge Preparation:

• Product-Led Strategy: Be prepared to discuss how you would approach transforming a company like Advidi into a product-led organization.

• Roadmapping & Prioritization: Understand how you would tackle roadmap creation and prioritization in a dynamic Adtech environment with competing stakeholder needs.

• Operating Model Design: Articulate your philosophy and practical steps for designing and implementing a product-led operating model.

• Stakeholder Management: Prepare to discuss how you engage with and influence diverse stakeholders, from executives to technical teams and external partners.

📝 Enhancement Note: The interview process and preparation tips are tailored to the advisory nature of the role, emphasizing strategic thinking, influence, and demonstrable impact. The specific application requirements (CV, rate, availability, motivation, example) are integrated into the advice.

🛠 Tools & Technology Stack

Primary Tools: While specific tools are not listed, the role will likely involve working with standard product management and strategy tools. Proficiency in the following areas is expected:

• Product Roadmapping & Planning Software: Tools like Aha!, Productboard, Jira (with advanced roadmapping features), or similar platforms for strategic planning and visualization.

• Collaboration & Communication Platforms: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace for day-to-day communication and documentation.

• Data Analysis & Visualization Tools: While not directly managing delivery, an understanding of how data is used is crucial. This could include tools like Tableau, Power BI, Looker, or advanced Excel/Google Sheets for strategic analysis.

• CRM & Marketing Automation (Understanding): Familiarity with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce) and marketing automation platforms is beneficial, given the Adtech context.

Analytics & Reporting:

• Performance Metrics Dashboards: Ability to interpret and guide the creation of dashboards that track key product and business performance indicators relevant to Adtech and affiliate marketing.

• User Behavior Analytics: Understanding of tools and methodologies for analyzing user behavior on platforms (e.g., Amplitude, Mixpanel, Google Analytics).

CRM & Automation:

• Understanding of Platform Integration: While not building integrations, an appreciation for how different systems (CRM, product platforms, analytics) connect is important for designing an effective operating model.

📝 Enhancement Note: This section infers the likely technology stack based on the role's strategic nature, the industry (Adtech/Performance Marketing), and the company's stated move towards a proprietary platform. The focus is on tools relevant to strategy, planning, collaboration, and understanding performance data, rather than hands-on development tools.

👥 Team Culture & Values

Operations Values:

• Impact-Driven: A strong focus on delivering tangible business outcomes and driving company growth through strategic product initiatives.

• Collaboration & Partnership: Emphasis on working effectively with leadership, product, engineering, and commercial teams to achieve shared goals.

• Intellectual Rigor: A culture that values challenging assumptions, data-driven decision-making, and robust strategic thinking.

• Agility & Adaptability: Embracing change and adapting strategies in a fast-paced industry like Adtech.

• Customer Centricity: Grounding product decisions in the needs of both advertisers and affiliates.

Collaboration Style:

• Advisory & Coaching: The advisor is expected to operate as a trusted partner, providing guidance and coaching rather than direct command.

• Cross-Functional Integration: Fostering seamless collaboration between product, engineering, and commercial teams is key to building a successful product-led operating model.

• Open Communication: Encouraging open dialogue, constructive feedback, and transparency across all levels of the organization.

• Strategic Alignment: Ensuring all teams are aligned on the product vision, roadmap, and company objectives.

📝 Enhancement Note: The team culture and values are inferred from the job description's emphasis on transformation, collaboration with leadership, and the strategic nature of the role. The "product-led" aspect implies a culture focused on growth and customer value.

⚡ Challenges & Growth Opportunities

Challenges:

• Driving Change Without Formal Authority: The primary challenge will be influencing stakeholders and driving adoption of new strategies and operating models without direct managerial control.

• Navigating a Legacy System Transition: Guiding product strategy during the critical phase of migrating off a legacy stack to a proprietary platform (Sumify) requires careful planning and risk management.

• Balancing Internal Needs with External Market Demands: Ensuring the product roadmap effectively serves both Advidi's internal operations and the diverse needs of its affiliate and advertiser base.

• Establishing Product-Led Culture: Shifting an established company culture towards a product-led mindset requires persistent effort, clear communication, and demonstrated value.

Learning & Development Opportunities:

• Deep Dive into Adtech/Affiliate Marketing: Gain unparalleled insight into the complexities and dynamics of the performance marketing ecosystem.

• Strategic Transformation Leadership: Develop expertise in leading large-scale organizational change initiatives focused on product-led growth.

• Executive Mentorship: Benefit from direct exposure and guidance from Advidi's senior leadership team.

• Build a High-Impact Case Study: Successfully advising on this critical transition will significantly enhance your professional portfolio and reputation as a strategic advisor.

📝 Enhancement Note: Challenges are identified based on the advisory nature of the role, the company's stated transition, and the industry context. Growth opportunities are framed around skill development and portfolio enhancement specific to this engagement.

💡 Interview Preparation

Strategy Questions:

• Vision & Roadmap: "How would you approach developing a product vision and roadmap for a company like Advidi, transitioning from legacy systems to a proprietary platform like Sumify?"

• Product-Led Operating Model: "Describe your process for designing and implementing a product-led operating model in a company with established engineering and commercial teams."

• Prioritization & Discovery: "What frameworks do you use for product discovery and prioritization, and how would you embed them within a new operating model?"

• Influencing Stakeholders: "How do you influence executive leadership and diverse teams to adopt a new strategic direction or operational framework, especially without direct authority?"

Company & Culture Questions:

• Industry Insights: "What are the key strategic challenges and opportunities you see for a company operating in the Adtech/Affiliate marketing space today?"

• Product-Led Transformation: "What are the critical success factors for a product-led transformation, and what are common pitfalls to avoid?"

• Advisory Role: "How do you define your role as an independent advisor, and what is your approach to building trust and rapport with a new team?"

Portfolio Presentation Strategy:

• Focus on Transformation: Select examples that showcase your experience in transforming product functions, improving processes, or driving significant strategic shifts.

• Quantify Impact: Be ready to present metrics that demonstrate the business value of your contributions (e.g., revenue growth, efficiency gains, adoption rates).

• Methodology & Frameworks: Clearly articulate the frameworks and methodologies you employed to achieve your results.

• Concise Storytelling: Prepare a brief, compelling narrative for each example, highlighting the challenge, your approach, and the outcome.

📝 Enhancement Note: Interview questions are designed to probe the candidate's strategic thinking, experience with transformations, and ability to operate effectively in an advisory capacity. Portfolio presentation advice focuses on demonstrating tangible impact and strategic methodology.

📌 Application Steps

To apply for this Interim Product Strategy Advisor position:

• Submit your application: Send your CV, requested hourly rate, availability (days per week and earliest start date), a short motivation, and a brief example of a product function you've matured or leveled up to milou.dewitte@advidi.com.

• Curate Your Experience: Ensure your CV highlights leadership in product strategy, operating model design, and experience with platform transitions or product-led growth.

• Prepare Your Example: Craft a concise yet impactful description of a past project where you significantly improved a product function or drove strategic change. Focus on the problem, your solution, and the measurable outcome.

• Research Advidi: Understand Advidi's business model, their position in the Adtech/Affiliate marketing space, and the strategic importance of their proprietary platform, Sumify.

• Articulate Your Value: Be prepared to clearly communicate your understanding of Advidi's challenges and how your expertise can directly address them, particularly in driving a product-led transformation.

⚠️ Important Notice: This enhanced job description includes AI-generated insights and operations industry-standard assumptions. All details should be verified directly with the hiring organization before making application decisions.