39120 - Senior Product Manager

We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce and pride ourselves as being an employer of choice. To find out more about how we champion diversity and inclusion in the workplace, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity

Introduction

These are exciting times at ​MOJ Digital and Technology​. We have a clear vision - to develop a digitally-enabled justice system that works more simply for users - and we’re looking for talented people to help us achieve it.

This Senior Product Manager opening is within our Platforms & Architecture team. We design, build and support user-centred digital and technology services for the justice system: services that make a real difference to our staff, members of the public and their families who use them. Millions of people every year interact with our services, and Digital & Technology play an important role in improving access to justice and making that experience much easier and less distressing.

The Products

Ministry of Justice (MOJ) Digital and Technology has a diverse portfolio of products and services to suit a wide range of product management skills. We are a mature, in-house software development team, increasingly building services with both public and professional user interfaces, using our APIs and cloud hosting platform.

The Role

As Senior Product Manager you will be an experienced product manager leading a multidisciplinary team, supporting and continuously improving products of significant scale and complexity.

You will take products through discovery, alpha, beta and live phases of development with the goal of making government services simpler, easier and faster to use. You will devise and iterate the product roadmap and backlog, be a champion for user needs, document product knowledge, and communicate plans and progress through various channels including the blog, stakeholder meetings and demos. You will also be an active part of the broader product management community, coaching and mentoring Associate Product Managers and Product Managers, supporting the quality assessment of your colleagues’ products (known as ‘service assessment’), and sharing learning and new techniques with the community.

As a Senior Product Manager for the MOJ you will work with other delivery agencies within the justice system, central government departments, and the wider public sector to transform public services.

Senior Product Managers at the MOJ lead exciting services that improve lives. It is an opportunity to work with committed and talented user researchers, developers, designers, analysts, agile, and content specialists who share a vision for making better government through smarter use of technology.

Our product management profession is described on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/communities/product-and-service-community​.

Person Specification

We’re looking for an individual with strong interpersonal skills who likes working in a delivery focused, agile environment with multidisciplinary teams. You also contribute to the wider Product Manager community and share your skills and experiences with others across the MOJ, and across government. The skills you need as a Product Manager are summarised below and you can get more information at GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/product-manager#senior-product-manager

• Agile working​ - You know how to coach and lead teams in Agile and Lean practices, determining the right approach for the team to take and evaluating this through the life of a project. You can think of new and innovative ways of working to achieve the right outcomes. You are able to act as a recognised expert and advocate for the approaches, continuously reflecting and challenging the team.
• DDaT perspective​ - You can demonstrate an advanced understanding of design, technology and data principles. You know how to identify and implement solutions for assisted digital. You can apply knowledge to work with other job families.
• Experience of working within constraints​ - You can work with and challenge senior stakeholders. You know how to prioritise and mitigate constraints and can turn them into an advantage. You can adapt the approach depending on the constraints.
• Financial ownership​ - You understand the marketplace, realising the benefit and persuading others that a product is the right one to use. You can integrate a product with other services. You can ensure that products get used. You know how to realise benefits by linking work in progress back to the business case. You can build business cases based on user needs.
• Life-cycle perspective​ - You know how to successfully lead teams through the full product life cycle. You can identify which tools and techniques should be used at each stage. You can develop sustainable support models. You can identify and deal with potential risks across or between all stages of the product life cycle. You know how to coach others. You can contribute to the assessment of other teams, providing guidance and support as they move through the stages of the product life cycle.
• Operational management​ - You keep abreast of industry best practice and can cascade ways of working. You know how to make operations efficient. You can act as the escalation point for major operational issues and champion operational management across the community. You can work closely with leaders of operational delivery teams in digital, data and technology (DDaT).
• Problem ownership​ - You know how to anticipate problems and how to defend against them at the right time. You understand how the problem fits into the larger picture. You can articulate the problem and help others to do it. You know how to build problem-solving capabilities in others.
• Product ownership​ - You can start to define and create approaches. You know how to coach others. You can implement new ways of working. You are aware of what other sectors are doing. You understand what is most important and applicable.
• Strategic ownership​ - You know how to get buy-in from the organisation. You can work with scant information and explain it in abstract terms. You can develop a strategy.
• User focus​ - You know how to give direction on which tools or methods to use. You are experienced in meeting the needs of users across a variety of channels. You can bring insight and expertise in how user needs have changed over time to ensure these are met by the business. You know how to apply strategic thinking in how to provide the best service for the end user.

How to Apply

All candidates must submit a CV and Statement of Suitability (of up to 750 words) which describes how you meet the requirements set out in the Person Specification above.

We recruit using the Success Profiles Framework and will assess your Experience, Technical Skills and the following Behaviours during the assessment process:

●   Delivering at Pace

●   Managing a Quality Service

Your application will be reviewed and sifted against the Person Specification by a diverse panel.

Successful candidates who meet the required standard will then be invited to a 1-hour panel interview held via video conference. This will include a 15 minute exercise to assess your technical skills.

Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on the Managing a Quality Service & Delivering at Pace behaviours will be conducted prior to the sift.

Further Information

Please review the following Terms & Conditions which set out the way we recruit and provide further information related to the role.

Please note for existing civil servants successful in this role, the position would be offered as a departmental loan with the option to extend further or make permanent at a later date.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact recruitment@digital.justice.gov.uk