Senior Product Manager

As a Senior Product Manager at the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) you’ll champion the delivery and continuous improvement of products and define, own, and solve problems that enable value. You’ll work with researchers to understand user needs; stakeholders and service owners to understand business value; and your whole team to prototype and implement solutions that are viable and sustainable. You’ll own and develop a coordinated product strategy with other teams in Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) and across the wider organisation, understanding the goals of our stakeholders, and work with your team to help validate assumptions, sharing insight and learnings to create better outcomes and demonstrate the benefits of user-centred design.
DBT’s Data Services Portfolio, where this role sits, build digital products and services that enable our global network of staff, partners and members of the public to spot opportunities, monitor progress and make decisions with data. We work closely with users, stakeholders and data professionals to deliver user-centred, data-driven solutions using contemporary tools and techniques, directly supporting the Department’s strategic goals and the economic growth of the UK.
You’ll have the support of Lead Product Managers to help shape your product strategy, and to develop your craft. You will be responsible for managing products through the product lifecycle. You’ll work in a multidisciplinary team, as well as coaching more junior product managers. You’ll support writing updates to ministers and senior civil service leadership.
Product Managers at DBT have expert knowledge of product management techniques coupled with developing strategic skills. They provide direction and empowerment to one or more high performing multidisciplinary teams, ensuring return on investment and execution of the vision. Product Managers represent users throughout the delivery process, and advocate for well-governed Agile methodology to the rest of the department., As a Senior Product Manager, you will manage the development of one or more digital services or products. In this role, you will:
+ lead one or more multidisciplinary agile teams, providing product direction to deliver digital services and products through the product lifecycle
+ understand the policy context and business drivers behind ideas, and develop ways to identify and test the key assumptions to establish problem-solution fit, so that we quickly discover the most appropriate way to deliver user and business value
+ create effective, prioritised product roadmaps and product descriptions to meet user needs in a cost-effective way
+ deliver services that meet the Government Digital Service (GDS) Standard and are best in class for government, giving the same level of digital experience users expect from daily interaction with the most respected web services
+ underpin the delivery and iteration of digital services through a communicable understanding of diverse audience groups and effective analysis and presentation of qualitative and quantitative user data
+ develop and manage stakeholder relationships to create buy in for the product
+ work with your delivery manager to ensure your team is high performing
You may also line manage product managers and support their professional development., + Product ownership: You know how to use a range of product management principles and approaches. You can apply these in a variety of ways to balance the needs of users, the business and technology. You can be flexible, consider new ways of working and adapt to change, using evidence to inform your decisions.
+ Strategic ownership: You can create and maintain a product roadmap that sets a clear direction for success and adapt it to new perspectives or dependencies. You can get buy-in from the organisation.
+ User Focus: You can give direction on which user research tools or methods to use. You can meet the needs of users across multiple channels. You can show how user needs have changed over time. You can apply strategic thinking to provide the best service for the end user.
+ Agile working: You can work in a fast-paced, evolving environment and use an iterative method and flexible approach to enable rapid delivery of value. You can coach and lead teams in agile practices, determining the right approach at the right time in the product lifecycle to achieve the right outcomes.
+ Problem ownership: You can ensure that the right actions are taken to anticipate and resolve problems at the right time. You understand how problems fit into the bigger picture, coordinate the team to investigate problems and implement solutions or preventative measures.
+ Working within constraints: You have experience of working with and challenging senior stakeholders, prioritising and mitigating constraints, adapting the approach depending on the constraints, and turning constraints into an advantage.
It is desirable that you have:
+ Lifecycle perspective: Experience of managing products and services at different phases of the lifecycle and moving between those phases.
+ Operational management: You know how to design operational processes for the running and maintenance of products or services. You can make operations efficient, develop sustainable support models and act as an escalation point for operational issues., As part of the application process you will be asked to upload a CV which outlines your experience, skills and fit for the role. You will also be asked to complete a short, pre-recorded video screening interview (alternately you can provide written answers to questions). Inspire People will assess your application against the essential criteria listed above to compile a longlist of applications, which will then be sifted by DBT hiring managers. If you are successful, you will be invited to interview.
DBT sift will be from week commencing 30th September
Interviews will be from week commencing 7th October
Please note these dates are indicative and may be subject to change.
How we interview
At the interview stage for this role, you will be asked to demonstrate relevant Technical Skills and Behaviours from the Success Profiles framework. These are role specific and in line with the DDaT Capability Framework.
Technical Skills
+ Product ownership
+ User focus
+ Agile working
Behaviours
+ Making Effective Decisions
+ Delivering at Pace
+ Communicating and Influencing
If invited for interview you will be provided with a scenario for discussion during the interview beforehand as well as some of the interview questions.
How we offer
Offers may be made in merit order based on location preferences. If you pass the bar at interview but are not the highest scoring you will be held on a 12-month reserve list in case a role becomes available. If you are judged a near miss at interview, you may be offered a post at the grade below the one you applied for.
This role requires SC clearance. DBT’s requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years. Failure to meet this requirement will result in your application being rejected and your offer will be withdrawn.
Checks will also be made against:
+ departmental or company records (personnel files, staff reports, sick leave reports and security records)
+ UK criminal records covering both spent and unspent criminal records
+ your credit and financial history with a credit reference agency
+ security services record
+ location details

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has a clear mission - to grow the economy. Our role is to help businesses invest, grow and export to create jobs and opportunities right across the country. We do this in three ways.
Firstly, we help to build a strong, competitive business environment, where consumers are protected and companies rewarded for treating their employees properly.
Secondly, we open international markets and ensure resilient supply chains. This can be through Free Trade Agreements, trade facilitation and multilateral agreements.
Finally, we work in partnership with businesses every day, providing advance, finance and deal-making support to those looking to start up, invest, export and grow.
The Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) directorate develops and operates tools and services to support us in this mission.

+ Learning and development tailored to your role
+ An environment with flexible working options
+ A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
+ A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%, This role can only be worked from within the UK, not overseas. If you are based in London, you will receive London weighting. DBT employees work in a hybrid pattern, spending 2-3 days a week (pro rata) in the office on average. Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DBT, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.
You can find out more about our office locations, how we calculate salaries, our diversity statement and reasonable adjustments, the Recruitment Principles, the Civil Service code and our complaints procedure on our website.
Find out more about life at DBT, our benefits and meet the team by watching our video or reading our blog!
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
+ UK nationals
+ nationals of the Republic of Ireland
+ nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
+ nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
+ nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
+ individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
+ Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.