Senior Product Manager
Summary
Senior Product Manager in the UK Government Digital Service's Office of the CTO, setting vision, strategy and roadmaps for products supporting cross-government digital transformation, leading multidisciplinary teams and using evidence and user research to deliver measurable outcomes. Permanent Grade 7 Civil Service role based in Bristol, London or Manchester.
- Job grade: Grade 7
- Contract type: Permanent
- Business area: GDS - Office of the Chief Technology Officer
- Type of role: Digital
- Working pattern: Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time, Compressed hours
- Number of jobs available: 1
Location
About the job
Job summary
The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government. We are responsible for setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government.
Our priorities are to drive a modern digital government, by:
- joining up public sector services
- harnessing the power of AI for the public good
- strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure
- elevating leadership and investing in talent
- funding for outcomes and procuring for growth and innovation
- committing to transparency and driving accountability
We are home to the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (I.AI), the world-leading GOV.UK and at the forefront of coordinating the UK’s geospatial strategy and activity. We lead the Government Digital and Data function and champion the work of digital teams across government.
We’re part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and employ more than 1,000 people all over the UK, with hubs in Manchester, London and Bristol.
The Government Digital Service is where talent translates into impact. From your first day, you’ll be working with some of the world’s most highly-skilled digital professionals, all contributing their knowledge to make change on a national scale.
Join us for rewarding work that makes a difference across the UK. You'll solve some of the nation’s highest-priority digital challenges, helping millions of people access services they need.
Job description
Within the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO), you will act as a Senior Product Manager, setting the vision, strategy and roadmap for products and initiatives that support government's digital transformation ambitions.
OCTO sits within the Digital Transformation Group and is responsible for enabling change and growth across the public sector’s digital estate. In this role, you will work across departmental and organisational boundaries to understand user and stakeholder needs, align priorities and deliver products, services and capabilities that drive measurable improvements across government.
We’re looking for an experienced product manager who can lead a complex, high-risk or sensitive product, or a group of related products, through the full product life cycle. You will be comfortable setting direction, making evidence-based decisions and working across organisational boundaries to deliver valuable outcomes for users and government.
As a Senior Product Manager, you will:
- set the vision, strategy and roadmap for products and initiatives that support OCTO's priorities
- lead multidisciplinary teams to deliver products and services that solve cross-government challenges
- use evidence, insight and user needs to prioritise work and guide product decisions
- collaborate across cross-functional teams to turn strategic priorities into measurable outcomes
- build stakeholder alignment and influence decision-making across government
- develop business cases, roadmaps and recommendations for senior leaders
- measure outcomes and use data to drive continuous improvement
- champion product management and user-centred ways of working across OCTO
- make evidence-based prioritisation and investment decisions, balancing user needs, policy intent, technical constraints, delivery risks and value for money
Person specification
We’re interested in people who have experience of:
- Product management: defining product vision, strategy and prioritised roadmaps to deliver measurable outcomes
- Strategic ownership: aligning product direction with user needs, organisational priorities and government objectives
- User-centred product development: using user research and data to inform decisions and ensure services are inclusive and accessible
- Innovation and user-focused problem solving: applying creative and strategic thinking to identify opportunities, challenge assumptions and develop effective solutions that meet end user needs and improve outcomes
- Managing product outcomes: defining success measures and using evidence to evaluate performance and drive improvement
- Product leadership: leading multidisciplinary teams, influencing stakeholders and championing product-led ways of working
- Stakeholder relationship management: building consensus, influencing decisions and managing competing priorities across organisational boundaries
- Agile and Lean practices: applying appropriate delivery approaches to maximise learning, value and delivery outcomes
- Life cycle management: managing products through discovery, delivery, continuous improvement and retirement
- Creating value for money: balancing user needs, cost and benefits to inform investment and prioritisation decisions
Benefits
There are many benefits of working at GDS, including:
- flexible hybrid working with flexi-time and the option to work part-time or condensed hours
- a Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
- 25 days of annual leave, increasing by a day each year up to a maximum of 30 days
- an extra day off for the King’s birthday
- an in-year bonus scheme to recognise high performance
- career progression and coaching, including a training budget for personal development
- a focus on wellbeing with access to an employee assistance programme
- job satisfaction from making government services easier to use and more inclusive for people across the UK
- advances on pay, including for travel season tickets
- death in service benefits
- cycle to work scheme and facilities
- access to an employee discounts scheme
- 10 learning days per year
- volunteering opportunities (5 special leave days per year)
- access to a suite of learning activities through Civil Service learning
Any move to Government Digital Service from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at
Office attendance
The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period.
DSIT does not normally offer full home working (i.e. working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home).
Things you need to know
Artificial intelligence
Selection process details
The standard selection process for roles at GDS consists of:
- a simple application screening process - We only ask for a CV and to answer 2 application Questions.
- a 60 minute video interview which will feature a scenario based presentation task. Details of the task will be shared with invited candidates prior to the interview
Depending on how many applications we get, there might also be an extra stage before the video interview, for example a phone interview or a technical exercise.
In the event we receive a high volume of applications, we will conduct the initial sift against the lead criteria which is:
- Describe a time when you were responsible for delivering a product or service that required agreement and adoption across multiple government teams, departments, or organisations. How did you build alignment, manage differing priorities, and influence stakeholders where you had no direct authority?
In the Civil Service, we use Success Profiles to evaluate your skills and ability. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, increases performance and improves diversity and inclusivity. We’ll be assessing your technical abilities, skills, experience and behaviours that are relevant to this role.
For this role we’ll be assessing you against the following Civil Service Behaviours:
- seeing the bigger picture
- leadership
- communicating and influencing
We’ll also be assessing your experience and specialist technical skills against the following skills defined in the Government Digital and Data Capability Framework for the Senior Product Manager role:
- Product management
- Managing product outcomes
- Stakeholder relationship management
- Strategic ownership
Recruitment Timeline
Sift completion: 2/11/2026
Panel interviews: Starting from 9/11/2026
Candidates that do not pass the interview but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade.
A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.
This role will Require SC Clearance - more details are available via the application link
Sponsorship
DSIT cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. DSIT holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
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
Working for the Civil Service
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).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : gdsrecruitment@dsit.gov.uk
- Email : gdsrecruitment@dsit.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : gdsrecruitment@dsit.gov.uk
Further information
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commission by email: info@csc.gov.uk Or in writing: Civil Service Commission, Room G/8 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ.
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