Head of AI Product (Ref: 14470)

Job summary

This is a Nationally based role

Job description

The Head of AI Product provides senior leadership and strategic ownership for the design, development and delivery of AI‑driven digital products within HMCTS. The role exists to ensure that AI products deliver measurable value for users and the justice system, are responsibly and ethically designed and deployed, and align with departmental strategy and public service priorities.

Working at the intersection of technology, policy and service delivery, the role leads multidisciplinary teams to take AI products from discovery through to live operation, ensuring continuous improvement of mature services. The post holder acts as the recognised authority on AI product management within their portfolio, shaping long‑term product vision, influencing organisational strategy, and embedding modern product practices across teams.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide strategic leadership and ownership of AI products, ensuring they deliver clear user, operational and organisational value.
• Set and maintain a compelling product vision and roadmap aligned to HMCTS strategy, priorities and user needs.
• Lead product discovery and delivery in parallel, ensuring evidence‑based decision making through continuous user research, experimentation and data analysis.
• Prioritise product features and outcomes based on user needs, operational impact, technical feasibility, ethical considerations and value for money.
• Work closely with engineering, design, policy, legal and operational colleagues to deliver high‑quality AI products at pace.
• Act as the acknowledged subject‑matter expert for AI product management, advising senior stakeholders on AI capabilities, limitations, risks and opportunities.
• Ensure responsible and ethical use of AI, including management of risks such as bias, hallucinations, transparency and explainability.
• Embed robust product governance, performance metrics and operational support models to ensure products are scalable, resilient and sustainable in live service.
• Line manage, coach and mentor product managers and other members of the product community, building capability and supporting professional development.
• Contribute to wider organisational strategy by influencing standards, ways of working and best practice for AI and product management across HMCTS.
• Represent HMCTS externally where required, engaging with cross‑government partners, suppliers and the wider AI and digital community.
• You will work with Senior leaders within HMCTS and MoJ; Justice AI Unit colleagues; Digital, Data and Technology professionals; policy, legal and operational teams as well as cross‑government digital and AI communities; technology suppliers and partners; justice system stakeholders. Engagement is frequent and typically involves influencing, advising, negotiating priorities and representing HMCTS interests.

Skills & Experience:

• Proven ability to analyse and synthesise qualitative and quantitative data to inform strategy, prioritisation and performance measurement.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams and influencing across organisational boundaries without direct authority.
• Ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear, compelling narratives for senior leaders and non‑technical stakeholders.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, including engagement with senior leaders, policy teams and external partners.
• Experience building high‑performing teams through coaching, mentoring and creating inclusive, psychologically safe working environments.
• Demonstrated commitment to ethical, user‑centred and accessible design of digital services in a public sector or similarly complex environment.
• You are a credible leader who can command the confidence and trust of senior leaders across the department. You are confident at setting direction and credibly driving forward priorities by delivering through others, outside of your immediate team. You are collaborative and capable of providing constructive challenge to others when required.

Essential Criteria:

• Extensive experience delivering and scaling AI‑powered digital products that are widely adopted and deliver demonstrable user value.
• Expert knowledge of modern product management practices, including agile and lean delivery, continuous discovery, experimentation and outcome‑based road mapping.
• Strong understanding of AI technologies, capabilities and limitations, including large language models, data quality considerations, system prompting and mitigation of hallucinations.
• Being able to address complex, ambiguous and high‑impact problems where there is no single clear solution.
• Exercising significant judgement in defining product strategy, resolving trade‑offs inherent in AI systems, and determining appropriate levels of risk. Decisions shape product direction and influence wider organisational strategy, with only the most sensitive or precedent‑setting issues escalated to more senior leadership.
• Budget planning and prioritisation, ensuring that investment in AI products delivers value for money and supports sustainable live services.
• Confident leadership

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• GDD Capability skill - Product Leadership
• GDD Capability skill - Stakeholder Relationship
• GDD Capability skill - Creating Value for Money

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £71,381, HM Courts and Tribunals Service contributes £20,679 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Access to learning and development
• A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance
• A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• Annual Leave
• Public Holidays
• Season Ticket Advance

For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.

Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team
• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk
• Telephone : 0345 241 5359

Recruitment team

• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles and would like to raise this, please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com) in the first instance. If the role has been advertised externally (outside of the Civil Service) and you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitm…

https://jobs.justice.gov.uk/careers/JobDetail/14470?entityId=14470