Head of Product

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:

1. joining up public sector services
2. harnessing the power of AI for the public good
3. strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure
4. elevating leadership and investing in talent
5. funding for outcomes and procuring for growth and innovation
6. 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

Public sector data has the potential to radically transform people’s lives through boosting economic growth, underpinning groundbreaking research, improving the delivery of public services and fuelling cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) development and applications across the economy.

We are looking for a dynamic, passionate and experienced Head of Products to lead the transformation of access to government data, replacing data.gov.uk with a world-class digital platform serving citizens, researchers, innovators, and businesses.

The Head of Product job is a key leadership role in the delivery of a high-priority manifesto commitment that will impact tens of millions of people every day – join us if you want a challenge with purpose!

Job description

As the Head of Product for data.gov.uk, you will be responsible for:

• a clear product vision, with a focus on iterative product development that meets user needs and delivers incremental value, while working toward measurable objectives and data driven outcomes
• providing direction and leadership for multidisciplinary product teams working across different stakeholder groups to design, develop, and deliver user-centric data products and services
• developing and driving an everyday culture of experimentation across all product teams, balancing experimentation of innovative experiences with operational efficiencies
• lead engagement with key stakeholders by running demos, blogging, speaking at conferences and facilitating workshops
• be a visible leader who takes responsibility, while supporting the wellbeing and professional development of your team and the wider product community within the department
• support the Deputy Directors in the implementation of strategic initiatives and delivery of operational challenges
• maintain knowledge of the changing digital, data and technology landscape and the opportunities they provide to improve the delivery of public services in the UK

Person specification

We’re interested in people who have:

• strong product management experience with a track-record for shipping and evolving great digital products by working with multiple teams in an agile delivery setting
• created and developed product strategy to secure support for your products and direct the work of delivery teams through all phases of delivery - from discovery to continuous improvement in a live setting
• assessed products and services and given constructive feedback and guidance on priorities and improvements
• great working relationships with a variety of disciplines involved in digital delivery, including engineering, service design, performance analysis and delivery management
• engaged with senior stakeholders, including suppliers, coordinating activity across a number of organisations toward common objectives
• set, monitored and reported measurable performance targets for teams and products
• used strong communication skills to enable you to engage with people through a range of channels and explain what you are doing and how you are doing it in clear and compelling ways
• experience recruiting, coaching and line managing product managers, identifying learning and development opportunities for individuals and teams
• familiarity with working with suppliers through the end-to-end procurement process
• experience of developing, launching and iterating data products and services

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 https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

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

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

The standard selection process for roles at GDS consists of:

• a simple application screening process - We only ask for a CV and cover letter of up to 750 words. Important tip - please ensure that your cover letter includes how you meet the skills and experience listed in the “person specification” section above
• a 60 minute video interview which will feature a short presentation. Details of the presentation 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: strong product management experience with a track-record for shipping and evolving great digital products by working with multiple teams in an agile delivery setting

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:

• changing and improving
• making effective decisions
• leadership
• communicating and influencing
• delivering at pace

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 Head of Product role:

• Agile and Lean practices
• Applying user-centred insights
• Creating value for money
• Lifecycle management
• Managing product outcomes
• Product leadership
• Product management
• Stakeholder relationship management
• Strategic Ownership

Want to know more about who Government Digital and Data are? Click Here

Recruitment Timeline

Sift completion: 23rd January 2026

Panel interviews: Starting from the 30th January 2026

In order to assist candidates with this role, we will be holding a virtual recruitment event on 16th January 2026 from 10:00 - 11:00 to go through the role in more detail. If you are interested in joining this event please email: gdsrecruitment@dsit.gov.uk and a member of the team will send you an invitation to the event.

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.

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

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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.

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.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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 : gdsrecruitment@dsit.gov.uk
• Email : gdsrecruitment@dsit.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : gdsrecruitment@dsit.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact gds-complaints@dsit.gov.uk in the first instance.

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.