Lead Product Manager (Ref: 22961)

Job summary

This position is based Nationally

Job description

Lead Product Manager

Location: National*

Closing Date: 18th October

Interviews: Week commencing October 26th

Grade: Grade 6

(MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain this grade on lateral transfer)

Salary**: £75,674 - £85,257 which may include an allowance up to £4,801 [London]

£71,381 - £80,419 [National]

Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working

Contract Type: Permanent

Number of vacancies: 2

Vacancy number: 22961

*We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your local office. Office locations can be found ON THIS MAP
Please note that unless you are an existing member of staff at Justice Digital, Data and Science, the only London location being recruited to is 10 South Colonnade, E14 4PU. We are no longer recruiting to 102 Petty France, SW1H 9AJ.

The Role

We’re recruiting for two Lead Product Managers here at Justice Digital, Data and Science to be part of our warm and collaborative teams in Prisons Digital and the Office of Chief Technology Officer (OCTO).

OCTO sets technical direction across the organisation. It defines standards, shapes shared platforms and ways of working, and supports teams to build and operate systems that are secure, reliable and sustainable

Prison Digital is working to create the tools that support the Prison Service to provide decent, safe and productive places to live and work and support prisons to protect the public & reduce reoffending. We work with our users in prisons to provide modern tools that share information and give staff focused efficiency.

These roles align against Lead Product Manager from the Government Digital and Data Framework.

Lead Product Managers are accountable for the success of groups of products and services, ensuring they deliver value for users and the organisation. They are responsible for the leadership, development and performance management of product managers within their area, while remaining hands-on in shaping product strategy and supporting delivery.

Lead Product Managers define and embed product management standards, practices and ways of working. They are experienced in leading multidisciplinary teams to discover, deliver and continuously improve products and services of significant scale and complexity.

As a Lead Product Manager, you will have a proven ability to develop product visions, strategies and roadmaps, using user insight, data and evidence to drive decision-making. This is a high-impact role where you will align teams around outcomes, manage competing priorities, and make effective trade-offs to maximise value.

As a product leader in our organisation, you will have a proven record of working with senior leaders, stakeholders and delivery partners.

You’ll receive a range of excellent benefits when you join our department, including:

• A generous employer pension contribution of 28.97% through the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

• 25 days of annual leave, (increasing to 30 days once you have reached 5 years of service),plus 8 bank holidays and a privilege day for the King’s birthday.

• Flexible working arrangements including hybrid working, working part time or compressed hours. Designed to support a positive work–life balance.

• Employees are allocated 10% of their working time for personal and professional development.

• A £1k per person learning budget is in place to support all our people, with access to best-in-class conferences and seminars, accreditation with professional bodies, fully funded vocational programmes and e-learning platforms.

• Compassionate maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave policies, with up to 26 weeks leave at full pay, 13 weeks with partial pay, and 13 weeks further leave. And maternity support/paternity leave at full pay for 2 weeks, too!

You can find more details of the Benefits we offer here. To help picture your life at MoJ Justice Digital, Data and Science please take a look at our blog.

Key Responsibilities:

• Be a visible product leader, applying your expert level product management skills by leading and supporting multidisciplinary product teams through the full product lifecycle, from discovery through to product retirement.

• Lead strategy development for your products and teams to create an articulate vision and achievable goals. You will iterate the product strategy and roadmap for an area of the justice digital portfolio which meets customer and organisation expectations, across digital and non-digital delivery, influencing and gaining support from senior leadership/stakeholders to gain buy-in.

• Represent your products and build strategic and collaborative win-win partnerships with stakeholders, colleagues, other government departments and policy, to design products that are aligned to organisation and government strategy.

• Role model the civil service values and behaviours to all those that you work with, supporting and leading a thriving, vibrant professional community of product managers, working with the Head of profession to teach, coach, mentor and continually contribute to mature an engaged product network across MoJ.

• Ensure that the deliveries within your product areas add value by advocating and championing user needs, product vision, and MoJs mission, helping us to support the future.

• Lead difficult and complex situations, anticipate problems, work within constraints and guide teams through complex decision making.to reach reasonable and acceptable conclusions for your stakeholders. If this feels like an exciting challenge, something you are enthusiastic about, and want to join our team please read on and apply!

Person Specification

Essential

• Strategic Ownership. The ability to develop and communicate a compelling long-term vision, strategy and roadmap for products and services. Able to align stakeholders around shared outcomes, influence strategic decision-making and ensure product direction supports organisational priorities. Creates strategic alignment across teams and supports others to develop effective product strategies.

• Product Management. Expert in leading multidisciplinary teams to deliver valuable outcomes for users and the organisation. Able to define product strategy, prioritise effectively, manage dependencies and risks, and balance user, business and technical needs. Experienced in coaching others, establishing effective product management practices and supporting teams to deliver quality outcomes at scale.

• Managing Product Outcomes. Able to define, measure and communicate product outcomes, ensuring decisions are driven by evidence and value. Uses data and insight to inform prioritisation, drive continuous improvement and maximise benefits for users and the organisation. Champions outcome-focused decision-making and supports teams to measure and demonstrate success.

• Applying User-Centred Insights. A strong advocate for user-centred design and evidence-based decision-making. Uses qualitative and quantitative insight to shape strategy, prioritisation and product direction. Coaches others in understanding and applying user needs, and promotes the continuous use of research and insight to improve services and outcomes.

• Stakeholder Relationship Management. Able to build and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including senior leaders, operational partners, suppliers and multidisciplinary teams. Skilled at influencing, negotiating and resolving complex issues, ensuring stakeholder needs are understood while maintaining focus on user and organisational outcomes.

• Developing Self and Others. Committed to building capability through coaching, mentoring and continuous learning. Creates opportunities for individuals and teams to develop their skills, supports colleagues in taking ownership of their development, and fosters a culture of knowledge sharing, collaboration and continuous improvement. Encourages inclusive learning environments where everyone can grow and perform at their best.

Willingness to be assessed against the requirements for BPSS clearance

We welcome the unique contribution diverse applicants bring and do not discriminate based on culture, ethnicity, race, nationality or national origin, age, sex, gender identity or expression, religion or belief, disability status, sexual orientation, educational or social background or any other factor.

Our values are Purpose, Humanity, Openness and Together. Find out more here about how we celebrate diversity and an inclusive culture in our workplace.

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.

Salary Information**

Base salary for this role is from:

£75,674 - £85,257 [London] & £71,381 - £80,419 [National]

• New entrants to the Civil Service joining the MoJ are expected to start at the minimum of the pay band.

• Existing Civil Servants moving on a level transfer will retain their current base salary or move to the minimum of the pay band for the role, whichever is higher.

• Existing Civil Servants who are promoted will either move to the bottom of the new grade’s pay band or receive a 10% uplift, whichever provides the greater increase.

• Candidates may also be eligible for a non‑pensionable Government Digital & Data Allowance of up to £4,801 per year (London). This is a temporary allowance, reviewed annually and may be retained, amended, or withdrawn.

The final offer will reflect the skills and experience you demonstrate during the assessment process.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £71,381, Ministry of Justice 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 (opens in a new window).

• 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

How to Apply

In Justice Digital, Data and Science, we recruit using a combination of the Government Digital and Data Profession CapabilityandSuccess Profiles Frameworks. We shall assess a combination of your Experience, Technical skills and Behaviours during the assessment process.

Stage 1 - Application and sift:

To apply for this position, you must submit the following as part of your application:

• A CV detailing your career history (including any relevant qualifications). Your CV will be assessed against the essential criteria outlined within the Person Specification of this advert.

• A Personal Statement (no more than 750 words) which should outline your experience and skills, giving clear examples of work undertaken. It should specifically address the following 4 criteria listed below, using a separate paragraph for each.

• Strategic Ownership

• Product Management

• Managing Product Outcomes

• Applying User-Centred Insights

Candidates who do not adhere to the Personal Statement directions above may be rejected on this basis.

A diverse sift panel will review the information in your CV and Personal Statement to assess the sift criteria specified above. We operate an anonymous shortlisting process. Please ensure your CV and Personal Statement do not include your name or any other identifying details.

Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on Strategic Ownership & Product Management will be conducted before the sift.

Please access the following link for guidance on how to apply - Application Guidance

Stage 2 - Interviews:

Successful candidates who meet the required standard will then be invited to a panel interview held via Microsoft Teams. At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements - Experience, Technical and the following Behaviours:

• Working Together

• Developing Self & Others

Appointments are made strictly in merit order. In the event that two or more candidates receive identical interview scores, the Managing Product Outcomes will be applied as the primary lead criterion to determine the final merit order.

Should you be unsuccessful in the role that you have applied for but demonstrate the capability for a role at a lower level, we reserve the right to discuss this opportunity with you and offer you the position without needing a further application.

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months, from which further appointments may be made.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) 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

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://www.jobtrain.co.uk/justicedigital/Job/JobDetail?isPreview=Yes&jobid=1237

Attachments

Lead Product Manager JD Sept 2026 Opens in new window (docx, 45kB)