Product Manager

Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service

Hybrid

Expires: Expiring in 3 days

Full time

Job summary

The Vacancy

Predominantly known for the role Cafcass has in supporting 140,000 + children and their families every year and ensuring their voices are heard in family proceedings, what may be less well known is our targeted use of technology as a key factor in ensuring we are at the forefront of our sector.

A digital organisation rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted in 2024, we continually invest to drive performance and efficiency; we have a wholly cloud-based technology stack that is essential in supporting and enabling a diverse, flexible and highly mobile workforce.

Cafcass is recruiting a Product Manager on a permanent basis. The location is flexible with some travel required for team or supplier meetings

Are you a product leader who thrives in delivering innovative, transformational, enterprise solutions?

As Product Manager you will take ownership of product initiatives from concept through to launch and post-release refinement and lifecycle management. This role requires strong cross-functional collaboration, a keen understanding of strategic and operational business needs and the ability to negotiate and prioritise trade-offs for immediate stakeholder benefits with long-term platform security, stability and scalability.

Central to this national role are our award-nominated and internally very highly regarded Cafcass case management applications and related products. These applications are fundamental to our work with children and families and are at the forefront of developments and improvements in our social work practice. They capture all associated data and documents and provide a unique suite of analytics in support of not just Cafcass practice but the wider family justice system too.

Job description

Let us tell you a bit more about the role…

As Product Manager, you’ll play a pivotal leadership role in shaping the strategic direction of our case management applications and software development function. You’ll be responsible for defining the product vision, aligning roadmaps with organisational goals and overseeing the full product lifecycle. Collaborating with internal stakeholders and external development and hosting partners, you’ll ensure our bespoke solutions meet the evolving needs of the organisation and deliver real value.

You’ll lead a talented team including a Senior Product Owner and Lead Developer to deliver high-quality, user-focused outcomes and as a subject matter expert you’ll provide advice and report regularly to senior leadership.

Person specification

… and what we’re looking for.

If you’re passionate about building secure, user-focused enterprise solutions and want to work with an outcomes-driven team comprising internal and external stakeholders and partners, this is your opportunity to make a real difference.

You will have

Excellent leadership skills
Experience in a Product Owner or Product Manager or similar role within the IT or technology space, with demonstrable experience of driving successful product launches to time and budget
Strong collaboration skills with the ability to engage and influence stakeholders at all levels and work closely alongside business colleagues
Hands-on experience of product roadmap creation, stakeholder negotiations with cross-functional teams, and data-driven decision-making processes
Proven track record in driving product development processes using agile methodologies
Strong understanding of user-centred design principles and experience of working closely with design and UX teams, with a proven ability to create exceptional user experiences
Experience of business analysis, with the ability to identify pragmatic solutions to conflicting requirements or business challenges
Excellent project management skills

Benefits

Learning and development tailored to your role
An environment with flexible working options (e.g. 9 day fortnights)
A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
A Local Government Pension with an employer contribution of 18.1%
Generous holidays, 28 days holidays (including three for Christmas) rising to 33 days with five years continuous service, which could include your current employment.

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

Next steps / timelines

If and when you are ready to apply, our application process is straightforward and quick to complete. You don’t need to complete your application in a single visit, you can start it and come back and amend your responses / update your CV, just make sure you come back before the closing date to submit.

Below we have given you an indication of a timetable we are hoping to work towards, although dates are subject to change.

Closing date:

25 January 2026

Remote first round interviews (over MS Teams):

5 - 6 February 2026

Informal conversation with colleagues:

11 February 2026

Formal onsite (Leeds) panel interview:

19 February 2026

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.

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.

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

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.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

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Contact point for applicants