Product Owner

Job summary

You will work in a matrix style on products supporting our Genomics Data Integration Workgroup. The aim of this work is to improve data integration between genomics systems and downstream consumers of that data for health protection. This work reports into the Digital & Data Directorate but works across our Medical, Science, and Data Departments. It’s an exciting time to join as we seek to create leading Health Protection data capabilities that enable data scientists and data analysts to develop insights that inform public health decisions with resilient platforms and curated data assets.

Working for your organisation

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.

UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.

Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers

Job description

You will draw from an extensive background of experience in translation of requirements into technical deliverables within a software and data lifecycle
environment. You will be fluent in data capabilities and the potential extension and creation of new data capabilities to achieve the objectives of these products.

You will possess excellent people management skills, be able to engage and build strong relationships with business partners. The key skills required include
strong relationship management, be commercially astute, strong data analysis, clear and concise communications both verbally and written and ability to
develop business partnering.

Communication and key working relationships

Internal

• Delivery Leads
• Scrum masters
• Data Engineers
• Architect/Solution leads
• Lab specialists
• Clinical analysts
• Health Protection Teams

External

• Business Partners
• UKHSA leadership team
• Analytics and Reporting
• Central delivery team
• Surveillance and Covid Testing teams
• ONS

Main duties and responsibilities

• Product Delivery – You will be responsible for establishing and developing solutions with Stakeholders using product development techniques for road mapping (e.g. MOSCOW, Kano, or Pareto) and selected tools to describe the Product vision (e.g. business model canvas, lean canvas, or vision box).You will be commercial geared and propose new solutions to increase the Data Product’s business value ensuring alignment to their business partners objectives as part of the UKHSA strategy.
• Stakeholder Management – You will develop strong relationships and close collaboration with Business partners to define the next iterations of the Data Product and plan their releases. Deliver excellent communications, presenting the team’s perspective to the business partner, and building their trust. Understand the business and technical requirements and capabilities with the ability to propose new solutions to meet their Data and Analytics Partner’s needs.
• Delivery framework – You will demonstrate your experience across Product Lifecycle including Strategy, Development, End User Experience, into an agile delivery framework, working alongside scrum masters and data engineers to ensure all deliverable goals are met without any impact to quality.

The core activities of the products for this role include the ingestion of data sources, building data pipelines, curated data views and data capabilities fused from data, models and software that enable the exploitation of data by analysts, data scientists and MI teams.

You will be involved in the delivery lifecycle from engaging with stakeholders on analysing use cases, developing optimal designs that where possible re-use and extend capabilities, and implement and operate the design. Our teams work collaboratively in an agile multi-disciplinary team mode and we are looking for a Product Owner to engage with stakeholders and acquire knowledge on a specialist field to product capabilities in line with business partner strategies.

Please note, the above is not exhaustive.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Strong relationship management: excellent communication and influencing skills – verbal and written – with the ability to liaise at all levels
• Balance of both technical awareness and business acumen
• Ability to manage in an ambiguous environment, clarifying strategies and plans, giving a sense of direction and purpose for self and team
• Ability to drive change and overcome obstacles and resistance
• Constructive and collaborative but with the ability to step in and take decisions in a timely manner to move the team forward
• High attention to detail
• Experience with Agile delivery and working in Agile Scrum teams

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience of working with JIRA (or Azure DevOps or similar tools) within an Agile/Scrum environment
• Experience/understanding of software and data lifecycle management
• Knowledge of data management and cloud data capabilities (AWS Athena, AWS Glue, AWS Data Sync

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,185, UK Health Security Agency contributes £16,276 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).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

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 and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Stage 1: Application & Sift

Success Profiles - GOV.UK

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the listed 7 essential criteria, and this will be in the form of a:

• Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)

• 1500 word supporting statement.

This should outline how you consider your skills, experience and knowledge provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.

You will receive a joint score for your application form and statement. (The application form is the kind of information you would put into your C.V –please be advised you will not be able to upload your CV. Please complete the application form in as much detail as possible). Please do not email us your CV.

Longlisting:

In the event of a large number of applications we will longlist into 3 piles of:

1. Meets all essential criteria
2. Meets some essential criteria
3. Meets no essential criteria

If used, the pile(s) ‘Meets all essential criteria’ will proceed to shortlisting.

Shortlisting:

In the event of a large number of applications we may conduct an initial sift, on the lead criteria of:

• Strong relationship management: excellent communication and influencing skills – verbal and written – with the ability to liaise at all levels
• Ability to drive change and overcome obstacles and resistance

Desirable criteria may be used in the event of a large number of applications or large amount of successful candidates

If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview.

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview

Success profiles Success Profiles - GOV.UK

You will be invited to a single remote interview.

Behaviours will be tested at interview.

The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be:

• Communicating and Influencing (Lead behaviour)
• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

Interview dates are to be confirmed.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Incident Response Activity

From time to time, the role holder may be required to support UKHSA’s incident response activity by contributing their appropriate expertise within an Incident Cell; during such periods, supported by the line manager, this work will take priority over normal day-to-day responsibilities, commensurate with their grade, skills and experience.

Qualifications and Registrations

For roles where specific qualifications or registrations are required, successful applicants will be asked to provide appropriate evidence. Employment cannot
commence until satisfactory documentation has been received and verified.

If this role is fixed term and you are not currently a Civil Servant, you will takeup the post on a Fixed Term appointment; you may be able to take this role up as a Secondment. If you are an existing Civil Servant, based outside of UKHSA, you will take up the post as a loan which you will need your department to agree. Loans are normally agreed for a period of two years. However, this may be extended where required, subject to agreement between UKHSA and your home department. You cannot take the post up as a fixed term. If you are an existing UKHSA member of staff, you will take up the post as either a level transfer or a temporary promotion as per the UKHSA’s Pay policy. If this role is permanent, it may also be available as a loan (for existing Civil Servants only) or secondment arrangement, subject to business need and agreement from the hiring manager and, where applicable, the employee's home organisation.

Location

This role is being offered as hybrid working based at any of our Core HQs. We offer great flexible working opportunities at UKHSA and operate using a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce. As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata, (averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's core HQs (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London).

Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centre transport links and benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Security Clearance Level Requirement

Successful candidates must pass a basic disclosure and barring security check before they can be appointed.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Basic Personnel Security Standard.

Eligibility Criteria

Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including internal applicants).

Future location

UKHSA is investing in a new state-of-the-art National Biosecurity Centre in Harlow, Essex, which will eventually bring together teams currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale and Porton Down. For more details, please see:Huge biosecurity centre investment to boost pandemic protection - GOV.UK

The new facilities will start becoming operational in the mid-2030s, with full completion by 2038. Staff will move in phases as facilities become available. If you're appointed to a role currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale or Porton Down, please note that we'll continue investing in these sites for the next decade. As we get closer to the transition, we'll provide full information about relocation support available to staff.

Reasonable Adjustments

The Civil Service is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone. To help you during the recruitment process, we will consider any reasonable adjustments that could help you. An adjustment is a change to the recruitment process or an adjustment at work. This is separate to the Disability Confident Scheme. If you need an adjustment to be made at any point during the recruitment process you should contact the recruitment team in confidence as soon as possible to discuss your needs.

You can find out more information about reasonable adjustments across the Civil Service here:Reasonable Adjustments , Civil Service Careers

International Police check

If you have spent more than 6 months abroad over the last 3 years you may need an International Police Check.This would not necessarily have to be in a single block, and it could be time accrued over that period.

Internal Fraud Check

If successful for this role as one aspect of pre-employment screening, applicant’s personal details – name, national insurance number and date of birth - will be checked against the Cabinet Office Internal Fraud Hub, and anyone included on the database will be refused employment unless they can show exceptional circumstances. Currently this is only for external candidates to the Civil Service.

Salary Information

If you are successful at interview, and are moving from another government department, NHS, or Local Authority, the relevant starting salary principles for level transfers or promotions will apply. Otherwise, roles are offered at the pay scale minimum for the grade, but in exceptional circumstances there may be flexibility if you are able to demonstrate you are already in receipt of an existing, higher salary. Pay increases are through the relevant annual pay award for the role and terms.

Please be aware that the salary is based on the office location.

Grade 7

• £56,185- £66,581 (National)
• £58,340- £68,574 (Outer London)
• £60,494- £70,566 (Inner London)

Please note: The Digital and Data Directorate, where this role sits,is reviewing its Target Operating Model. While the process is still in the planning stage, some roles may be affected by future changes. We are committed to keeping candidates informed and will share updates as they become available.

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

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 : Charlene Gwekwerere
• Email : charlene.gwekwerere@ukhsa.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@ukhsa.gov.uk

Further information

The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact UKHSA Public Accountability Unit via email: Complaints@ukhsa.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website here.

http://www.healthjobsuk.com/vacancy/8257202