Senior Product Manager
Job summary
The Senior Product Manager is a pivotal leadership role within the National Crime Agency’s Enterprise Services Digital Platforms function, responsible for shaping and delivering complex, high‑risk and technically sophisticated digital products and platforms. Acting as a bridge between organisational ambition and technical execution, the role ensures that corporate digital platforms, infrastructure and shared technical services align with strategic objectives while meeting the needs of users, customers and partners. The postholder will bring strong leadership, communication and organisational skills, underpinned by a solid technical background, and will lead multidisciplinary teams to deliver high‑quality, high‑value digital outcomes that support the Agency’s mission.Job description
As a Senior Product Manager, you will lead a portfolio of complex technology platforms, infrastructure and shared services that support critical operational capabilities.
You will own the vision, strategy and roadmap, ensuring digital platforms meet user and organisational needs while remaining secure, resilient, sustainable and aligned with technical and engineering standards.
Combining strong product leadership with technical knowledge, you will understand how platforms are architected, engineered, integrated, secured and operated. You will define technical requirements, challenge proposed solutions and make informed decisions about priorities, investment and future development.
Working with engineers, architects, cyber security, service management and delivery teams, you will balance user and business needs with architecture, security, resilience, performance, supportability and technical debt. You will manage technical risks and dependencies throughout the product lifecycle and drive continuous improvement.
You will also work closely with stakeholders and suppliers, acting as an intelligent customer to ensure services deliver the required quality, performance and value.
This role aligns to Senior Product Manager in the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework.
Person specification
Technical Expertise: Strong technical understanding gained through engineering, computer science or relevant experience in software, infrastructure, testing or a related technical discipline.
Product Management: Proven experience managing complex technical products or services, balancing user and business needs with technical constraints, dependencies and priorities.
Technical Product Leadership: Experience leading, coaching and developing Product Managers or Product Owners, and contributing to effective product management practices.
Platforms and Infrastructure: Experience working with infrastructure, platforms or shared technical services, including reuse, technical debt, resilience, scalability and simplification.
Leadership and Delivery: Experience leading teams in complex environments, working across multiple disciplines and using agile approaches to deliver and measure outcomes.
Communication and Influence: Strong communication and influencing skills, with the ability to explain complex technical issues, build relationships and secure senior stakeholder buy-in.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Making Effective Decisions
- Managing a Quality Service
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Experience of effective stakeholder management, including building and maintaining strong working relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
- Experience of effective product management across the full product lifecycle.
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £70,179, National Crime Agency contributes £20,330 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).New entrants to the NCA receive 26 days annual leave, rising to 31 on completion of 5 years continuous service, plus 8 bank holidays.
If qualifying criteria is met new joiners from UK Police Forces or the UK Intelligence Community (UKIC) will have service with those employers taken into account for continuous service purposes for annual leave entitlement only, this will be up to a maximum of 31 days leave (including 1 privilege day).
Other benefits include:
- Flexible working, including flexi-time, compressed hours and job sharing (in line with business requirements)
- Family friendly policies, notably above the statutory minimum
- Learning and Development opportunities
- Interest free loans and advances, including season tickets, childcare and rental deposits
- Housing schemes - Key Worker status
- Discounts and Savings with a wide variety of services including Cycle to Work, Smart Tech schemes, dental insurance, gym discounts and savings on everyday spending, available through the Reward Gateway , Edenred and Blue Light Card schemes.
- Staff support groups/networks
- Sports and social activities, including membership to the Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC)
Further information is available on the NCA Website.
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.How we will assess you
Your application will be assessed against the following:Technical - this will be assessed by 250 word examples on:- Experience of effective stakeholder management, including building and maintaining strong working relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
- Experience of effective product management across the full product lifecycle.
CV
Please include your full career history, training, qualifications, key responsibilities, and achievements. Explain any employment gaps in the last two years. Ensure all accreditation dates are accurate.
Details of what is expected within your CV are as follows: Clearly evidence how you meet the Person Specification for this role, including the desirable criteria. CVs must be formatted in 11pt font and not exceed THREE pages. Please note that any content beyond the third page will not be considered as part of the assessment.
Experience Criteria - will be assessed by 250 word examples on:- Experience of applying technical knowledge to drive improvements across the IT estate, including identifying opportunities to remove duplication, simplify systems and reduce technical complexity.
- Experience as an effective communicator who can translate complex technical concepts into clear, business‑focused language to support decision‑making and problem‑solving.
Longlist
In the event of a high number of applications, we may operate a longlist. Applicants will need to meet the minimum pass mark for the lead criteria.
- Experience of applying technical knowledge to drive improvements across the IT estate, including identifying opportunities to remove duplication, simplify systems and reduce technical complexity. .
Candidates who do not meet the minimum pass mark for the lead criteria will not progress to having their other criteria assessed. Applications must meet the minimum criteria to be progressed to the assessment stage.
You will receive an acknowledgement once your application is submitted.
We aim to have sift completed and scores released within 10 working days of the closing date of the advert. For high volume campaigns this timeframe may be extended.
Scores will be provided but further feedback will not be available at this stage.
For guidance on the application process, visit:NCA Applying and Onboarding
Assessment 1
The format of this assessment will be Interview which will be tested on the criteria listed in the Success Profiles at Assessment section.
Success Profiles at Assessment
Behaviours- Communicating and Influencing
- Making Effective Decisions
- Managing a Quality Service
- Experience of effective stakeholder management, including building and maintaining strong working relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
- Experience of effective product management across the full product lifecycle.
If successful but no role is immediately available, you may be placed on a reserve list for 12 months.
Reserve lists can be used to fill similar role types across the Agency where the assessment criteria is considered a match by the recruitment team and the business area.
In the event of a tie at the assessment stage, available roles will be offered in merit order using the following order:
- Lead criteria (behaviours/technical/experience)
- If still tied, desirable criteria will be assessed (if advertised)
- If still tied, application sift scores will be used
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
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
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 : central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk
- Email : central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk
- Telephone : central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk
Further information
If you believe your application has not been treated fairly, email: central.recruitment@nca.gov.uk (quoting the vacancy reference).If unresolved, you may escalate your complaint to the Civil Service Commission.
Attachments
We are Government Digital and Data (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 3445kB)Salary range
- £70,179 per year