Lead Product Manager

Job summary

Are you passionate about shaping digital products that deliver meaningful outcomes for users and organisations?

Can you set product vision and strategy while leading teams to deliver high-quality digital services?

Do you have the leadershipskills to influence stakeholders, drive product decisions and create lasting impact?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

This is an exciting time to join the Digital, Information and Security Directorate within the Department for Transport as we restructure our directorate to ensure we are ready for future challenges, building a more sustainable, skilled and in-house capability.

Shape strategy. Lead products. Deliver value.

Lead the vision, strategy and delivery of digital products that improve services, create value for users and support the Department for Transport's digital transformation ambitions.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here

• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday

• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at Department for Transport Central - Department for Transport Careers within the Government Digital and Data Profession.

Job description

As a Lead Product Manager, you'll provide leadership across a portfolio of digital products and services, ensuring they deliver value for users, align with organisational objectives and support successful digital transformation. You'll set the strategic direction for products, define roadmaps and guide teams to deliver high-quality, user-centred outcomes.

Working within the Create Service Line, you'll collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, stakeholders and senior leaders to shape product vision, prioritise investment and ensure products meet both user needs and business goals. You'll use evidence, insight and data to inform decision-making, balancing competing priorities while driving continuous improvement across multiple products and services.

You'll play a key role in developing product management capability, coaching and mentoring product managers, fostering communities of practice and championing best practice across the wider organisation. You'll also build strong stakeholder relationships, influence strategic decisions and help ensure delivery remains aligned with government standards and organisational priorities.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced product leader who enjoys shaping strategy, leading teams and delivering impactful digital services at scale.

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

• Leading product management across a portfolio of digital services within Digital Create, ensuring delivery of quality, value, and user-focused outcomes.
• Defining and maintaining the high-level product roadmap for Digital Create services, ensuring alignment with organisational priorities.
• Identifying and implementing strategies and tactics to improve product outcomes across multiple teams and services.
• Providing leadership, support, and guidance to product managers working across Digital Create services.
• Being involved in recruiting product managers and contractors, ensuring the right mix of skills and experience is in place.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Person specification

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

• Experience leading products through the full product lifecycle, from discovery through to live service and continuous improvement.
• Experience managing or overseeing multiple products, services or portfolios simultaneously.
• Experience building relationships with and influencing senior stakeholders, including resolving competing priorities and driving consensus.
• Experience using user research, data and insight to shape product decisions and priorities.
• Experience coaching, mentoring or leading Product Managers and developing product capability within teams.
• Experience working in Agile multidisciplinary teams and embedding Agile ways of working.

You will hold or be willing to work towards:

• Certified scrum product owner (CSPO)

• Working as a product owner in agile teams (gov campus)

• APMG Agile Project Management foundation and practitioner

Additional information

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 35 hours per week.

Occasional travel to other offices will be required, which may involve overnight stays.

This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.

The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location/visiting stakeholders. Your designated workplace will be your contractual place of work. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.

If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role (see below for contact details).

Visa Sponsorship

DfTc does not offer Visa Sponsorship for this role.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service
• Leadership

Benefits