Product Manager

Job summary

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government. We are responsible for setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government.

Our priorities are to drive a modern digital government, by:

1. joining up public sector services
2. harnessing the power of AI for the public good
3. strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure
4. elevating leadership and investing in talent
5. funding for outcomes and procuring for growth and innovation
6. committing to transparency and driving accountability

We are home to the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (I.AI), the world-leading GOV.UK and at the forefront of coordinating the UK’s geospatial strategy and activity. We lead the Government Digital and Data function and champion the work of digital teams across government.

We’re part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and employ more than 1,000 people all over the UK, with hubs in Manchester, London and Bristol.

The Government Digital Service is where talent translates into impact. From your first day, you’ll be working with some of the world’s most highly-skilled digital professionals, all contributing their knowledge to make change on a national scale.

Join us for rewarding work that makes a difference across the UK. You'll solve some of the nation’s highest-priority digital challenges, helping millions of people access services they need

The GOV.UK One Login is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to simplify and widen access to digital government services by building a single, secure login for all users. With over 20 million accounts and 250 government services already onboarded, the program is continuously improving and expanding, making a real difference in the lives of millions and leading digital transformation in government.

As part of the GOV.UK One Login programme, you'll be joining a passionate and collaborative group of product managers, engineers, designers, and researchers dedicated to delivering exceptional digital experiences for everyone. We're a diverse team embracing agile methodologies to deliver effective solutions to challenging problems, at a national scale.

You can find out more about what we’re doing on the GDS Blog and the GOV.UK One Login roadmap.

Job description

Former DSIT recruitment campaigns are continuing as usual, but candidates should be aware that following the Government’s announcement on the changes to some civil service departments, roles will be subject to the machinery of government moves and will ultimately be in one of the new departments. We will provide more information if you are selected for a role. This work remains of high importance to the civil service, and we thank you for your continued interest.

In January 2025, the Government announced it will be launching a GOV.UK Wallet to allow users to securely store their government-issued documents on their phone and use them easily when needed. This is an exciting opportunity to join the Wallet product team, and develop a ground breaking product with national reach.

In this role you will be working with an agile multidisciplinary team to continuously improve products that meet user needs. You will support lead and senior product managers, prioritise work for your delivery teams and be able to measure outcomes.

This is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate and develop your product ownership skills. You will own a product backlog and contribute to roadmaps, champion for user needs, and make data-driven decisions. You will represent your team and communicate plans and progress through channels including blogs, demos and stakeholder meetings.

As a Product Manager you'll:

• work with multiple stakeholders across organisations, including business analysts, technical, delivery and design teams
• develop an expert understanding of the users’ needs and champion these in the delivery of your product
• define, explain and iterate a product vision that is compelling to your users, team and stakeholders
• develop and prioritise a product backlog, writing good user stories and making decisions based on evidence
• decide how a team’s time should be divided between new features, improvements to existing features, and operational support of a live product
• set measurable goals for your product and reporting against these to demonstrate progress against stated benefits

Person specification

We’re interested in people who have:

• strong experience of developing and releasing digital products with proficiency in agile product management techniques, such as user story writing, MVP definition and backlog prioritisation
• led a product through different phases of the product lifecycle, from discovery, through development, delivery and continuous improvement, to retirement
• thorough understanding of a variety of disciplines involved in digital delivery, including engineering, service design, performance analysis and user research, developed through working in multidisciplinary teams
• experience of engaging with users and using qualitative and quantitative data to identify how their needs can be met by products and services
• experience of working in complex environments, balancing user needs, technical feasibility and business or policy constraints
• strong communication skills that will enable you to engage effectively with multiple stakeholders from different teams to get product buy-in and develop a joint roadmap for delivery

Benefits

There are many benefits of working at GDS, including:

• flexible hybrid working with flexi-time and the option to work part-time or condensed hours
• a Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
• 25 days of annual leave, increasing by a day each year up to a maximum of 30 days
• an extra day off for the King’s birthday
• an in-year bonus scheme to recognise high performance
• career progression and coaching, including a training budget for personal development
• a focus on wellbeing with access to an employee assistance programme
• job satisfaction from making government services easier to use and more inclusive for people across the UK
• advances on pay, including for travel season tickets
• death in service benefits
• cycle to work scheme and facilities
• access to an employee discounts scheme
• 10 learning days per year
• volunteering opportunities (5 special leave days per year)
• access to a suite of learning activities through Civil Service learning

Any move to Government Digital Service from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Office attendance
The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from