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About the job
Job summary
As a Product Manager youll champion the delivery and continuous improvement of products and define, own and solve problems. Youll work with user researchers to understand user needs, stakeholders and service owners to understand business value, and your whole team to prototype and implement solutions that are viable and sustainable. Youll develop a product approach that coordinates with other teams in DDaT and around the organisation. Youll understand the goals of our business stakeholders, and work with your team to help validate the assumptions behind their ideas, and share this insight to create better outcomes and show the benefits of user-centred design.
Youll have the support of more senior PMs to help shape your product strategy, and to develop your craft. Over time youll move around the portfolio to manage products through discovery, alpha, beta and live states. This role is available in three UK locations, including central London, Cardiff, and Darlingtons new economic hub. This role can only be worked from within the UK and not overseas. Most DBT employees will be working a hybrid pattern, spending 2-3 days a week (pro rata) in the office on average. Changes to these working arrangements are available in certain circumstances but must be agreed with the vacancy manager and in line with the requirements of the role. Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DBT, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.
Job description
As a Product Manager at the Department for Business and Trade you will:
- Lead one or more multi-disciplinary agile delivery teams to deliver services and Products through discovery, alpha, beta and live states.
- Create effective, prioritised product descriptions and delivery plans to meet user needs in a cost-effective way.
- Deliver services that meet the GDS Service Standard and are best in class for government, giving the same level of digital experience users expect from daily interaction with the most respected web services.
- Underpin the delivery and iteration of digital services through a communicable understanding of diverse audience groups and effective analysis of qualitative and quantitative user data.
- Develop and manage stakeholder relationships to create buy in for the product.
- Support lead and senior product managers.
- Have the opportunity to develop your own management skills by overseeing the work of Associate Product Managers when required.
Person specification
You will need to have demonstrable skills and experience of:
- Product ownership: You know how to apply tools, terms and concepts of product management in a variety of ways to balance between needs of users, the business and technology. You can be flexible, consider new ways of working and adapt to change, using qualitative and quantitative data to inform your decisions. You know how to identify risky assumptions or critical user-facing factors in the success of your product and can work with user researchers to mitigate these risks.
- Agile working: You’re able to plan and maintain a roadmap that sets a clear direction but responds to change, and a backlog that contains the most valuable work for the team to be doing next. You can work with the team to design the service, bringing in the right capabilities to help you understand a problem space.
- User focus: You can collaborate with user researchers and sell or represent users internally. You can explain the difference between user needs and the desires of the user or the business. You can champion user research to focus on all users.
Desirable Skills and Experience
These are not necessary but would be ideal if you:
- You can identify constraints and can communicate about these and work within them.
- You know how to design operational processes for the running and maintenance of products or services throughout their product life cycle.
- You can handle numbers confidently and collate information ensuring accuracy of financial and performance data.
- Youre able to adopt the technology and data standards used by the rest of the organisation at a practitioner level.
- Youre able to work with our performance analysis and evaluation teams at a practitioner level to ensure your service can demonstrate value for money.
Personal Attributes and Skills
- Curiosity and empathy in unpacking business and user needs.
- A hypothesis-led approach including when some information is not yet clear .
- Creative in ways to devise experiments and develop solutions.
- Collaborative they work closely with their team and their stakeholders, rather than dictating an approach.
- Decisive when needed using data and evidence.
- Excellent communication skills to ensure alignment of the team and organisation.
- Able to show leadership through their experiments that dont work, encouraging a learning culture for the whole team.
Benefits
- 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 average employer contribution of 27%
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.
Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.
Sift will take place week commencing 9th August 2023
Interviews will take place week commencing 21st August 2023
Please notes these dates are indicative and may be subject to change.
As part of the application process you will be asked to upload a CV and complete a personal statement outlining your experience, skills and fit for the role.
At the sift stage for this role, we will assess your CV and personal statement against the essential skills and experience listed above. Your personal statement must be a maximum of 800 words. You can use bullet points and subheadings if you prefer. As well as evidencing the criteria you should also touch upon why you’re interested in DBT and in this role.
If we receive a high volume of applications, we will conduct a short sift and read one element of your application. For this campaign a short sift would be conducted based on: CV only.
How youll be assessed
At the interview stage for this role, you will be asked to demonstrate relevant technical skills and behaviours from the Success Profiles framework. A role-specific list of these can be found below.
The salary we will offer is determined using interview performance. Scores at interview translate to proficiency levels and an associated salary. Once a successful candidate has a proficiency level and is part of the capability framework, they will be given opportunities to self-assess to progress through the pay scale within their grade during their time at DBT. For further explanation of proficiency levels and more information about DDaT click here. Candidates moving from another government department have the option to retain their current salary.
Applicants successful to interview stage will be asked to deliver a presentation and will be informed on the topic following the sift 9/08/2023.
Technical skills
There will be a technical element within the interview where you will be asked questions about your specific professional skills and knowledge relating directly to the job role.
We will assess you against the following technical skills:
- Product ownership
- User focus
- Agile working
Detailed explanations of each technical skill can be found on the DDaT Framework.
Behaviours
- We will assess you against the following behaviours:
- Working Together
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
Reserve list
Appointments may be made to candidates in merit order based on location preferences. Candidates who pass the bar at interview but are not the highest scoring will be held on a 12-month reserve list for future appointments. Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be offered a post at the grade below the one advertised.
Further Information
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.
The Department for Business and Trade embraces and values diversity in all forms. We welcome and pride ourselves on the positive impact diversity has on the work we do, and we promote equality of opportunity throughout the organisation.
Harmonised terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
Please note the successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before being released for another role.
Any move to the Department for Business andInternational Trade 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
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
Reasonable adjustment
If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.
If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should contact the DDaT Recruitment team before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Our recruitment process is underpinned by appointment on the basis of fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.
The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact DBT by email: ddat.recruitment@trade.gov.uk.
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment. Click here to download a PDF about the Civil Service Commission/Complaints.
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.
For further information and to apply please click the link to direct you to the advertisers website.
Vetting Requirements SC
All security clearances require you to provide evidence of your UK footprint where you have been physically present in the UK.
The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years.
Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.
If you require SC clearance you will need to provide evidence of the below requirements.
Checks will be made against:
- departmental or company records (personnel files, staff reports, sick leave reports and security records)
- UK criminal records covering both spent and unspent criminal records
- your credit and financial history with a credit reference agency
- Security Services records
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
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).
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Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : ddat.recruitment@trade.gov.uk
- Email : ddat.recruitment@trade.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : ddat.recruitment@trade.gov.uk
Further information
