Lead Product Manager

GDS leads digital transformation in government, collaborating with teams from other departments to help them build better public services. Alongside those departmental teams, we’re transforming government together. Find out more at the GDS Blog.

The Team

GOV.UK Verify is the new way to prove who you are when using digital government services. It gives safer, simpler and faster access to government services like filing your tax or checking the information on your driving licence, using a federation of 7 identity providers, such as Post Office, Barclays and Experian to verify digital identities to government standards.

The service is central to the recently publishedGovernment Transformation Strategy and is set to grow from a user base of 1 million users to 25 million by 2020. Over the coming year, the service will expand to take on additional government services, including services from local authorities. It will expand the means of assuring identities to encompass lower levels of identity proofing, as well as integration with international identity schemes, to maximise the demographic coverage of the service.

You can find out more about GOV.UK Verify by reading our blog at https://identityassurance.blog.gov.uk.

The Role

As Lead Product Manager, you will be responsible for all aspects of the products built and managed by the GOV.UK Verify programme.

You will have responsibility for developing the vision, missions and plans that make up the Verify roadmap. You will get to lead the team of product managers who direct the delivery of the component parts of the GOV.UK Verify service, including the on boarding of relying parties and identity providers, the Document Checking Service, and the integration with international identity federations.

You’ll get to work closely with technical leads, architects and head of user research within the programme, as well as the head of operations and the support manager on operational and support issues.

You’ll take a central role in the communications and engagement activity required to promote the service, maintain transparency and ensure that the work of your teams is being acknowledged. As a member of the growing community, you will have opportunities to improve product manager skills and experience across government.

You will report to the Service Manager and be an active member of the management team, helping to set direction and provide strong, decisive and visible leadership to the programme teams.

Main Responsibilities:

We’re looking for someone who has impressive track-record of leading multiple product teams in agile environments. You’ll be guided by the fundamental principles of putting user needs first, focusing on delivery and outcomes over process, and being open and transparent. Success for you means coaching others to deliver at the very best of their abilities.

It’s essential that you have experience in:

  • Product management with a track-record for shipping and evolving great digital products by working with multiple teams in an agile delivery setting
  • Creating, maintaining and prioritising roadmaps to direct the work of delivery teams through all phases of delivery – from discovery to live service
  • Assessing products and services and giving constructive feedback and guidance on priorities and improvements
  • Recruiting, coaching and line management of product managers, identifying learning and development opportunities for individuals and teams
  • Having great working relationships with a variety of disciplines involved in digital delivery, including engineering, service design, performance analysis and user research
  • Engagement with senior stakeholders, including suppliers, coordinating activity across a number of organisations toward common objectives
  • Setting, monitoring and reporting measurable performance targets for teams and products
  • Strong communication skills that enable you to engage with people through a range of channels and explain what you are doing and how you are doing it in clear and compelling ways

It’s desirable that you have:

  • An understanding of new and emerging digital technologies and the opportunities they provide to improve the delivery of public services in the UK
  • Been in a role with a focus on operational maturity and ensuring a consistent approach to user and technical operational support
  • Experience of service and product management in large scale public facing service involving a significant identity or security aspect.