Product Manager – Better Off Calculator

About the role
We are looking for a Product Manager to lead the Better Off Calculator in its next phase of growth, delivering new developments and strategic client projects. You will work closely with the Chief Product Officer and Senior Welfare Expert to improve the product and outcomes for people who use the Calculator for themselves or their customers.

There are exciting projects on the horizon, so we are looking for a self-starter seeking a fast-paced environment where they can make a difference. Bringing your strong product skills and hands-on attitude, you will have the opportunity to take end-to-end ownership, drive strategy, and enhance our product approach.  Our team is small, which means high autonomy, ownership, and responsibility. We love what we do, have fun and, while we recognise the importance and impact of our work, we take life-work balance seriously.

Key responsibilities

• Develop product strategy and roadmap – work alongside the Chief Product Officer and other senior stakeholders to define and plan work that is aligned to the business’s broader strategic objectives.
• Lead and execute new developments – move from ideas and plans to delivery, working with our designer and engineers to deliver high-quality, practical solutions that meet client needs and align with the strategic direction.
• Drive continuous improvement – improving processes and the efficiency of what we do, you’ll be hands-on and willing to try new things, bringing best practices from your previous experience and working as a team to achieve the best outcomes.
• Manage strategic client projects – manage stakeholders, define requirements and plan to ensure timely delivery for projects, including integrating the Better Off Calculator into broader digital solutions.
• Lead product discovery – work closely with clients, users, and internal teams to gather feedback and define product improvements, ensuring the voice of the customer is heard throughout the product development process. You’ll also use data and market research to inform decisions.
• Ensure product usability and accessibility – align with best practices and compliance standards such as WCAG 2.2 and GDPR.
• Manage product backlog – ensure bugs and client expectations are managed alongside alignment with the roadmap
• Improve data and reporting – understand the data we hold, what we need and the opportunities that it presents so that it can be used to improve our product and customer outcomes.

The ideal candidate
This role is ideal for you if you have some product management experience but are looking for more ownership and impact by leading a product that helps over 2m people (and counting) each year. Key characteristics we are looking for:

• Experience: Bring key skills in product delivery, sprint planning, writing product requirement documents, product discovery and roadmap prioritisation, to complement and enhance our existing product approach using tools like Jira, Confluence and Figma.
• Project management skills: Able to manage multiple priorities and deliver work on time.
• Excellent communicator: Able to translate complex ideas into clear, actionable steps for different audiences.
• User-focused: Passionate about creating intuitive and impactful digital products that improve people’s understanding and ability to make informed decisions.
• Collaborative: Enjoy working cross-functionally with developers, policy analysts, customer support, sales and marketing, bringing teams together to ensure the product meets business objectives.
• Analytical: Comfortable using data and insights to make informed product decisions using tools such as Excel and basic SQL.
• Technical understanding: Able to work closely with engineers and understand technical trade-offs (you do not need to be a coder).
• Creative problem solver: Able to think outside the box, focusing on outcomes and objectives, not just outputs.
  Entrepreneurial mindset: Always looking for new product ideas to test and validate.
• Strategic thinker: Combine commercial pragmatism and experience navigating senior stakeholders to prioritise and deliver at pace.
• Motivated: Want to make a difference to individuals and the UK’s welfare system and promote income maximisation.

About Policy in Practice
Our analysis found £23 billion goes unclaimed every year. Our products close that gap, helping families across the UK. Policy in Practice is a socially focused, fast-growing company that uses data and technology to help low-income households and organisations supporting them.

Our Better Off Calculator is a leading benefits checker and application portal used by local authorities, charities, banks, utility companies and housing providers to help over 2m people reach financial stability each year. It provides tailored information on their financial situation and benefit entitlements so that they can make informed decisions, take action and be ‘better off’.

Policy in Practice’s vision and mission
Vision: We believe data and technology have the ability to empower people and change lives.

Mission:  Empower people via proactive, integrated support. We will help more people to live better lives using our expertise in social policy, data and technology.

We are transforming the way society supports low income families through citizen centred approaches. We focus on improving how all policy areas, sectors and journeys combined can have an impact on people and their outcomes.

Values
Purposeful and passionate:

• We push for opportunities to improve, not just for our clients or for ourselves, but also for the people who need our help.
  We take responsibility. Details Matter. We have a genuine passion to help people, with a willingness to take action.

Insightful and impactful

• We go beyond straightforward analysis to get to the ‘So What?’, driving our policy insight and services to deliver impact.
• We think deeply and communicate simply in a way that helps people make the right decisions.

Respectful and supportive

• We are willing to discuss and debate openly, listening to both sides and relying on evidence and strong relationships to reach shared positions.
• We have each other’s back.

Why Join Policy in Practice?

• Make an Impact: Work on a product that helps people navigate the welfare system and improve financial outcomes.
• Career Growth: Take ownership of a growing product in a fast-paced environment where your ideas shape the future. Gain experience in an environment where your ideas and leadership will shape the future of our product.
• Supportive Culture: We invest in our employees and our culture and are proud of our team, ways of working and employee satisfaction. We encourage you to join office working and social activities, and everyone, wherever their ‘home’ location, joins our quarterly reviews. New starters are paired with a senior member of the team to provide mentoring and support.
• Flexible Work: Hybrid and remote options are available. We trust our team to deliver and support different working styles.
• Perks and benefits: 25 days of paid annual leave, membership of the NEST pension scheme, regular in person and online socials, access to a private GP service, retail and gym discounts, an employee assistance programme (EAP), a cycle to work scheme and much more.

Don’t just take it from us, Policy in Practice colleagues say:
“Everyone is lovely and we do such impactful work. There is a very caring employee culture, and a drive to share expertise.”

“I appreciate how our work helps shape policies and the supportive team environment here encourages everyone to grow. Flexible working options make it easier to balance life and work and our inclusive culture makes this a welcoming place to be.”

“The work is extremely meaningful and translates directly into tangible benefits.”

How to apply
Please send your CV with a cover letter that clearly outlines your suitability and your interest in the post to [email protected] as soon as possible.