About the job

Job summary

The UK wide Civil Service Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) profession consists of people who work in a digital, data or technology specialist role. They design, build, and run government digital services. They are responsible for the way we find, access and use data and for the technology infrastructure which support those services. There are currently about 25,000 people working in the Profession.  

The DDaT profession in the Welsh Government supports a range of digital services across the whole organisation. As part of our DDaT profession, you will be a key part of the Application Development & Support team and will make a significant and direct contribution for the people of Wales.

Background 
The Welsh Government is the devolved government for Wales with an annual budget of around £15 billion. We are responsible for key aspects of public life in Wales including health, education, the economy, transport, agriculture, and the environment. Welsh Ministers are supported by a workforce of more than 5,000 people with offices in Wales, London and overseas. 
 
Welsh Government priorities are outlined in Welsh Government Programme for government with an overall ambition to build a Wales which is a self-confident, prosperous, healthy nation and a society which is fair to all. The Welsh Government has set out clear priorities for Wales following the UK’s exit from the European Union. 
 
We are looking for people who can provide excellent advice and support, can focus resources and have energy and expertise. The Well Being and Future Generations Act provides context for our work. 

Digital transformation of public services is vital to delivering the services that the people of Wales expect and need. The Welsh Government currently delivers digital services to people and business across Wales. Led by our Chief Digital Officer, the Welsh Government is increasingly delivering more services online. The Chief Digital Officer provides a consultancy service of digital and data expertise to business areas across the Welsh Government.

Job description

The UK wide Civil Service Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) profession consists of people who work in a digital, data or technology specialist role. They design, build, and run government digital services. They are responsible for the way we find, access and use data and for the technology infrastructure which support those services. There are currently about 25,000 people working in the Profession.  

The DDaT profession in the Welsh Government supports a range of digital services across the whole organisation. As part of our DDaT profession, you will be a key part of the Application Development & Support team and will make a significant and direct contribution for the people of Wales.

Background 
The Welsh Government is the devolved government for Wales with an annual budget of around £15 billion. We are responsible for key aspects of public life in Wales including health, education, the economy, transport, agriculture, and the environment. Welsh Ministers are supported by a workforce of more than 5,000 people with offices in Wales, London and overseas. 
 
Welsh Government priorities are outlined in Welsh Government Programme for government with an overall ambition to build a Wales which is a self-confident, prosperous, healthy nation and a society which is fair to all. The Welsh Government has set out clear priorities for Wales following the UK’s exit from the European Union. 
 
We are looking for people who can provide excellent advice and support, can focus resources and have energy and expertise. The Well Being and Future Generations Act provides context for our work. 
 
Digital transformation of public services is vital to delivering the services that the people of Wales expect and need. The Welsh Government currently delivers digital services to people and business across Wales. Led by our Chief Digital Officer, the Welsh Government is increasingly delivering more services online. The Chief Digital Officer provides a consultancy service of digital and data expertise to business areas across the Welsh Government.

Team/Division Overview
The senior product manager will form part of the Application Development & Support team and will be responsible for the ongoing development and support of the Power BI platform, which underpins the Welsh Government’s Data Visualisation Service.

Role
The product manager (SEO) will have the day-to-day responsibility for owning and maintaining the Data Visualisation Service from the technical side, ensuring it is available for use and it used effectively. 

They will work closely with business areas to understand their user requirements and where required support them in migrating to DVS. They will also be responsible for increasing the scope of the service as required and support colleagues in agreeing and implementing data management best practice for the organisation.

A product manager defines, owns and solves problems.

At this role level, you will:

• Manage a product through discovery, alpha, beta and live states.
• Support lead and senior product managers.
• Potentially line manage associate product managers and support their professional development.
• Be developing expert skills in and knowledge of product management techniques.
• Potentially be involved in recruitment.

Expected Product Manager skills include:

Financial ownership - (Level: practitioner) You can understand the marketplace. You can realise the benefit of a product and persuade others that it's the right one to use. You can integrate a product with other services. You can ensure that products get used. You can realise benefits by linking work in progress back to the business case. You can build business cases based on user needs. 

Government Digital and Data perspective - (Level: working) You can demonstrate a working understanding of design, technology and data principles. You can understand the variety and complexity of users’ digital needs, and how the product will meet those needs. You can show an awareness of assisted digital support and can explain why it’s important. You can design services and make decisions to meet user needs.

Operational management - (Level: practitioner) You can design operational processes for the running and maintenance of products or services throughout their product life cycle. You can redesign operational processes, amend existing processes, and plan and put into operation the stages of a new product or service development. You can act as the escalation point for operational issues and can fix complex operational issues. You can overcome operational constraints to deliver a successful product or service. You can work closely with operational delivery teams in Government Digital and Data.

Problem management - (Level: practitioner) You can ensure that the right actions are taken to investigate, resolve and anticipate problems. You can co-ordinate the team to investigate problems, implement solutions and take preventive measures.

Product ownership - (Level: practitioner) You can apply tools, terms and concepts in a variety of ways. You can be flexible, consider new ways of working and adapt to change.

Strategic ownership - (Level: practitioner) You can effectively get buy-in from the organisation. You can work with scant information and explain it in abstract terms. You can develop a strategy.

User focus - (Level: practitioner) You can collaborate with user researchers and can represent users internally. You can explain the difference between user needs and the desires of the user. You can champion user research to focus on all users. You can prioritise and define approaches to understand the user story, guiding others in doing so. You can offer recommendations on the best tools and methods to use.

Grade Description - SEO 

What the organisation will expect 

• You will be responsible for managing defined areas of work using your specialist knowledge or experience to exercise sound judgement when interpreting complex or conflicting information weighing up all evidence to produce innovative solutions to problems.   
• You will be adaptable, flexible, open to, and accepting of change affecting you and your area of work and deal with that change efficiently and professionally. 
• You will show political awareness and an understanding of the political landscape when considering the impact of your decision and work on the wider business area and when formulating proposals for Senior Managers and Ministers. 

What your team will expect 

• You may be required to manage a team setting clear direction on achieving their objectives. You will support team members in their work such as complex areas of work; work allocation and prioritisation; performance management; training and development; mentoring and coaching.  
• You will value diversity and inclusion, creating an environment where individuals feel safe to challenge, share ideas and express concerns adopting an inclusive leadership style.  
• You will be responsible for developing, implementing and maintaining systems or processes ensuring excellence or value for money. 

What key stakeholders will expect 

• You will take the lead in creating, building and maintaining constructive relationships at all levels.  
• You will be able to tailor and adapt your communication style (written and oral) to advise, guide, influence and persuade internal and external stakeholders as appropriate. 

Person specification

• On a day-to-day basis, own and maintain the quality of the Data Visualisation Service (DVS), iterating the product/service over time to continuously meet user needs.
• Ensure continuity and availability of Data Visualisation Service platform for the business to use by working as part of a multi-disciplined application support and development team, and closely with Cloud Infrastructure and Central Technical Services teams.
• Work closely with colleagues, including other product and service owners, to integrate Power BI with our products and services, to ensure, as an organisation, we are getting the most out the product.
• Keep abreast of industry best practice, to ensure continuous improvement and promotion of the service across Welsh Government.
• Provide technical advice to DDaT management team on product development, data integration and data management.
• Liaise regularly with users to ensure an up-to-date awareness of their user requirements, advising on the possible solutions and considering if and how the service needs to be adapted to meet changing needs.
• Update the DDaT management team on the cost and operational effectiveness of the product and service, providing recommendations on possible changes as required.
• Continually review where the product is in the life cycle, recognising when to move stages and managing that process by liaising with stakeholders.
• Manage and support the DVS Application Operations Engineer in supporting users, resolving issues, and maintaining the service.

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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

This advertisement confirms the overall criteria being assessed throughout this recruitment exercise. For further details on the criteria and evidence required at the application stage, you will need to press apply and review the application form. 

When presenting your evidence, you may find it useful to consider the expectations of the grade as set out in the Grade Description as well as the main responsibilities that are essential for the role. 

In the case of more than one candidate scoring the same, the panel has agreed the following criteria will determine merit order: 

1. Experience - Experience of developing and maintaining a successful Microsoft Power BI service.
2. Experience - Experience of using Azure and SQL with a high level of proficiency.
3. Experience – Experience of working with a range of customers to ensure business needs are met.  

For this recruitment, the top 4 individuals who meet the minimum criteria will progress to interview.

Assessment process
Candidates who successfully demonstrate that they meet the minimum Experience Criteria will be invited to interview.

You will receive a technical scenario for you to prepare a response to ready for your interview. The technical scenario and instructions will be emailed to you 5 days before your interview.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

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). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.