About the job

Job summary

The Digital Data and Technology (DDaT) profession enable the Home Office to keep the UK safe and secure. They do this by designing, building, and running the services that help people apply for visas or passports, support policing and counter-terrorism operations, and protect the UK’s borders.

Team members have specialized knowledge and a calling to build on it. We want the best people to come to the Home Office and work in the diverse roles and communities they’re passionate about. This is how we produce exceptional outcomes.

The Home Office has created a government-leading bespoke career framework that enables career planning, while ensuring our people can be the best they can be. The framework includes Heads of Role, who are industry specialists. They build communities, set standards for what ‘good’ looks like, and ensure we have the right people in the right jobs at the right time.

We also have a profession management unit, which aims to provide the best professional experience to all our technical staff with a real passion for – and focus on – continuous professional development. We invest heavily in our people as part of growing our collective capability.

You can keep up to date with our work on the Home Office DDaT blog.

Job description

As part of this role, you will be responsible for developing and supporting the delivery of the Police and Public Protection Technology (PPPT) wide Product Strategy. This includes:

• Working with programmes to help steer their operating models from programme to product.
• Providing leadership, supporting product managers and driving engagement in the Product Community of Practice
• Leading and empowering the product profession within PPPT; maintaining and promoting the structure of the profession, establishing skills frameworks and career pathways whilst aligning to the central direction set by the DDAT Head of Profession
• Collaborating with other Lead PMs and profession leads to ensure the strategy set at the top becomes reality within multi-disciplinary teams on the ground

In additional as a Lead Product Manager, you will be responsible for a number of product teams within the portfolio, and you will work with the leadership team to provide leadership and direction.

You will also maintain a high-level roadmap across multiple related product teams and will be expected to line manage, coach and support Senior Product Managers and/or Product Managers.

You will be involved in hiring associate Product Managers, Senior Product Managers and contractors, and provide leadership across the Product Managers and their related Project Managers.

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working.  Where this is the case, employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in the office.  Applicants can discuss any specific questions with the Vacancy Holder

Person specification

Your main day to day responsibilities will be:

• Forming the vision for the portfolio/product group alongside the Director, and engaging teams and stakeholders in the development of that vision over time
• Monitoring what other DDaT portfolios and product groups (as well as cross government) are delivering to identify where products can be reused or repurposed.
• Prioritising the work that needs to be done by the development teams by creating and maintaining a backlog which delivers value to users and benefits to the department.
• Line managing, coaching and mentoring more junior product managers, helping them find the right training and identifying the right roles for their development.
• Setting the strategic approach for keeping people informed about the development of the products within the Team and promotion of their uptake.
• Taking the lead in using product or service usage data, and user feedback to devise new ideas for functionality or new ways of working with a continuous improvement mind-set and take a lead in promoting such evidence/data driven design across the wider department.

You will also be expected to carry out the following day to day activities:

• Assuring team roadmaps, release plans and lifecycle plans for the delivery and maintenance of the products from inception right through to retirement, ensuring they align with other relevant product roadmaps where necessary.
• Promoting the integrity of the products and the product strategy – ensuring that they remain focused on delivering value to the organisation.
• Promoting and protecting the value of product management and ensuring that product teams are able to focus on delivering outcomes for users and the department.
• Ensuring the overall quality of the product is in line with standards including, but not limited to, the Government Digital Service Standard, TDA standards, Technology Code of Practice and Accessibility legislation. Taking a leading role in promoting these standards across the department and government as a whole

Essential skills criteria

You’ll have a demonstrable / evidenced passion for product management, with the following skills or proven / evidenced experience in:

• Focusing on outcomes rather than solutions and the ability to translate a vision into deliverable, measurable goals
• Decision-making, with an ability to digest information from a multitude of sources and use that to develop a prioritized roadmap, often despite multiple conflicting demands
• Building long-term, strategic relationships with senior stakeholders and suppliers. Using those relationships to influence the development and enhancement of services, products and systems
• Taking a product through its lifecycle from discovery through to live
• Communicating to a wide variety of stakeholders using a variety of methods (written reports, verbal feedback, presentations etc.), applying the appropriate method to each scenario/audience

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £69,200, Home Office contributes £18,684 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

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 gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and a Statement of Suitability (Max Limit: 750 words)

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Please note your Statement of Suitability should concisely explain your motivation for applying for this role and offer evidence of how you meet the Essential skills criteria as set out in the job advertisement.

The sift will be based on the Statement of Suitability and CV.

Please note interview will be conducted using behaviour and technical skills based questions and be carried out virtually using Microsoft Teams.

 Sift and Interview dates

The sift will commence 2nd January 2024

Interviews are expected to take place from 22nd January 2024

We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.

We are closely monitoring the situation regarding Coronavirus and will be following Central Government advice as it is issued, as such you will be invited to attend a video interview utilising Microsoft Teams Skype for Business.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to time constraints we may not be able to offer alternative interview date(s). It is therefore expected that candidates who are successful at sift stage will make themselves available during the above time frame given.

Further information

For meaningful checks to be carried out, individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. You should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 3 years if the role requires CTC clearance, 5 years for SC clearance and 10 years for DV.  A lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance and applicants should contact the Vacancy Holder/Recruiting Manager listed in the advert for further advice.

Please read the essential skills for this position carefully. We will only consider those who meet the listed requirement.

If you have previously made an unsuccessful application for a role with the same essential skills and are not able to demonstrate how you have developed these skills since your last application please reconsider applying as your application is unlikely to be successful.

We often have similar roles available at different grades. If a candidate is suitable for a similar role, or a lower grade than they have applied for, we may offer the candidate that role without the need to go through a further selection process providing the role has the same behaviours and essential skills.

This post is eligible for DDaT RRA. Successful candidates with exceptional skills and experience may apply for a Recruitment Retention Allowance. This allowance is subject to an initial review within six months of taking up the post and thereafter an annual review in line with departmental priorities and could be reduced or withdrawn at any time.

Every day, Home Office civil servants do brilliant work to develop and deliver policies and services that affect the lives of people across the country and beyond. To do this effectively and fairly, the Home Office is committed to representing modern Britain in all its diversity, and creating a welcoming, inclusive workplace where all our people are able to bring their whole selves to work and perform at their best.

We are flexible, skilled, professional and diverse. We work to recruit and retain disabled staff and area Disability Confident Leader. We are proud to be one of the most ethnically diverse departments in the civil service. We are Stonewall top 100 Workplace Equality Employer and a Social Mobility Foundation top 75 employer.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant's details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

For further information please see the attached notes for candidates which must be read before making an application.

Existing Civil Servants should note that some of the Home Office terms and conditions of employment have changed. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the Terms and Conditions they will adopt should they be successful in application and should refer to the notes for candidates for further details.

Transfer Terms: Voluntary.

If you are invited to an interview you will be required to bring a range of documentation for the purposes of establishing identity and to aid any pre-employment checks.

Please see the attached list of Home Office acceptable ID documents.

Any move to the Home Office 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 here 

Reasonable Adjustments

If a person with disabilities is 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 Government Recruitment Service via HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs

• Complete the “Assistance Required” section in the “Additional Requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're deaf, a language service professional

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.

Feedback

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. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.