About the job

Job summary

DWP Digital offers fulfilling careers for people who want to use their skills to make a genuine difference to society.

We’re part of the UK’s biggest government department, supporting millions of people every day.

In Retirement Services, we are responsible for running and transforming digital service. We ensure people over state pension age can plan for and secure all the support they need to live a life without unnecessary hardship.

Every year we pay over £120 billion to 18million DWP customers, including 1 million overseas customers residing in 229 countries.

We are a key part of DWP's modernisation story with commitments to deliver end-to-end service transformation across the support we provide to citizens and DWP staff.

You will join one of our high profile, complex teams to represent all aspects of delivery. You will support a delivery team focusing on the needs of the people and their outcomes.

Job description

As a Product Manager you will be responsible for making evidenced based strategic and tactical product decisions and making key priority calls. You will be actively involved in developing the product strategy, owning the product roadmap and communicating product success to stakeholders but also defend controversial decisions about your product.

In this role you will:

• Understand and translate the mission – You will need to understand the mission and communicate with teams and stakeholders how the problem you are solving contributes to achieving the aims of our service
• Product Management – Ensuring the team is designing and building products in the right way by following service standards as defined by Central Data and Digital Office (CDDO) and the internal DWP service standard assurance team
• User focussed - Act as the voice of all users (citizen and business) during discussions with teams and stakeholders.
• Define Product Goals and Metrics –Set clear goals and work with others to understand how you will measure success
• Agile - Ability to work in a fast paced, evolving environment and utilises an iterative method and flexible approach to enable rapid delivery.

Person specification

When giving details in your employment history and personal statement you should highlight your experience in line with essential criteria below:

• Experience of creating and communicating a product roadmap, and gaining stakeholder buy in (Lead Criteria)
• Have worked with users to understand their needs, and represented the user in all decision making.
• Have made effective decisions based on incomplete information using a range of suitable techniques
• Have prioritised product backlogs based on user needs, value and effort
• Experience of working with a range of specialists in multidisciplinary teams, applying an agile methodology and mindset to enable incremental delivery 

If you would like to learn more about the role, please contact dani.gulam@dwp.gov.uk.

Benefits

• An employer pension contribution of up to 27% For further information please click here.
• Annual leave rising up to 30 days, (based on your working pattern).
• Family friendly flexible working arrangements, such as hybrid working, job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
• Learning and development tailored to your role this could include industry recognised qualifications, coaching and mentoring.
• An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join staff networks including: Women’s Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more.

Location

Applicants should apply for suitable posts where they can travel to and from their home office location daily within a reasonable time.   

Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas. Relocation costs will not be reimbursed 

Hybrid Working

This job role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in their DWP office and part of the week from home.  This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by business need but personal circumstances and other relevant circumstances will also be taken into account. If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working, including whether a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for you, will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.

Salary Information

Pay for this role is from £52,412 to £63,517.

Our offer to successful candidates will be based on an assessment of your skills and experience as demonstrated at interview.

Existing Civil Servants who secure a new role on lateral transfer should maintain their current salary.

Existing Civil Servants who gain promotion may move to the bottom of the next grade pay scale or 10% increase in salary whichever would be the greater.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Stage 1: Application

Your application will consist of three parts:

1. A Personal Details application form.

2. Your employment history detailing your responsibilities, skills, accomplishments, plus your qualifications and relevant training. Please copy this information into the box field provided.

3. Personal statement up to 750 words. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

When giving details in your employment history and personal statement you should highlight your experience in line with essential criteria listed in Person Specification.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead criteria: Experience of creating and communicating a product roadmap, and gaining stakeholder buy in. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview

You will receive one combined score for both your Employment History/CV and Personal Statement, which will be provided in your Personal Statement score.

Important Information

• You will be asked to complete your employment history any information that you would customarily share on a CV should therefore be entered onto the application form.
• Personal details that could be used to identify you including your name, contact details and address must be removed for your application to be considered.
• If your employment history/personal statement contains any personal details your application will be withdrawn.
  
  

Stage 2: Interview

If you’re successful at sift stage you will be invited to a video interview via Microsoft Teams. There, you will be assessed against the experiences listed in the essential criteria.

To help you prepare and settle into the interview you will be sent the experience questions in advance of the interview, 5 days prior to your interview. These questions should be treated as confidential and should not be shared. The interview panel may ask you other questions which will not be shared in advance, including follow-up questions, and those about your experience.

Interviews will take place from mid March.

Further information:

Find out more about Working for DWP

For Hints and Tips on completing your application visit Applying for jobs at DWP Digital.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made. 

Reserve list candidates will be posted in merit order by location.

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. Applications will be screened and if evidence of plagiarism or copying examples/answers from other sources is found, your application will be withdrawn. Internal DWP candidates may also face disciplinary action.

Reasonable Adjustment

At DWP we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce.

We consider visible and non-visible disabilities, neurodiversity or learning differences, chronic medical conditions, or mental ill health. Examples include dyslexia, epilepsy, autism, chronic fatigue, or schizophrenia.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact Government Recruitment Service via DigitalRecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Reasonable Adjustments” 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.

For further information on reasonable adjustments, terms and conditions and how we recruit visit the How we recruit page. 

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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.