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 specialised 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 

The Migration and Border Technology Portfolio (MBTP) are an award-winning delivery partner in the Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) directorate. We drive digital ambitions, design appropriate solutions and deliver digital services quickly and effectively. Our work makes a real difference in helping the Home Office achieve its ambitions to keep citizens safe and the country secure.

This is an exciting time to join the team as we develop some of the most challenging and transformative technology projects the department has ever seen. You’ll get to work with fantastic people and have a major impact on some of the most critical systems and services in the UK in a high-profile area attracting huge interest from ministers, wider government, the media and the public.

Job description

A Product Manager will use their knowledge of user needs and business goals to frame and solve problems and set priorities for delivery teams. You will be responsible for the overall vision and quality of the product being delivered (sometimes in conjunction with a Senior or Lead Product Manager).

You will identify opportunities for improving business outcomes and enhancing benefits, looking to continuously improve the quality, capability and efficiency of your product. You will have the final say on quality and whether something is ready to be released into production. In addition, you will build a shared understanding between the development team, stakeholders and end users about what your product does and how it achieves the outcomes it needs to achieve.

Person specification

Your main day to day responsibilities will be:

• Forming the vision for the product and engage teams and stakeholders in the development of that vision over time.
• Producing roadmaps, release plans and lifecycle plans for the delivery and maintenance of the product from its inception right through to its retirement.
• Taking a product through its lifecycle (e.g. discovery, alpha, beta, live) including service assessments.
• Representing users throughout the delivery process and using their feedback to inform continuous improvement.
• Prioritising the work that needs to be done by the software development team by creating and maintaining a product backlog which balances immediate user needs with the long-term investment in development and overall business benefits.
• Providing final sign off on any completed functional development prior to deployment of code to the production environment.
• Using product or service usage data to devise new ideas for functionality or new ways of working with a continuous improvement mindset.

Essential Skills

You’ll have a demonstrable passion for Product with the following skills or some experience in:

• Working in the delivery of technology or digital based projects.
• Decision-making skills, with an ability to digest information from a multitude of sources and use that to develop a prioritised roadmap.
• Strategic thinking skills with the ability to focus on outcomes rather than solutions and the ability to translate a vision into deliverable goals.
• Communicating using a variety of methods (written reports, verbal feedback, presentations etc.), applying the appropriate method to each scenario/audience, which at this level, will usually be on a one to one basis.
• Promoting the needs of the team, and of the product; understanding how these will vary depending on the different phases of a product lifecycle.

Desirable Skills

Ideally you will also have the following skills or some experience in:

• Financial ownership, building a compelling value proposition and business case.
• Encouraging the use of quantitative and qualitative data about users to turn user focus into outcomes.

Our skills align with the cross gov DDaT Capability Framework - Digital, Data and Technology Profession Capability Framework - UK (www.gov.uk)

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £41,600, Home Office contributes £11,232 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 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 Suitability Statement (Max Limit: 1250 words) 

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

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

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

Candidates shortlisted will be invited to an interview which will be Technical-based questions on all listed Technical Skills. Further information on the Technical Skills can be found on Digital, Data and Technology Profession Capability Framework - UK (www.gov.uk).

Sift and Interview dates 

The sift will commence from 15th February 2024. 

Interviews are expected to take place from 8th March 2024.

Please note interview will be carried out virtually using Microsoft Teams.

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. 

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 

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. 

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.

A reserve list may be held for a period up to 12 months from which further appointment may be made. 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.  

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.

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.

We encourage applications from people from the widest possible diversity of backgrounds, cultures and experiences. We particularly welcome applications from women, people with disabilities and LGBT+ as they are currently under-represented in the Home Office at this grade level. Appointments will be made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.
 
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 https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.

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.