About the job

Job summary

This position is based nationally

Job description

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity.

Grade: Grade 7

(MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain this grade on lateral transfer) 

Salary: London: £58,847 - £66,670 (which may include an allowance of up to £4,828)

National: £54,358 - £61,585 (which may include an allowance of up to £2,517) 

Working pattern: Full-time/Part-time/Flexible

Contract Type: Permanent 

Vacancy number: 85775 

*We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your local office. Office locations can be found on this map.

The Role

We’re recruiting for Senior Product Managers here at Justice Digital, to be part of our warm and collaborative teams in our HMPPS Digital (His Majesty Prison and Probation Service) and Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) 

Millions of people every year interact with MoJ services, and here at Justice Digital we play an important role in making the experience of all of our users simpler, faster, and better. 

This role aligns against Senior Product Manager role from the Government Digital and Data Framework 

We have a clear vision - to deliver a world class justice system that works for all - and we’re looking for talented people to help us achieve it. Our MoJ strategy sets out our core priorities, this includes putting data at the core of our decisions and users at the heart of our services. 

We are ambitious, and we need great product people to help us achieve the ambitions we have set out in our 2025 vision, delivering great outcomes through digital products. We’re looking for talented, enthusiastic and passionate individuals who are excited by the challenge of designing digital public services and providing our staff with technology at least as good as they have at home. 

We need Senior Product Managers to be a part of our highly collaborative and creative teams here at Justice Digital. There are various opportunities across a range of teams that are already delivering and developing great products and services across a diverse portfolio of work. There are opportunities in the following areas: 

In HMPPS Digital we create and run the tools that support the Prison and Probation Service to provide decent, safe and productive places to live and work, and uses data to enable better decision making to protect the public and reduce reoffending, whilst supporting the people in our care. We own internal staff facing services and multiple public facing services such as Visit someone in prison. See more about what we are doing in the HMPPS digital, data and technology strategy. 

In the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, we deal with compensation claims from people who have been physically or mentally injured because they were the victim of a violent crime in England, Scotland or Wales. Our friendly and collaborative digital teams work in a user-centred and trauma-informed way, managing our internal and public-facing services including Claim criminal injuries compensation. 

Your goal is to lead teams in solving complex and often difficult problems. It’s a really exciting and challenging time right now, you can make a considerable difference, help us to achieve great outcomes and to be a part of our vibrant product community. 

As well as doing great work, we’re creating a place that’s great to work in. We offer brilliant training opportunities, access to great professional networks and support from expert colleagues. On top of that, you’ll find flexible working, an inclusive culture and a place where your opinion is valued. 

To help picture your life at MoJ Justice Digital please take a look at our blog and our Digital and Technology strategy 2025 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Senior Product Managers champion the delivery and continuous improvement of products and define, own and solve problems. They use their knowledge of user needs and business goals to frame problems, set priorities and inform their delivery teams of the continuous improvement. They are responsible for developing the form of the overall vision for the product and engage their teams and stakeholders in the development of that vision over time and manage a product through discovery, alpha, beta and live states.
• Senior Product Managers have a deep knowledge of product management techniques and are developing expert skills. They provide direction and empowerment to high performing, multidisciplinary teams, ensuring return on investment and execution of the vision. Senior Product Managers represent users throughout the delivery process.
• Senior Product Managers manage multiple products for a whole service or a single product that is especially complex, high risk or sensitive. They may manage associate product managers and product managers. They have expert product management skills. They may be involved in elements of programme management activity. They are involved in hiring into their teams. 

If this feels like an exciting challenge and you want to join our team please read on and apply!

We make our workplace as inclusive as we can. Find out more about how we support equality and diversity. 

Benefits

• 37 hours per week and flexible working options including working from home, working part-time, job sharing, or working compressed hours.
• A £1k per person learning budget is in place to support all our people, with access to best in class conferences and seminars, accreditation with professional bodies, fully funded vocational programmes and e-learning platforms
• Staff have 10% time to dedicate to develop & grow
• Generous civil service pension based on defined benefit scheme, with employer contributions of 28.97% from April 1st 2024 (Contribution Rates)
• 25 days leave (plus bank holidays) and 1 privilege day usually taken around the Kings’ birthday. 5 additional days of leave once you have reached 5 years of service.
• Compassionate maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave policies, with up to 26 weeks leave at full pay, 13 weeks with partial pay, and 13 weeks further leave. And maternity support/paternity leave at full pay for 2 weeks, too!
• Wellbeing support including access to the Calm app.
• Nurturing professional and interpersonal networks including those for Carers & Childcare, Gender Equality, PROUD and SPIRIT
• Bike loans up to £2500 and secure bike parking (subject to availability and location)
• Season ticket loans, childcare vouchers and eye-care vouchers.
• 5 days volunteering paid leave.
• Free membership to BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT.
• Some offices may have a subsidised onsite Gym. 

Person Specification

Essential 

• Product ownership - The core tactical skills of product management, capturing user needs to inform decision-making and prioritisation, and translate them into outcomes.
• Strategic ownership - Developing and maintaining an understanding of economic, social, political, environmental and technological developments to ensure activity is relevant. Ensure plans and activities in your area of work reflect wider strategic priorities and communicate effectively with senior leaders to influence future strategies.
• Agile working - Coaching and leading teams in Agile and Lean practices, determining the right approach for the team to take and evaluating this through the life of a project. You can think of new and innovative ways of working to achieve the right outcomes
• Lifecycle perspective - Understanding of the different phases of the product lifecycle and the impact this has on product strategy.
• User focus - User-centred design is at the heart of our work. You’re able to collaborate with user researchers and can sell or represent users internally; understand the difference between user needs and desires of the user; able to champion user research to focus on totality of all users.
• Communicating & Influencing - Communicate purpose and direction with clarity, integrity and enthusiasm. Respect the needs, responses and opinions of others.
• Changing and improving - Seeking out opportunities to create effective change and suggesting innovative ideas for improvement. Review ways of working, including seeking and providing feedback.
• Developing self and others - Focusing on continuous learning and development for self, others and the organisation as a whole. 

Willingness to be assessed against  the requirements for BPSS clearance 

We welcome the unique contribution diverse applicants bring and do not discriminate on the basis of culture, ethnicity, race, nationality or national origin, age, sex, gender identity or expression, religion or belief, disability status, sexual orientation, educational or social background or any other factor. 

Our values are Purpose, Humanity, Openness and Together. Find out more here about how we celebrate diversity and an inclusive culture in our workplace. 

Person specification

Please refer to attached Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £54,358, Ministry of Justice contributes £15,165 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

Candidates must submit CV + Cover Letter (750 words max) which describes how you meet the requirements set out in the Person Specification above. 

In Justice Digital, we recruit using a combination of the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability and Success Profiles. We will assess your Experience, Technical Skills and the following Behaviours during the assessment process: 

• Communicating and influencing
• Making effective decisions
• Changing and improving
• Seeing the bigger picture
• Developing self and others 

A diverse panel will review your application against the Person Specification above. 

Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on Product Ownership and Agile Working experience will be conducted before the sift. 

Should you be unsuccessful in the role that you have applied for, but demonstrated the capability for a role at a lower level, we reserve the right to discuss this opportunity with you and potentially offer you the position without the need for a further application. 

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

Terms & Conditions

Please review our Terms & Conditions which set out how we recruit and provide further information related to the role and salary arrangements. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact recruitment@digital.justice.gov.uk

do we want to say how far in advance we'll share the task or are we dropping it on people in the interview? My preference would be to give people time to prepare

We tend to not say how much time they'll be given in the JD

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.