Senior Product Manager, Greater Manchester

About the job

Job summary

If you're a senior product leader looking for scale, real ownership and work with genuine impact, this role offers something different.

As aSenior Product Managerat the Home Office, you will lead the evolution of a large‑scale, commercial off‑the‑shelf (COTS) Enterprise Resource Planning platform used daily by over 50,000 colleagues. This is not a greenfield build, but a complex optimisation challenge: shaping configuration, extensions and integration to deliver a markedly better user experience at scale.

You will own a key product area, setting direction and defining outcomes informed by data, analytics and user research. Working with experienced multidisciplinary teams and suppliers, you will prioritise evidence‑led improvements that support employee lifecycle activities and analysis.

Operating at senior level, you will balance competing priorities, influence decision‑makers and champion modern, user‑centred product thinking in a regulated environment. You will shape roadmaps, drive continuous improvement and ensure delivery aligns with GDS standards, the Technology Code of Practice and accessibility legislation.

This role is ideal for product leaders who enjoy complexity, scale and purpose - where thoughtful product decisions materially improve thousands of people's working lives.

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 of60% of their working time in the office. Applicants can raise any queries to the email address at the bottom of the advert.

Watch this short video to hear from members of Home Office Digital talking about the projects they work on and their experience of working here: Working for Home Office Digital.

Job description

As a Senior Product Manager, you'll use your understanding of user needs and business goals to frame problems, set priorities, and guide delivery teams. You'll own the product vision and quality, sometimes working alongside a Lead Product Manager or programme director. You'll identify opportunities to improve outcomes, enhance benefits, and drive continuous improvement. You'll have final responsibility for product quality and release readiness, managing either a complex product or multiple related products. Additionally, you may line manage, coach, and mentor Associate and Product Managers, and support recruitment activities. Your leadership will help shape product strategy and ensure delivery aligns with business objectives.

Person specification

Main Responsibilities

• Define and evolve the product vision, engaging teams and stakeholders throughout its development.
• Lead the creation of roadmaps, release plans, and lifecycle strategies from inception to retirement, contributing to departmental planning.
• Manage the full product lifecycle, including discovery, alpha, beta, and live phases, ensuring successful service assessments.
• Represent user needs throughout delivery, championing user-centred design and decision-making.
• Prioritise development work by maintaining a balanced product backlog that reflects both immediate needs and long-term business value.
• Provide final sign-off on completed functionality before deployment to production environments.
• Use product data and user feedback to drive continuous improvement, generating ideas for new functionality and promoting evidence-based design.
• Ensure product quality meets standards such as the Government Digital Service Standard, Technology Code of Practice, TDA standards, and accessibility legislation, while advocating these across the department and wider government.

Working Pattern

Due to the business requirements of this role, it is only available on a full-time basis. However, compressed hours are available.

Essential Skills

• Investigating patterns and trends identify and resolve problems.
• Working in the delivery of technology-based projects.
• Budgeting and financial control skills as well as commercial awareness.
• 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 large groups.
• Leading in promoting the needs of the team, and of the product; understanding how these may vary between the different phases of a product lifecycle.

SFIA capability framework

Skills for the Information Age (SFIA) version 8 is the technical framework that sets the standard capability and development of all levels in the Home Office. This is a link to the capability framework: All skills A - Z English (sfia-online.org).

We use set SFIA technical skills to form our interview questions and we will assess you against these technical skills during the selection process.

The essential skills listed above are reflective of the Home Office Government Digital and Data Profession Career Framework (based on the industry standard SFIA framework). Use the SFIA Levels of responsibility to understand what would be expected for each technical skills listed below.

• Innovation (INOV) - Level 3
• Benefits Management (BENM) - Level 4
• Problem Management (PBMG) - Level 4
• User Experience Analysis (UNAN) - Level 3
• Stakeholder Relationship Management (RLMT) - Level 4
• Product Management (PROD) - Level 4

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Innovation (INOV) - Level 3
• Benefits Management (BENM) - Level 4
• Problem Management (PBMG) - Level 4
• User Experience Analysis (UNAN) - Level 3
• Stakeholder Relationship Management (RLMT) - Level 4
• Product Management (PROD) - Level 4

Benefits

Alongside your salary of£62,109, Home Office contributes£17,992 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Why work for us...

Find out more information at: Benefits - Home Office Careers, but some of the primary ones are:

• A Civil Service Pension with employer contribution rates of at least 28.97%.
• In-year reward scheme for one-off or sustained exceptional personal or team achievements.
• 25 days annual leave on appointment, rising with service.
• 8 days of public holidays, plus 1 additional privilege day.
• Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office.

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Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

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

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and 1000-word personal statement:

1. CV - include a brief employment history outlining for each role, the organisation, job title, dates in post, and key responsibilities and achievements. Any recent employment gaps should be explained. A second section should set out the skills and experience most relevant to this role, drawing on your career, training, and other relevant activities without repeating the employment history. Focus on the evidence that best demonstrates your capability to meet the role requirements.
2. Personal statement - this should present a clear and coherent narrative explaining why you are applying, what you would bring to the role, and how your experience meets the essential criteria. Use well‑chosen examples to illustrate your impact, drawing on STAR‑style thinking where helpful, but ensure the statement reads as a single, flowing document rather than a set of isolated responses.

To ensure you are assessed on merit alone, we ask you to anonymise your application. This means removing personal identifiers such as your name, age, and place of education. You do not need to remove your employment history, job titles, or any information about your work.

Watch our three short videos on how to apply for our roles: Applying - Home Office Careers.

Problems during the application process

If you experience problems accessing this advert, or you think you've made a mistake on an initial application, please contact , including the vacancy reference, at least two working days before the vacancy closes. Further information can be found on our website.

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