Head of Products and Services (National Data Library) - GDS - G6

Location

Bristol, London, Manchester

About the job

Job summary

The Government Digital Service (GDS) is the digital centre of government. We are responsible for setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government.

Our priorities are to drive a modern digital government, by:

1. joining up public sector services
2. harnessing the power of AI for the public good
3. strengthening and extending our digital and data public infrastructure
4. elevating leadership and investing in talent
5. funding for outcomes and procuring for growth and innovation
6. committing to transparency and driving accountability

We are home to the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (I.AI), the world-leading GOV.UK and at the forefront of coordinating the UK’s geospatial strategy and activity. We lead the Government Digital and Data function and champion the work of digital teams across government.

We’re part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and employ more than 1,000 people all over the UK, with hubs in Manchester, London and Bristol.

The Government Digital Service is where talent translates into impact. From your first day, you’ll be working with some of the world’s most highly-skilled digital professionals, all contributing their knowledge to make change on a national scale.

Join us for rewarding work that makes a difference across the UK. You'll solve some of the nation’s highest-priority digital challenges, helping millions of people access services they need 

Public sector data has the potential to radically transform people’s lives through boosting economic growth, underpinning groundbreaking research, improving the delivery of public services and fuelling cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) development and applications across the economy.

The National Data Library is a high profile, ambitious, manifesto commitment which intends to realise this potential through responsibly unlocking the highest-value public sector data for use by businesses, academia and the public sector. 

We are looking for a dynamic, passionate and experienced Head of Products and Services to lead the design, development, and delivery of user-centric data products and services within the National Data Library. 

The Head of Products and Services job is a key leadership role in the delivery of a high-priority manifesto commitment that will impact tens of millions of people every day – join us if you want a challenge with purpose!

Job description

As the Head of Products and Services for the National Data Library, you will be responsible for:

• A clear product vision, with a focus on iterative product development that meets user needs and delivers incremental value, while working toward measurable objectives and data driven outcomes.
• Providing direction and leadership for multidisciplinary product teams working across different stakeholder groups to design, develop, and deliver user-centric data products and services.
• Developing and driving an everyday culture of experimentation across all product teams, balancing experimentation of innovative experiences with operational efficiencies.
• Lead engagement with key stakeholders by running demos, blogging, speaking at conferences and facilitating workshops.
• Be a visible leader who takes responsibility, while supporting the wellbeing and professional development of your team and the wider product community within the department.
• Support the NDL Deputy Directors in the implementation of strategic initiatives and delivery of operational challenges
• Maintain knowledge of the changing digital, data and technology landscape and the opportunities they provide to improve the delivery of public services in the UK

Person specification

We’re interested in people who have:

• strong product management experience with a track-record for shipping and evolving great digital products by working with multiple teams in an agile delivery setting
• created and developed product strategy to secure support for your products and direct the work of delivery teams through all phases of delivery - from discovery to continuous improvement in a live setting
• assessed products and services and given constructive feedback and guidance on priorities and improvements
• great working relationships with a variety of disciplines involved in digital delivery, including engineering, service design, performance analysis and delivery management
• engaged with senior stakeholders, including suppliers, coordinating activity across a number of organisations toward common objectives
• set, monitored and reported measurable performance targets for teams and products
• used strong communication skills to enable you to engage with people through a range of channels and explain what you are doing and how you are doing it in clear and compelling ways
• experience recruiting, coaching and line managing product managers, identifying learning and development opportunities for individuals and teams
• familiarity with working with suppliers through the end-to-end procurement process
• experience of developing, launching and iterating data products and services