Senior Product Manager - Department of Health and Social Care - G7
Government Digital & Data -
Location
Leeds, London
About the job
Job summary
In the Department of Health and Social Care, we are proud of our purpose – to enable everyone to live more independent, healthier lives for longer. To achieve this, and create a great place to work, we have four values: we are inclusive, we constantly improve, we challenge, and we are agile. If this sounds like an environment you would like to work in, we would love to hear from you.
Adult Social Care (ASC) is at the heart of the Government’s ambitions for public service reform. The ASC Group works across government, local authorities, the NHS and the care sector to support a care system that enables people to live independently, access the right care and support, and experience high-quality, sustainable services. This is an important period for adult social care, with the Prime Minister’s focus on reform and the longer-term ambition for a National Care Service.
Data and digital have a critical role to play in delivering that transformation. Better use of technology and data can help make adult social care easier for people to understand and navigate, reduce unnecessary administrative burden for frontline staff, improve how information is shared and used, and give leaders better evidence to support planning and decision-making. Digital transformation is therefore not simply about introducing new technology. It is about redesigning services around people’s needs and ensuring that national policy and reform are supported by effective, accessible and user-centred digital services.
Within ASC Group, the Digitising Social Care team is helping to drive this agenda, working to create the conditions for local authorities and care providers to make better use of digital and data while also developing nationally significant products and services. This includes tackling some of the structural challenges that make digital transformation difficult, improving the experience of people interacting with adult social care, and identifying where national action can enable innovation and improvement.
As part of this work, the team is recruiting an exceptional Senior Product Manager to lead delivery of the Adult Social Care Front Door. The Front Door represents an opportunity to improve how people first find, understand and access information and support relating to adult social care. The successful candidate will play a leading role in turning an ambitious policy vision into a service that works for users, bringing together policy, digital and delivery expertise and helping shape a significant part of the government’s wider programme of reform.
Job description
The Front Door project will see the development of a national citizen-facing adult social care (ASC) information and advice offer. The aim is to help people understand adult social care, what they should be able to expect, and the steps they may need to take next. Improving access to care and support is a departmental priority and this role offers a unique opportunity to shape a high-profile product that could improve how millions of people access information, advice and support.
The postholder will work as part of a wider project team across DHSC and NHSE and will lead product development and management, working with a digital agency to launch an initial online offer by Summer 2027 and then expand it through new products, integrations and personalised journeys. They will set product priorities and roadmaps, translate policy and user needs into a deliverable proposition, and make evidence-based decisions on scope and trade-offs. Working across government, local authorities, the NHS and people with lived experience, they will champion user-centred design and continuous improvement.
Please note that, due to business requirements, the minimum part-time working pattern available for this role is 0.8 FTE.
DHSC is implementing the Government Digital and Data (GDaD) Pay Framework. Following appointment, successful candidates may be eligible to undertake a GDaD capability assessment. Subject to the outcome of that assessment, an additional non-pensionable, non-consolidated capability allowance may be payable.
Person specification
Role responsibilities
As the Senior Product Manager you will:
- Lead product management within a multidisciplinary team, creating clarity of purpose, fostering an agile and user-centred approach, and maintaining a strong focus on outcomes, user value and continuous improvement
- Build a deep understanding of users and their needs, drawing on user research, stakeholder feedback, analytics and other evidence to identify problems, test assumptions and inform product decisions
- Develop, own and communicate the product vision, strategy and iterative roadmap, translating strategic and policy objectives into clear outcomes, priorities and delivery plans, and ensuring alignment with departmental priorities and wider government digital and data strategies
- Lead the product through its development lifecycle, including testing and public beta, adapting the roadmap, backlog and priorities in response to evidence, changing circumstances, delivery constraints and emerging user needs
- Commission and work effectively with digital suppliers and delivery partners, setting clear outcomes and expectations and actively managing delivery, dependencies, risks, performance and value for money to ensure work is delivered to agreed timescales and budget
- Define clear measures of success and use performance data, analytics and user research to evaluate impact, identify opportunities for improvement and make evidence-based decisions about product priorities, investment and future development
- Build strong and productive relationships with senior stakeholders, policy teams, digital and data specialists, delivery partners and external organisations, communicating complex issues clearly, influencing decisions and securing support for the product vision and approach
- Make and communicate effective prioritisation and trade-off decisions, balancing user needs, policy objectives, technical requirements, delivery constraints, risk and value for money, including where evidence is incomplete or priorities compete
- Lead the team in meeting relevant government digital standards and requirements, including the Government Service Standard and requirements relating to accessibility, security, privacy, data governance and technology
- Develop compelling business cases and investment propositions, using evidence to articulate benefits, costs, risks and options, and represent the product confidently in senior governance, assurance and external forums.
Key skills and experience required for the role
Essential:
- Significant experience leading digital products through product management and multiple stages of the product lifecycle, including defining vision, strategy, roadmaps and outcome-focused delivery
- Experience managing complex digital products or services within the public sector involving multiple stakeholders, suppliers or delivery partners
- Experience making evidence-based product decisions, balancing user needs, organisational priorities, technical constraints and delivery considerations
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with experience influencing senior leaders and building consensus across complex organisational environments
- Experience working effectively across multidisciplinary teams, bringing together technical and non-technical expertise to deliver successful outcomes
- Experience using performance metrics, user research, analytics and insight to inform prioritisation, measure impact and drive continuous improvement.
Desirable:
- Experience of adult social care
