Product Manager

As a Product Manager,

• You will be responsible for owning the roadmap for a critical platform which supports secure, self-service file transfers across government and externally.
• You will play a leading role in developing the platform strategy, working closely with our Lead Product Managers and Architects.
• You will engage at a strategic level in setting organisational objectives, as well as coaching and leading colleagues to help develop the right environment, culture and values for high staff engagement and delivery excellence.
• You will be able to translate complex, technical problems and solutions into easy to understand and intuitive user experiences for non-technical users.
• You will understand the business goals, the user needs for the platform/service, and the different options for how to build and scope the product according to those needs.
• You will facilitate product teams to build and release digital products or features and create high quality front-end experiences for users allowing them to self-serve and manage their file transfers.

In addition:

• You will have ownership and responsibility for your platforms performance and look for ways to improve efficiency, scalability and spend.
• You will also be credible, influential and encouraging: Someone who is positive, a confident communicator with good interpersonal skills and a dedication to continuous improvement in self and others.

Product Managers at HMRC can make use of multiple learning and development opportunities to develop their skills if joining at entry level. Product Managers at HMRC follow the Government Digital and Data (GDaD) capability framework and career paths currently listed under Product Manager.

Person specification

Responsibilities:

• Facilitate the delivery of a new platform or new capability and features for an existing platform that meets business needs.
• Participate in discovery/alpha/beta phases of a new platform or service.
• Define the scope of the platform/service and the key features, and adapt this as new information is learnt (e.g. as business objectives evolve or user research offers new insights).
• Engage stakeholders to get buy in for the platform vision and roadmap.
• Lead team and stakeholder demo's to showcase progress on new capability or features.
• Work with a multidisciplinary delivery team (civil servants or suppliers) with skills such as user research, service design, business analysis, or software engineering to shape the platform and build it.
• Work with team members, such as performance analyst and user researchers, to gather user insights and feedback on live products so that they can be iterated and improved.
• Own and maintain a backlog of 'user stories' (which describe features and functions a user should be able to do on the product) and prioritise the order in which they will be built and released to users. These should be in line with the goals of the product set by the organisation.
• Work with the Leads in your area to understand different options for how your platform or service might be developed, and the high level financial case for the options.
• Work with designers and researchers in your area to ensure the products and services are suitably adapted to meet accessibility standards.
• Work with user researchers to shape research activities to test the concepts behind new products, features, or prototypes, and/or test their usability.
• Drive efforts to optimise platform performance, using data-driven insights to improve efficiency, scalability and user experience.
• Champion adoption of new technologies and innovative practices that enhance platform capabilities.
• Oversee the resolution of platform-related issues with minimal disruption to services and identifying root causes.
• Maintain operational integrity with a platform capable of scaling with service growth.
• Have financial oversight on spend and continually look for optimisation and efficiency savings.
• Oversee platform security and compliance with regulatory standards and ensure any risks or vulnerabilities identified are addressed appropriately.
• Participate in, and contribute to wider Product management community of practice, whether through taking part in community initiatives, running sessions or talks, or other activities which support other product managers/platform owners.

Applicants are not expected to have experience of all the above responsibilities. Product Managers at HMRC will be supported to learn these skills overtime so they can use them after a certain period in the role.

Essential Criteria:

You will need to demonstrate practical knowledge and experience in the following:
• Experience of building and maintaining positive relationships with stakeholders, including negotiating with stakeholders on difficult issues.
• Experience of understanding problems within a service, product or process, and finding a positive solution to resolve the issue.
• Experience of being able to prioritise work based on what is valuable to do first and getting buy in from stakeholders for any associated project plans/ rollout plans/ roadmaps.
• Experience of leading or supporting a project to deliver its stated outcomes.
• Ability to collaborate with other professions with specialist skills to solve a problem.
• The ability to use qualitative or quantitative research (e.g. customer feedback, market research, service metrics) to gain insights on a problem.
• Demonstrate the ability to understand how to measure and track success of a project, service, or process change.

Desirable Criteria:

You may also demonstrate knowledge and experience in the following:
• Prior experience of working on digital services/platforms.
• Prior experience of agile working.
• Project management (ITIL v4).
• Understanding of RESTful APIs and associated benefits.
• Awareness of File Transfer technology.
• Awareness of Cloud/AI technology.
• Experience of managing junior staff members.

Additional Information - Transitional Sites

For more information on where you might be working, review this information on our locations .

If your location preference is for one of the following sites, it's important to note that these are not long-term sites for HMRC and we will require you to move to a new building in the future, subject to our location strategy and the applicable employee policies at that time.

These sites include:

• Telford Plaza, Telford - moving to Parkside Court, Telford

You will be given more information about what this means at the job offer stage.

Behaviours

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £58,541, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £16,959 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

HMRC operates both Flexible and Hybrid Working policies, allowing you to balance your work and personal commitments. We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible, considering our operational and customer service needs.

We offer a generous leave allowance, starting at 25 days and increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days.

• Pension - We make contributions to our colleagues' Alpha pension equal to at least 28.97% of their salary.
• Family friendly policies.
• Personal support.
• Coaching and development.

To find out more about HMRC benefits and find out what it's really like to work for HMRC hear from our insiders or visit Thinking of joining the Civil Service

Things you need to know

Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

How to Apply

As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide the following:

• A name-blind CV including your job history and previous experiences.
• A 750-word Personal Statement. Your P ersonal Statement (max 750 words) should demonstrate how you meet the requirements, responsibilities and essential criteria, as outlined in the job description and person specification part of the job advert.

Please complete a separate statement (Max 250 words) for the Desirable Criteria where applicable. This is not essential for the role but may be considered by the vacancy-holder where candidates have the same scores at interview.

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

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 for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Sift

In the event of a large number of applications being received, an initial sift may be held on the CV.

At full sift, your CV, and your Personal Statement will be assessed, with the successful candidates being invited to interview.

We may also raise the score required at any stage of the process if we receive a high number of applications.

Interview

During the panel interview, you will be asked behaviour-based questions, to explore what you are capable of

Interviews will take place virtually, via video link.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Eligibility

Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. We understand mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days(Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we will not be able to reopen your application for you. If you do make a mistake with your eligibility form, please contact us via: unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk - Use the subject line to insert appropriate wording for example - 'Please re-open my application - [insert vacancy ref] & vacancy closing date [insert date].

To check that you are eligible to apply for this role, please review the eligibility information before submitting your application .

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles - if this applies to you, we'll let you know via your Civil Service Jobs account.

Merit List

After interview, a single merit list will be created, and you will only be considered for posts in locations you have expressed a preference for. Appointments will be made in strict merit order in line with the set number of roles in each location.

Criminal Record Check

Applications received from candidates with a criminal record are considered fairly in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice and the Recruitment of ex-offenders Policy.

Hybrid working at HMRC

HMRC is an office-based organisation, and colleagues are expected to spend 60% of their working time in the office. Our offices provide opportunity for interaction, collaboration which aids learning and development and a sense of community. Where the role allows it, and where the home environment is suitable, colleagues can work from home for up to 2 days a week, averaged over a calendar month (or a proportionate amount of time for colleagues who work less than full time).

Reasonable Adjustments

We want to make sure no one is put at a disadvantage during our recruitment process. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact the UBS Recruitment team via unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.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.

Important information for existing HMRC contractual homeworkers

This role may be suitable for existing HMRC employees who are contractual homeworkers. Occasional attendance to the office will be required where there is a business need. Please consider the advertised office locations for this role when applying and only select locations from the 'location preferences' section that you can travel to.

Terms and Conditions

Customer facing roles in HMRC require the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English and/or Welsh where required. Where this is an essential requirement, this will be tested as part of the selection process.

HMRC has a presence in every region of the UK. For more information on where you might be working, review this information on our locations .

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences.

Any instances of plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be investigated and, if proven, the relevant application(s) will be withdrawn from the process.

Recording of interviews is prohibited unless explicit agreement is sought in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulations.

Questions relating to an individual application must be emailed as detailed later in this advert.

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.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

New entrants will join on the minimum of the pay band.

Please note that, if you are applying for roles on a part-time basis, the salary agreed will be pro-rata, reflective of the working hours agreed within your contract.

If you experience accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

For more Information for people applying for, or thinking of applying for, roles at HM Revenue and Customs, please see link: Working for HMRC: information for applicants - GOV.UK .

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.

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.

Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window) .

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Lisa Barnett
• Email : lisa.barnett@hmrc.gov.uk
• Telephone : 07825 923285

Recruitment team

• Email : unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk

Further information
Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel there has been a breach of the Recruitment Principles. In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly via ubsrecruitmentcomplaints@hmrc.gov.uk.

Please note that we do not accept complaints or appeals regarding scoring of outcomes of campaigns, unless candidates can provide clear evidence that the campaign did not follow the Recruitment Principles. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their website.