Product Manager (Central Government)

Company Description

Come join us and make a difference in the world!

Discover more at www.necsws.com

 

Job Description

Job Description

The Lead Product Manager (Government) will be responsible for the definition, management and successful delivery of a defined product domain within the Government portfolio, which may include Revenues, Benefits or Central Government solutions. The role will ensure that product roadmaps, priorities and product development activities are aligned to the Government product strategy set by the Head of Product and Consultancy (Government).

The role will report to the Head of Product (Government) and work closely with Delivery, Sales and Consultancy teams to ensure product priorities, customer requirements and roadmap commitments are successfully delivered.

The role is important to ensuring that strategic product objectives are translated into clear and deliverable product plans within their assigned domain. The post holder will take ownership of day-to-day product management activities, ensuring products remain aligned to customer needs, legislative requirements and agreed business objectives.

The focus of this role is to lead the successful development and evolution of their assigned product domain, ensuring roadmap commitments are delivered and products continue to meet customer, legislative and business requirements. The role acts as the product authority for its domain, driving prioritisation, customer engagement and product direction.

The role will also provide leadership across the assigned product domain, with responsibility for the management, development and performance of Product Managers and Associate Product Managers. The role will foster a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration and product excellence.

The Lead Product Manager will have the following principal objectives:

• To define, maintain and deliver product roadmaps for the assigned domain, aligned to the Government product strategy.
• To ensure products meet customer, legislative and business requirements.
• To maintain strong engagement with customers and stakeholders to inform product direction.
• To lead product prioritisation activities across the assigned domain.
• To support sales and marketing activity through product expertise and market knowledge.
• To support innovation initiatives, including digital transformation and AI opportunities.
• To develop product management capability and best practice within their product domain.

The role will also be responsible for:

• Developing and maintaining product roadmaps, including features, priorities and delivery timelines for the assigned product domain.
• Supporting the ongoing refinement of product plans in line with customer feedback, legislative change and business needs.
• Maintaining an understanding of the market, including competitor offerings, emerging trends and customer challenges.
• Engaging with customers, user groups and stakeholders to gather feedback and requirements to inform product improvements.
• Acting as the product lead and subject matter expert for the assigned domain.
• Working closely with the Head of Product to ensure domain priorities remain aligned to the wider Government product strategy.
• Supporting Local Government Reorganisation opportunities through product alignment and customer engagement where applicable.
• Working closely with Business Analysis, Development, Test and Delivery teams throughout the product lifecycle to ensure requirements are understood, solutions are fit for purpose and roadmap commitments are delivered successfully.
• Collaborating with Delivery to ensure product priorities are aligned to delivery capacity, technical strategy and release planning.
• Supporting prioritisation of development activity in line with agreed roadmaps and business priorities.
• Defining release content in collaboration with delivery teams, balancing customer demand, legislative requirements and technical considerations.
• Monitoring progress of product development and supporting resolution of issues where required.
• Contributing to the identification of new product and service opportunities within the assigned domain.
• Supporting innovation initiatives, including the adoption of emerging technologies such as AI.
• Ensuring customer and market requirements are clearly articulated and understood by delivery teams.
• Supporting Sales teams in identifying and progressing opportunities involving products within the assigned domain.
• Contributing to bid activity, demonstrations and solution design where required.
• Supporting the development and maintenance of product collateral and customer-facing communications.
• Ensuring alignment between product capability, customer expectations and delivery commitments.
• Acting as a key link between Product, Delivery, Consultancy and Sales teams.
• Representing NEC at customer meetings, user groups, conferences and industry events as required.
• Building effective working relationships with internal stakeholders and external customers.
• Line managing, developing and supporting Product Managers, Associate Product Managers and other product specialists within the assigned domain.
• Providing leadership, coaching and mentoring to develop product management capability, succession planning and career progression within the assigned domain.
• Promoting Product Management and User Centred Design best practice across the domain.
• Supporting the development of product capability and knowledge-sharing across the wider Product team.
• Maintaining awareness of relevant legislation, policy and sector changes that may impact the product domain.
• Providing regular updates on product progress, risks, opportunities and key activities to the Head of Product.

 

 

Qualifications

Essential Skills

• Strong experience in Product Management within a software, technology or Public Sector environment.
• Proven experience of defining, managing and delivering product roadmaps.
• Experience of working within Agile or Waterfall product development environments.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills across customers, delivery teams and business leadership.
• Experience of gathering, analysing and translating customer requirements into product outcomes.
• Experience of working closely with Business Analysis, Development, Test and Delivery teams throughout the product lifecycle.
• Strong understanding of customer needs, market drivers and product management best practice.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage effectively at all levels.
• Excellent presentation and facilitation skills.
• Ability to analyse complex business and technology challenges and translate them into practical solutions.
• Ability to manage competing priorities across multiple stakeholders and business objectives.

Desirable

Revenues & Benefits Domain

• Strong experience within Revenues and Benefits services, products or technology solutions.
• Understanding of Local Government legislation, policy and operational processes.
• Knowledge of Local Government Reorganisation and associated challenges.

Central Government Domain

• Strong experience within Central Government services, products or technology solutions.
• Understanding of Government Digital Service (GDS) standards and service design principles.
• Knowledge of relevant Central Government legislation and operational requirements.

General

• Experience of User Centred Design methodologies.
• Experience supporting bids, tenders and public sector procurement activities.
• Strong leadership, people management, coaching and mentoring skills.
• Experience managing and developing Product Managers or equivalent product professionals.
• Knowledge of digital transformation, automation and emerging technologies such as AI.
• Experience working with Local Authority or Central Government customers.

Additional

• Hybrid working with attendance at Bracknell and customer sites as required.
• Travel throughout the United Kingdom will be required to support customer and business requirements.

Additional Information

We pride ourselves in offering an excellent benefits package. When you join the team at NEC Software Solutions, you are provided with the following:

• 25 days paid holiday with the option to buy/sell (FTE)
• 4 x basic salary life assurance cover  (with the option to increase cover at an additional cost)
• A Group Pension Plan 
• A selection of flexible benefits to suit your individual needs 

OTHER INFORMATION

• Candidates must be able to demonstrate a pre-existing right to work and travel within the UK. Documentary evidence will be required.
• All offers are subject to satisfactory vetting, references and occupational health checks. 
• Depending on the nature of the role a Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check may also be required.

NEC Software Solutions is an equal opportunities employer, welcoming applications from all communities. If you require any reasonable adjustments or have specific accessibility needs during the recruitment or interview process, please feel free to share these with us. We are committed to ensuring an inclusive and accommodating experience for all candidates.

Who We Are:

We’re NEC Software Solutions (part of global tech giant NEC Corporation). While you read this ad, our software is helping to dispatch ambulances, support families, keep trains on the move, locate missing people and even test the hearing of newborn babies.

Working with us, you’ll be helping our 3,000+ employees push the boundaries of what’s possible and support amazing public services.

We work with governments, hospitals, police forces, housing providers, local authorities and more. We help them pay financial support faster, speed up treatments for patients and respond to emergencies in the right way. The more we do, the more our customers can do for others. And together, we make a world of difference.

We’d love your help. And we’ll support you all the way.