JOB SUMMARY

The Public Sector Reform Test, Learn and Grow (PSR TL&G) team is at the heart of the UK government’s initiative to drive innovation and reform in public service delivery. With the £100 million PSR Innovation Fund, our team collaborates with local authorities and government departments across the United Kingdom and with the Devolved Governments to design, test, and grow innovative solutions that enhance public service outcomes. By employing a “Test & Learn” approach, we focus on creating evidence-based improvements while relieving pressures on public services. Our work involves piloting foundational programmes and place-based initiatives to accelerate mission delivery, support preventative measures, and foster a collaborative environment that encourages continuous improvement and innovation in public services.
A secondment with HMG offers a unique opportunity to work temporarily within the Civil Service, where you will remain an employee of your current organisation. This opportunity will allow you to develop some unique skills, but bring in specific knowledge and expertise, and work on projects that aim to deliver better public services for UK citizens. It is an immersive experience, providing you with new perspectives and the chance to contribute to significant and meaningful work. If you have confirmed with your employer that you are eligible for a secondment you’ll be presented with a question in relation to this on your application form.

JOB DESCRIPTION

As a product and strategy lead, you’ll manage the day to day running of a “Pioneer”—a place-based project with public sector partners to prototype solutions and policies aligned to government missions. You’ll lead the team with core responsibilities of stakeholder management, delivery planning, determining the right approaches for the team to take and supporting innovative ways of working to deliver the right outcomes. You’ll help the team work to timelines to deliver what’s been agreed with local partners and stay connected to related work streams across central government and the wider public sector.
This role is mapped to the Product Manager role in the Government Digital and Data framework. We’re looking for someone who can bring digital and data product skills to a policy environment and is excited about working on the ground alongside place-based partners.
This role will require travel within the UK to work closely with local partners.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

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

• Agile and Lean Practices
• Creating value for money
• Product Leadership
• Product Management
• Stakeholder Relationship Management
• Strategic Ownership

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)
• 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

RESPONSIBILITIES

You will:
• lead a multidisciplinary Pioneer team to deliver solutions aligned with the scoping agreed with local partners, through test and learn cycles
• define, explain and iterate an evidence-based vision for solutions that are compelling to your team, stakeholders and end-users
• collaborate with team members to create prototypes or other cheap ways to test assumptions or approaches
• identify assumptions and risks behind possible approaches and include these in your planning
• lead on delivery planning for you team maintaining a roadmap and strategy, and develop and prioritise a backlog
• make decisions based on evidence and value for money
• use theories of change and evaluation to evidence the Pioneer as well as the wider programme goals
• share insight with the wider team and Head of Product and Strategy to ensure the programme strategy can adapt and have the best chance of success
• work in the open and share often