Associate Product Manager

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

GDS Local is a specialist unit within the Service Transformation Directorate, working at the point where central government platforms, local services and sector reform meet. We help councils and government partners create the conditions for better, more joined-up public services by unlocking usable data, accelerating adoption of common components, shaping a more open technology market and building stronger routes for collaboration.

Our work is focused on four connected objectives:

1. Creating a shared vision for local government technology, data and the market so councils can make better digital and procurement decisions
2. Unlocking usable, shareable data so councils and delivery partners can support people earlier, faster and more effectively
3. Making it easier to adopt common products and platforms such as GOV.UK App and One Login, while reducing the risk and cost of reuse
4. Building the conditions for collaboration across councils, sector bodies and central government so change can scale across the whole system

Our mission is ambitious and practical: to help make public services simpler, more responsive and more connected for local authority residents, especially those with complex needs. By improving how councils buy technology, share data, adopt trusted platforms and work with government, we are helping create easier lives for residents, better value for money across local government and greater public trust in digital services.

You will be accountable for product direction and outcomes for one or more pieces of the GDS Local portfolio. You will balance user needs, policy intent, operational realities in councils, and the constraints and opportunities of national platforms.

As an Associate Product Manager, you will:

• Own the product vision and roadmap for a defined area of GDS Local work, setting outcomes and measures of success
• Translate insight from research and sector engagement into clear product problems, hypotheses and priorities
• Lead backlog management, prioritisation and decision making, ensuring transparent trade offs
• Work closely with delivery, design, research, data and technical colleagues to deliver iteratively and learn quickly
• Coordinate with partners across GDS product teams and external stakeholders to align roadmaps, dependencies and communications
• Support effective governance: clear documentation, risks, options and recommendations for senior decision makers

Were interested in people who can demonstrate:

• advocating for a product-led approach, focused on problems and outcomes, explaining how user and business needs should be balanced to deliver value for users and government

• experience working in an agile multidisciplinary team supporting teams to improve ways of working by providing a clear, open and transparent framework in which teams can deliver

• building and managing relationships effectively with a range of stakeholders using evidence to explain decision-making and tailoring your communications and influences to reach a shared consensus

• experience advocating for users across your work, using qualitative and quantitative data and insight to improve product or service outcomes, whilst balancing policy goals and priorities

• applying product approaches in response to uncertainty, explaining the need for baseline data to support priority outcomes and the iterative and incremental delivery of value