Product Manager

GCHQ; Cheltenham; Hybrid; GBP 56,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Performance recognition scheme

Season ticket loan

Cycle to work

Gym facilities

Restaurant and on-site coffee bars

Parental/adoption leave

Job summary

GCHQ is seeking an experienced Product Manager to own multiple technology and infrastructure products, guiding them from planning through implementation and retirement. You’ll work with customers, stakeholders and delivery teams to shape priorities, manage roadmaps and ensure products evolve to meet user needs.

Strong data and agile thinking are essential for decision making. You’ll join an established PM practice that values collaboration, continuous improvement and open sharing of ideas, while

Qualifications

• Experience working in a Product Management role and delivering outcomes.
• Strong understanding of roadmaps, backlogs and product lifecycles.
• Ability to use data, user insight and evidence to prioritise effectively.
• Proven capability to influence product direction and balance priorities in Agile/Lean environments.

Responsibilities

• Own products throughout their lifecycle, from planning to retirement.
• Collaborate with customers, stakeholders and delivery teams to align priorities.
• Refine roadmaps and backlogs and contribute to planning cycles.
• Coordinate work across multiple teams to maximise value and deliver outcomes.

Skills

Product management

Agile

Lean

Roadmaps

Backlogs

Stakeholder management

Data-driven decision making

Job description

At GCHQ, we unlock the complex world of data and communications to help keep the UK and its citizens safe, both online and in the real world. Working closely with our British Intelligence partners in MI5 and MI6, we protect the UK from threats including serious organised crime, terrorism, and cyber-attacks. A role at GCHQ offers varied and fascinating work in a supportive environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork.

The role

As a Product Manager, you’ll be the day-to-day owner of multiple technology and infrastructure products that underpin critical organisational services. Working with customers, stakeholders and delivery teams, you’ll guide products through their full lifecycle, from early planning and development through to implementation, improvement and eventual retirement.

Working closely with people across the organisation, you’ll build relationships, understand different perspectives and work towards shared goals. Sometimes that might mean helping customers understand why one piece of work needs to take priority over another. It could also involve negotiating dependencies between teams or using data and evidence to support difficult decisions. Whatever the situation, you’ll help ensure resources are focused where they can deliver the greatest value.

Product performance data will form an important part of your decision-making, alongside maintaining roadmaps, refining backlogs and contributing to planning cycles. Whether you’re speaking to customers about their priorities or coordinating work across multiple teams, you’ll help ensure critical products continue to meet user needs and evolve over time.

This role sits within an established and expanding Product Management function, where new ideas and different perspectives are welcomed. As part of a growing community of Product Managers, you’ll be encouraged to share ideas, challenge assumptions and contribute to the ongoing evolution of product practices and ways of working.

Salary: £55,758 in Cheltenham or £62,008 in London (we are recruiting across both locations).

Flexible working

We support a range of flexible working arrangements, including part-time working, compressed hours, job share, and flexible start and finish times. Home working is available subject to business need. To find out more about our flexible working options, please visit the work-life balance page of our website.

About you

Experience working in a Product Management role, or a related position that has provided significant product management expertise, is essential. You could be an established Product Manager or Product Owner, or perhaps a Business Analyst or Project Manager with experience working in a product environment. A technology or infrastructure background may be beneficial, but what matters most is experience of shaping priorities, influencing product direction and delivering outcomes.

A solid understanding of core product management principles, including roadmaps, backlogs and product lifecycles is essential, along with the ability to work confidently in Agile and Lean environments. Just as importantly, you’ll know how to use data, user insight and evidence to make informed decisions and prioritise effectively.

Strong relationship-building skills will help you work effectively with a wide range of stakeholders. You’ll be comfortable balancing competing priorities and having constructive conversations where expectations, resources and timescales aren’t aligned. You’ll also bring curiosity and a desire to improve the way things are done, alongside an openness to new approaches that could lead to better outcomes.

Training and development

From day one, you’ll receive a structured induction to help you get to know the products, teams, stakeholders and ways of working relevant to your role. An assigned buddy will help you settle in, make connections and ensure you understand our processes.

You’ll join an established product management community with plenty of opportunities to learn from experienced colleagues, share ideas and build your professional network. Through regular community events, Product Managers from across the organisation come together to share experiences, discuss challenges and explore different approaches.

As your career develops, you'll have access to product management development pathways, Agile and Lean training, professional certifications and wider leadership development opportunities.

Whether you're looking to deepen your product management expertise, broaden your skills or prepare for your next role, we’ll encourage you to pursue learning opportunities that align with your goals and interests.

Rewards and benefits

You’ll receive a starting salary of £55,758 (Cheltenham) or £62,008 (London), plus a range of benefits, including:

• 25 days’ annual leave rising automatically to 30 days after five years' service, plus an additional 10.5 days of public and privilege holidays
• opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
• an interest-free season ticket loan
• a cycle to work scheme
• facilities such as a subsidised gym, restaurant and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
• paid parental and adoption leave

Equal opportunities

At GCHQ, diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word, encompassing different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking, and people with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, particularly those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce including women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities, and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Find out more about our culture, working environment and approach to diversity and inclusion on our website.