Senior Product Manager

Opencast | B Corp™; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

7% employer pension

Share options

Discretionary bonus

25 days’ holiday

Life happens days

wellbeing support

Job summary

Opencast is seeking a Product Manager to lead product strategy and delivery across government, healthcare and purpose-driven clients in the UK. You will balance user needs with business goals, working in agile, cross-functional teams from design to research.

You will run discovery workshops, define features and backlogs, and ensure delivery aligns with GOV.UK standards and client policies. Travel to client sites across the UK is expected.

Qualifications

• Recent government/public sector experience or experience delivering complex digital services meeting GOV.UK/GDS standards.
• Developed product visions, minimum viable products and roadmaps.
• Communicated objectives, plans and progress to stakeholders.
• Facilitated conversations to align diverse stakeholders.
• Experience working with cross-functional teams across design, development and research.
• Strong knowledge of software development with Agile and user-centred design.
• Must hold active Security Check (SC) clearance or be eligible/willing to undergo clearance.
• Experience with GOV.UK Service Standards and passing service standard assessments.

Responsibilities

• Lead product strategy and delivery, balancing user needs and business goals across sectors.
• Work with technical teams and stakeholders to develop solutions that deliver client goals.
• Define features, manage backlogs and prioritize work to meet client preferences.
• Deliver discovery and ideation workshops across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Ensure work complies with Opencast's quality, environmental and information security policies.

Skills

Product management

GDS standards

Agile

User-centred design

Stakeholder management

Team leadership

Tools

GOV.UK Service Standards

Job description

Ready to design products and services that make a difference?

Do you want to create products that make a meaningful impact? Are you ready to lead strategy and delivery on projects that reach large audiences?

If so, Opencast could be the place for you. We’re a growing tech consultancy that creates user-centred solutions with purpose for our clients in government, healthcare and purpose-driven businesses. As a Product Manager, you’ll lead product strategy and delivery, balancing user needs and business goals across sectors, to create services that are used by millions of UK citizens.

The role

You’ll work with technical teams and stakeholders to develop solutions that deliver our clients’ strategic goals. You'll work in agile teams alongside people in a range of roles spanning design, development, and research.

You’ll help deliver the vision, helping to decide the features that each product needs and manage backlogs to meet our client preferences. You'll deliver discovery and ideation workshops across diverse groups of stakeholders.

Ensure that work is carried out in accordance with Opencast's quality, environmental, and information security policies and procedures, as well as applicable customer policies, standards, and procedures while working on client.

Requirements

This role involves weekly on-site working. Applicants should be able to travel, as part of their daily commute, to client sites in one of the following locations: Newcastle, Leeds or Manchester.

We’re looking for people who value in-person collaboration, enjoy building strong relationships, and are passionate about delivering solutions that make a real difference for our clients.

Due to the nature of this role, you must either hold active Security Check (SC) clearance or be eligible and willing to undergo the clearance process.

SC clearance is granted in line with UK Government security vetting requirements. Typically, applicants must have UK citizenship and have lived continuously in the UK for at least the past five years, with no single absence exceeding 28 consecutive days. Nationality and immigration status may also be considered as part of the vetting process.

We are unable to progress applications from candidates who do not meet these requirements.

To succeed as a senior consultant product manager, you will need to demonstrate a breadth and depth of experience working in product management roles, on complex projects, across the full product lifecycle in different sectors.

You will have in-depth knowledge of software development, with experience in agile and user-centred design.

In your CV and the interview, you should show how you have:

• Recent government (public sector) experience and/or experience of delivering complex digital services that meet Government Digital Service (GDS) standards.
• Developed product visions, minimum viable products and roadmaps, understanding business problems and contexts
• Communicated objectives, plans and progress to a range of stakeholders
• Used boundary objects to synthesise many different perspectives
• Facilitated conversations to align large groups of diverse stakeholders
• Cultivated high performing, constructive and trusting team environments

With a significant proportion of our client base in the public sector, we are particularly interested in candidates with experience working in central or local government and/or the NHS.

Experience working to the GOV.UK Service Standards, including passing service standard assessments at different stages, is a key requirement. If you have this experience, please demonstrate this on your CV to discuss at interview.

Essential consulting skills

In addition to business analysis skills, there are essential core skills you’ll need to be an Opencast consultant. You’ll need to demonstrate how you:

• Contribute to improving ways of working and driving continuous improvements within your teams.
• Share knowledge and best practice with fellow product managers and other disciplines, including proactively engaging in client and Opencast communities of practice.
• Positively challenge decisions or solutions you don’t agree with, striving for the best client outcomes.
• Create lasting value in the projects you work on, ensuring a user-centric, sustainable approach.
• Engage with Opencast in a meaningful way, supporting the growth of your practice and wider capability.
• Support Opencast's growth plans, by providing case studies and updates into the relevant forums of your project work.

What we offer

A competitive package including a 7% employer pension contribution, share options, and a discretionary bonus. You’ll also benefit from 25 days’ holiday and access to 3 annual \"life happens\" days to support unexpected situations. We provide wellbeing support, ongoing professional development, volunteering opportunities, and the chance to be part of a genuinely supportive team.

Where you’ll work

This role requires regular on-site attendance at our HQ, hub offices, and client sites, as well as the ability to work from home. Applicants must be able to travel to offices and client sites across the UK as part of their normal working arrangements, as travel is essential for fulfilling the responsibilities of the role.

We include you

We welcome candidates from all identities, attributes, ways of thinking and backgrounds to thrive in a career at Opencast. Our aim is for the diversity of our people to be reflected in the solutions we deliver, to help create a fairer society for all.

Interview

Interviews will be conducted via Microsoft Teams. We’re happy to make adjustments to support your needs.

Want to know more?

Visit our website or email [e-mail]