Product Lead

Job Introduction

Royal Greenwich is a vibrant borough, with a rich history and diverse community. We’re proud of the work we do to serve our residents.

We have a vision of a happier, healthier, and more connected borough. To achieve this, we’re investing heavily in our digital services. We published our first ever digital strategy in 2020 and we’ll be refreshing it in 2026 to set out our renewed ambitions over the next few years.

It’s an exciting time to join us. We’re searching for people-focused digital, data and technology experts to join our team. We’re focused on improving services for our residents and enabling staff to work more efficiently. There’s plenty of opportunity for you to have your say and help shape our work.

Read our blog to find out more about who we are and what we're working on.

We’re building a team where everyone feels safe to be who they are. We value empathy, open mindedness, and a real passion for our mission.

What You’ll Do

As part our Product team in Digital, Customer Services and Operations, you’ll lead our product management and business analysis communities, and be responsible for a portfolio of products that deliver end-to-end services for residents and staff. Our current work streams include:

• providing digital channels foraccessing Adult Social Care
• building a platform to develop new transactions for residents and staff
• iterating our new LocalGov Drupal website to better meet user needs
• helping residents manage their Council Tax payments online
• designing better ways for residents to apply for certain benefits
• running experiments with AI to enable staff to work more efficiently

You’ll work closely with other council teams who want to improve their services, exploring their needs, prioritising competing asks and balancing them with business and technical constraints, to scope meaningful engagements for your team.

You’ll lead our work on impact modelling, outcome measurement and business cases, ensuring that all our product and technology decisions have a strong financial and benefits case behind them.

You’ll oversee a portfolio of products, across the whole lifecycle, and be responsible for effective governance of this work. You’ll be at home building and customising open-source products, as well as procuring technology and working with suppliers to get the best out of their products. As part of your role, you’ll play a key role in the leadership team within Product and Delivery, informing strategy and supporting teams to do their best work. 

You’ll remain a ‘hands on’ product manager for part of that portfolio, where you confidently lead your team in setting a vision and fulfilling it, solving our users’ problems with products we can be proud of.

You’ll report to the Head of Product. You’ll be responsible for the success and continuing development of our Product Management and Business Analysis communities of practice, including line managing and recruiting Senior Product Managers and Senior Business Analysts. You’ll also work closely with other disciplines to develop product practices and codify ways of working in our growing team.

Who You Are 

You’ll have experience of delivering and iterating digital products, and working with technology suppliers to solve problems for users. You’ll have strong product sense, with the ability to judge the value and priority of opportunities, and communicate this clearly to others. You'll have experience of leading multidisciplinary teams in complex domains. You’ll have an aptitude for coaching product managers and business analysts, and will be a curious and impact-driven person, whose focus is always on the user.

You’ll be a leader who listens to and values the opinions of others. You’ll work well with people from different disciplines in your team and colleagues from across the council, to create the conditions for the best decisions to be made. You’ll be able to communicate the value and process of digital transformation to others, and negotiate effectively. You'll also be curious about technology, including AI, and not afraid to try new things.

You’ll have in-depth experience of different product management, process analysis and impact modelling techniques, frameworks and principles. You’ll know how to adapt these for the context you’re working in. You’ll be pragmatic about how to lead digital transformation initiatives and willing to change your approach depending on the needs of the people and service you’re working with.

You’ll be passionate about developing your skills and supporting others in the team.

You should be

We are looking for people who share our values and principles:

• We put people first
• We are practical optimists
• We value being a team more than being the star
• We are open
• We learn by experimenting
• We are motivated by purpose

These values were produced by the Product Team, and they are incredibly important to us, as is building an environment that promotes knowledge, empathy, equality, and skill sharing. 

What we offer 

• 28 days annual leave, rising to 31 days after five years continuous local government service
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements, 1 day in office in per week 
• Mental health support, including an external counselling service
• Pension scheme 
• Long service awards 
• Learning and development opportunities, including a thriving community of practice, mentoring and training 
• Staff networks for mental health, LGBTQ+ support, racial equality and more 
• Vouchers for free eye tests 
• Annual season ticket loans  
• Childcare voucher scheme  
• Reduced-rate gym membership  
• Cycle to work scheme , including indoor cycle storage and showers 
• Greenwich One Card which entitles you to discounts at local businesses 

Apply for this role 

To apply for this role you must: 

• upload a CV
• complete the statement of suitability

A good statement of suitability will help us know why you’re right for this role. Use it to talk about work that you’re proud of, your values and your expectations of your next career move. 

Hiring process   

Step 1 – Complete the application form and upload your CV.  

Step 2 – If we invite you to an interview, we will:  

• Send your interview task in advance 
• Check with you if you need any further accommodations for the interview.  

Step 3 – Attend the panel interview. This will usually be a 1-hour video call with up to 3 people like the hiring manager and other team members you would work with.  

The panel assess interviews based on questions about your skills and experience, as well as a task which will be shared in advance. The questions will give you an opportunity to show how you meet the essential criteria of the job description. At the end you’ll have the opportunity to ask the panel questions in return.  

Talk to us or ask any questions 

If you’d like an informal chat about the role, you can email Lingjing Yin (lingjing.yin@royalgreenwich.gov.uk) 

If you require any assistance in viewing or accessing this opportunity, please contact recruitment@royalgreenwich.gov.uk or call 020-8921-8977 

Diversity Statement: Royal Borough of Greenwich values the diversity of its community and aims to have a workforce that reflects this. We therefore encourage applications from all sections of the community.

Advert Close: All vacancies close at midnight unless otherwise stated. 

Early Advert Close: Royal Borough of Greenwich reserves the right to close any job advert earlier than the advertised closing date where there is reason to do so (for example high volume of applications).

How Applications are Scored: Each application is scored according to how well the supporting statements addresses each point on the Person Specification for the role. Candidates will be short-listed for interview on the extent to which they meet the specific points within the Person Specification. The Person Specification is supplied with the job advert. When completing your application, please use the supporting statements section to tell us how you meet each of the points on the Person Specification. We need to have this information in order to consider your application.

Salary: Salaries advertised are for a standard working week of 35 hours unless otherwise stated. Please use this 'Salary Calculator to help you calculate a pro rata salary.

Our Staff Values: Our Staff Values are important to us. Candidates will be continuously assessed against our staff values throughout the recruitment process. Where candidates demonstrate views and behaviou