Product Practice Manager

You will also play a key role in enabling HMRC’s Product Managers to succeed - keeping track of who is in the product management community, ensuring they have access to the right guidance, learning, tools and support - and in using evidence to track product management maturity and inform where interventions are needed.

Person specification

This role is central to HMRC’s ability to become truly product-led. By strengthening product management practice at scale, you will help product teams operate more effectively, take clearer ownership of strategy and outcomes, and consistently deliver better services for millions of users.

Key Responsibilities

Product Management Practice & Standards

• Work alongside the Head of Product Management to define, implement and continuously iterate HMRC’s product management practice, ensuring it supports effective, user-centred product delivery at scale.
• Maintain the register of who is in the product management community and ensure that product managers have access to community meetings, training resources and the tooling they might need.
• Shape and maintain guidance for setting up and optimising product teams, aligned to recognised best practice and HMRC’s operating context.
• Act as a thought leader for product management, advocating best practice across teams and professions.

Organisational Adoption & Decision-Shaping

• Influence how product management is done at organisational level, influencing Deputy Directors, Product Leads and other professional groups to adopt consistent and effective product management practices.
• Support the Head of Product Management in taking proposals through internal governance to embed product-led ways of working, including changes to process, policy or operating model where required.

Community & Capability Development

• Own the operation and effectiveness of the Product Management Community of Practice, including maintaining oversight of who is in the community and their access to tools, learning and support.
• Work with suppliers and internal partners to manage access to tooling, learning and development resources, maximising value from available budgets.
• Coach product teams and individual Product Managers on product management skills, including running workshops, community sessions and contributing to HMRC’s Product Management Academy and learning pathways.

Maturity, Insight & Continuous Improvement

• Define and track product management maturity measures across HMRC, using evidence to understand how teams are developing over time.
• Use insights to inform targeted interventions that help teams move towards greater autonomy, stronger strategic ownership and more effective product delivery.
• Establish feedback loops with product teams to ensure practice improvements remain relevant, practical and continuously improved.

Essential Criteria

The successful candidate will be able to clearly demonstrate evidence of the following:

• Experience operating at organisational or enterprise scale, shaping professional practice across multiple product teams rather than within a single team or product.
• In-depth understanding of Product Management, ideally supported by hands-on experience of leading product teams to deliver digital products and features.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and influence other product managers, including at senior levels, gaining sustained buy-in for the profession’s vision, standards and plans across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Proven experience managing relationships with senior stakeholders and peers across professions to align on shared goals, strategies and ways of working.
• Experience building, sustaining and energising a community of practice, fostering shared ownership, learning and continuous improvement.
• Strong planning and organisational capability, with experience coordinating activity, learning and resources at scale.
• Experience managing budgets and suppliers, ensuring maximum value from investments in tools, platforms and learning provision.