Senior Product Manager

The opportunity to bring a pragmatic approach to product management for our clients in the public sector, education, and financial services – as part of a growing, award-winning consultancy. We value expertise and will invest in you and your profile. You will work with peers who are also experts, and have helped to shape the field of product management.

At a glance:

• Salary: £58,000‐£63,000.
• Location: Hybrid. You must be based in or able to regularly travel to one of the following locations: York, Newcastle, Sheffield, London, Bristol, Warrington, Worcester, or Crewe.
• On‐site expectations: Mainly remote, plus at least one day per week on‐site at client locations or Herd's Sheffield office. For people within travel distance of Sheffield, we encourage working from the Sheffield office once a week for team collaboration.
• Flexibility: We are looking for people who could work equally well as a Senior Business Analyst or Senior Delivery Manager if needed. Consultancy work is unpredictable and it really helps when folks can fulfil more than one specialism.

Herd Consulting is an equal opportunities employer.

How we practice product management at Herd (and how we interview):

We do not believe there is one "true" version of product management. We believe there is a mindset needed for good product management. In real organisations, product managers need to operate in different modes, depending on the problem in front of them. This role expects you to recognise those modes and move between them.

We have attached a copy of "How we practice product management at Herd" so you can check if this aligns with your approach to the role. We use this to shape our interview and will ask you to share a real example of how you have worked in each mode: Engineering‐centred product management, Value‐stream product management, Opportunity and vision‐led product management, and Transformational product management.

The interview is via video call and is an hour in length. We may ask follow‐up questions if we would like to learn more about the examples you have provided, and there will be time for you to ask us questions about the role, our clients, and Herd. Please let us know if you need any adaptations to make the interview accessible for you.

Requirements of the role:

• Demonstrable product management skills: You can show evidence of owning outcomes, making product decisions, prioritising based on value, and delivering iteratively – whether or not you have had "Product Manager" in your job title.
• Central or local government delivery: You have worked in the public sector and understand the context, constraints, and how to be effective within them.
• Meeting GOV.UK Service Standard or similar frameworks: First‐hand experience applying service design and digital delivery principles in practice.

• Experience working across multiple government departments or agencies.
• Familiarity with techniques like Opportunity Solution Trees, outcome‐based roadmapping, or continuous discovery.
• Background in Business Analysis, Delivery Management, or Service Ownership with a track record of product thinking.
• Data literacy – comfortable working with evidence and using it to inform decisions.

Right to work: You must have the right to work in the UK. Applicants without this will not be progressed. Herd Consulting does not currently offer sponsorship.

Security clearance: Due to the types of clients we work with, you may be expected to undergo security vetting up to and including Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV) levels. If you have any reason to believe that you may not pass such vetting, you must declare this as soon as possible, and this must be before any job offer is accepted.

Package and benefits:

• Salary: £58,000‐£63,000 (dependent upon experience).
• 25 days annual leave, in addition to Bank Holidays.
• An additional day off to celebrate your birthday.
• £1,000 annual personal development fund to spend as you wish.
• Employee perks programme – exclusive discounts & savings with 100s of retailers.
• Electric Vehicle (EV) salary sacrifice programme (available after you pass probation).
• 3 × Salary – Life assurance cover.
• 24/7 Virtual GP access.
• Dog‐friendly employer – bring your dog to the Herd office.
• Pet bereavement leave – we offer paid bereavement leave if you lose your cat or dog.
• Cycle to Work scheme.
• Discounts with retailers in Leah's Yard.
• Regular Herd socials (both virtual & physical) including lunches, beer tasting, award nights, crazy golf, and more.

We are also proud to be named one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work for two years running, 2024 and 2025.

Who is this great for?

Our Senior Product Managers help teams make great decisions in ambiguous conditions. You will help our clients radically focus on the best opportunities to achieve outcomes that actually matter for their users and the organisation itself.

As a Senior Product Manager you will be:

• Decisional in ambiguity: You assess what is in front of you, work out what matters, and make calls that move things forward – even without all the information.
• Outcome‐obsessed: Success is what changes for users and the organisation, not what gets shipped or how many story points you close.
• Experienced in government delivery: You have worked in central or local government, or NHS England – and are familiar with the GDS Service Standard. You understand the constraints, stakeholders, pace, and how to get things done anyway.
• Pragmatic, not dogmatic: You know frameworks and best practices but aren’t constrained by them. You adapt your approach to the context.
• Credible across disciplines: You hold your own in conversations with delivery, design, technology, business analysis, and leadership. You work across professional silos.
• A relationship builder: You create trust with clients and teams, building Herd's reputation as a partner who gets it and gets things done.
• Commercially aware: You understand what value for money looks like and make decisions accordingly.
• Self‐sufficient but collaborative: You run with work independently but know when to pull in the "Power of Herd" – sharing knowledge, seeking input, contributing to collective capability.
• Committed to continuous learning: You refine your craft, expand your toolkit, and stay curious about what works.
• Net gain to the team: You contribute to keeping Herd a great place to work – inclusive, supportive, focused on doing good work with good people.

Key elements of the role:

• You will own product delivery within projects, programmes, or transformation initiatives – sometimes as part of a Herd team, sometimes embedded solo in blended client teams.
• You will work across different delivery stages – from early discovery and problem framing through to delivery and continuous improvement.
• You will manage stakeholder relationships, balance competing priorities, and influence decisions at all levels. This means listening to our clients and their needs, and respecting their insights.
• You will assess each piece of work independently and determine the right approach – outcome‐based roadmapping, iterative delivery, or something else entirely.
• You may be placed on discrete pieces of work across different parts of a large organisation – each requiring you to quickly understand context, build relationships, deliver results.
• You will engage with wider professional communities, share experiences internally and externally, and contribute to building Herd's profile through blogs, events, or case studies.
• You will support business development – contributing to bids, tenders, pre‐sales, and Statements of Work.
• You will support the development of your colleagues in Herd, and may manage more junior colleagues when needed.

We are a small but growing scale‐up. We are looking for people who will embrace that and get stuck in where needed.