At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead product vision for BioFAIR, ensuring seamless data journeys for researchers.
- Company: Join a pioneering team at the forefront of life science research.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible hours, and a commitment to diversity and inclusion.
- Other info: Mentorship opportunities and a collaborative environment await you.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in the life sciences community while shaping innovative digital services.
- Qualifications: Experience in product ownership or user experience design is essential.
The predicted salary is between 71000 - 90000 £ per year.
The Lead Product Owner (LPO) is the primary advocate for the UK life science research community across the BioFAIR Commons network. This senior role ensures that the BioFAIR Technical Platform (BTP) is deeply intuitive and aligned with real-world research data journeys, enabling researchers to move seamlessly from “assay to insight”. Operating from the BioFAIR Hub at the centre of the programme, the LPO works in close partnership with the Lead Architect and the Senior Technical Project Manager. They provide expert product leadership across five spokes – the Methods Commons, the Data Commons, the People Commons, the Knowledge Hub, and the Portal – empowering the teams within these spokes to create a coherent national infrastructure built around the needs of researchers and research technical professionals.
The ideal person for this role combines deep user empathy with confident product judgement. They are an expert facilitator of collaborative discovery, comfortable in ambiguous, multi‑stakeholder settings, and able to translate complex research needs into a clear, prioritised product vision. They recognise that, in collaborative projects, product work is socio‑technical: the team structures and the services they deliver are two sides of the same coin. Adaptable and community‑minded, they mentor others generously and build a shared sense of direction across a distributed, federated environment.
Key Relationships
- Distributed Consortium Partners: Provides product leadership, builds a shared vision, and aligns priorities across partner institutions, pathfinder projects, fellows and spokes.
- Lead Architect & Senior Technical Project Manager: Works in close partnership at the BioFAIR Hub to align product vision, architecture, and delivery.
- Spoke Teams (Data, Methods & People Commons, Knowledge Hub, Portal): Mentors and supports teams to define value streams aligned to the BioCommons mission.
- Life‑Science Research Community: Leads discovery and feedback engagements with researchers and research technical professionals as the end users of BioFAIR services.
- Stakeholders (Technical and Non‑Technical): Communicates complex user needs and product concepts with clarity to diverse audiences.
Key Responsibilities
- Assay to Insight Product Vision & Strategy: Lead the creation of research‑ready data products, ensuring the entire lifecycle – from data generation through computational analysis to data sharing – is supported by services with maximum usability. Collaborate closely with the Lead Architect on socio‑technical design, defining service boundaries and team interaction patterns that support the fluid movement of research data, and advocating for changes to existing services that align with the overall product vision. Translate the “assay to insight” concept into a tangible, prioritised product roadmap.
- User‑Centred Discovery & Design: Take a central role in defining user journeys, data journeys, and story maps, using collaborative discovery techniques to visualise how researchers interact with the platform and where value is created. Lead deep‑drive engagements with the life‑sciences community to uncover hidden needs, favouring rapid prototyping and feedback over heavy documentation. Establish continuous feedback loops to validate that the BTP is successfully reducing demands on researchers and improving the efficiency of research in the UK.
- Distributed Leadership & Mentorship: Support and mentor the teams within the spokes to define their specific value streams and align them with the overall BioCommons mission. Act as an Agile/Lean coach for teams across partner institutions, helping them prioritise backlogs for community impact rather than just technical completion.
- Value Stream Integration & Community Engagement: Ensure individual services and tools fit together into a seamless experience for researchers and research technical professionals, regardless of which spoke delivers them. Represent BioFAIR product priorities within the UK and international research communities, driving alignment with community practice.
Education & Qualifications
- Degree in a relevant discipline, or equivalent professional experience (Essential).
Specialist Knowledge & Skills
- Understanding of the FAIR Principles and their application to the life sciences, and familiarity with the research data lifecycle and life science data management (Essential).
- Expert‑level ability to facilitate collaborative mapping exercises (e.g., user journeys, data journeys, story maps) to define complex digital workflows (Essential).
- Strong design‑thinking skills: using design‑led, iterative approaches to solve complex problems in ambiguous, multi‑stakeholder settings (Essential).
- Socio‑technical awareness – understanding of how organisational structures and technical service boundaries interact to influence product success (Essential).
- User research and empathy – a rich understanding of the unique motivations and pain points of researchers interacting with complex data at scale (Essential).
- Platform literacy – understanding of how users interact with data and computational tools (Essential).
- Experience identifying and optimising value flow (value‑stream mapping) in a distributed organisation (Desirable).
- Experience using low‑fidelity prototypes to validate assumptions and gather feedback (Desirable).
- Significant experience in Product Ownership or User Experience Design within Agile/Lean frameworks, with a track record of delivering user‑facing digital services (Essential).
- Experience driving a shared product vision across multiple teams, spokes, or partner institutions (Essential).
- Experience leading discovery sessions with specialist users to uncover needs and shape services (Essential).
- Experience in the life sciences or research‑computing contexts (Essential).
Management and Leadership
- Commitment to inclusive, community‑centric leadership that prioritises open communication and consensus building (Essential).
- Proven skill in navigating complex, multi‑stakeholder environments to reach decisive outcomes (Essential).
- Ability to operate with autonomy and provide clarity in ambiguous, distributed settings (Essential).
- Ability to coach and mentor distributed teams in product ownership and user‑centricity (Desirable).
Interpersonal & Communication Skills
- Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex user needs and “assay to insight” concepts with clarity to both technical developers and non‑technical stakeholders (Essential).
- Collaborative, consensus‑building approach to problem solving (Desirable).
Additional Requirements
- Attention to detail (Essential).
- Able to present a positive image of self, BioFAIR and the Earlham Institute (Essential).
- Promotes equality and values diversity (Essential).
- Commitment to the BioFAIR culture of openness, technical excellence, collaboration and diversity (Essential).
- Able to spend an average of one day a week at the Earlham Institute (Essential).
Benefits
- Salary: £71,000 – £90,000 per annum (depending on qualifications and experience).
- Contract: Full‑time up to 30 June 2029. Part‑time applications welcomed.
Disability and Equal Opportunities
As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to offer an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for this vacancy. Applications accepted until 5 July 2026.
Lead Product Owner (BioFAIR) in Norwich employer: The Earlham Institute
At BioFAIR, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that champions the life science research community through innovative product leadership and a collaborative work culture. Our commitment to employee growth is evident in our mentorship opportunities and flexible working arrangements, allowing you to thrive in a supportive environment while contributing to meaningful projects that enhance research efficiency. Located at the Earlham Institute, you will be part of a vibrant hub that values diversity, technical excellence, and open communication, making it an ideal place for passionate professionals seeking to make a real impact.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Lead Product Owner (BioFAIR) in Norwich
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We think you need these skills to ace Lead Product Owner (BioFAIR) in Norwich
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Off Your Product Passion:When applying for a product management role like Lead Product Owner (BioFAIR), let your passion for developing products shine through in your cover letter. Share specific examples of products you've managed, how you solved user needs, and any successful outcomes you've achieved. This is your chance to showcase your understanding of the product lifecycle!
Highlight Your Cross-Functional Skills:Product management isn't just about understanding the product; it’s about collaborating with different teams! Make sure to emphasise your experience working with developers, designers, and marketers. Use your CV to showcase your ability to bridge gaps between these areas, and include relevant experiences that demonstrate your communication and leadership skills!
Include Your Metrics and Achievements:In a full-time product management application, data speaks volumes! Quantify your achievements wherever possible. Did you increase user retention by a certain percentage? Launch a product ahead of schedule? Include these metrics in your CV to paint a picture of your impact and effectiveness in previous roles.
Tailor Your CV to the Role:Make sure your CV is tailored for the Lead Product Owner (BioFAIR) position at The Earlham Institute. Use keywords from the job description and ensure your relevant experiences are front and centre. Highlight any certifications or relevant training you’ve completed that will make you stand out as a strong candidate for the role. And remember, we’re excited to see your application on our website!
How to prepare for a job interview at The Earlham Institute
✨Understand the Product Life Cycle
As a product management candidate, we need to get our head around the complete product life cycle. Be prepared to discuss real-world examples of how you’ve managed product development from ideation to launch. Bring specific insights on tools like JIRA or Trello that can help streamline these processes.
✨Showcase Your Cross-Functional Skills
Product management is all about collaboration. We should be ready to highlight how we’ve worked across teams—think marketing, engineering, and design. Prepare to discuss scenarios where you had to mediate differing opinions and how you got everyone on board with a shared vision.
✨Prepare for Case Studies
In a full-time role, we can expect to encounter case study questions during our interviews. Practise solving hypothetical product problems on the spot, such as prioritising features for a new app or improving user engagement metrics. This will show our analytical thinking and decision-making skills.
✨Know Your Metrics
Let’s face it, numbers are our best friends in product management. We should prepare to discuss key performance indicators (KPIs) and how we've used analytics to inform product decisions. Dive into examples where data has driven our strategy for improvements or justified product changes.
