Delivery/Product Lead - AI & Digital Transformation

Overview

We are looking for an experienced Delivery/Product Lead to take ownership of the end-to-end delivery of a flagship AI-enabled digital product within a major Central Government programme.

This is a hands-on leadership role requiring someone who can take a product from its early stages through development, integration and go-live, ultimately transitioning it into a fully supported BAU service.

The successful candidate will need a strong understanding of Government Digital delivery, governance and approval processes, alongside experience leading multidisciplinary teams and delivering complex products or services at scale.

We are looking for someone pragmatic, enthusiastic and comfortable getting close to delivery, removing blockers and driving progress in a fast-moving and evolving environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end delivery of a flagship digital/AI product, from inception through to production rollout and BAU.
• Own and coordinate the technical and operational integration of the service.
• Ensure appropriate service management, support and operational wrappers are established ahead of go-live.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams across Product, Delivery, Engineering, UCD, Security and other specialist areas.
• Manage senior stakeholders and maintain clear, proactive communications throughout delivery.
• Provide regular and transparent progress reporting, identifying risks, dependencies and blockers before they impact delivery.
• Navigate Central Government governance, standards, assurance and approval processes.
• Support product and programme planning using appropriate Agile, Waterfall and programme delivery methodologies.
• Ensure security, ethical, legal and operational considerations are incorporated throughout the product life cycle.
• Champion a user-centred and research-led approach, while maintaining a pragmatic focus on delivering tangible outcomes.
• Lead planning and readiness activities for large-scale product/service go-live and transition into BAU.
• Help shape delivery approaches as the wider AI programme and its requirements continue to evolve.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Strong experience delivering large-scale digital products or services within Central Government.
• Excellent understanding of Government governance, assurance, standards and approval processes.
• Experience working with relevant Government frameworks and guidance, including the AI Playbook, Green Book, Teal Book or similar.
• Proven experience leading and supporting multidisciplinary digital delivery teams.
• Strong understanding of AI ethics, responsible AI and the legal/regulatory considerations surrounding AI-enabled services.
• Experience working across Agile, Waterfall and wider programme/project delivery methodologies.
• Good understanding of security considerations associated with digital services and emerging technologies.
• Strong experience working alongside User Research, User Experience and UCD teams, with evidence of delivering research-led services.
• Demonstrable experience taking a project, programme or product through large-scale go-live and operational transition.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, including working with senior stakeholders.
• Highly proactive approach to delivery, with the ability to anticipate issues, provide progress updates and maintain momentum without requiring close oversight.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguous environments where requirements and delivery approaches continue to evolve.

Desirable Skills & Experience

• Previous experience working within central government
• Experience delivering AI-enabled products or services into production.
• Experience with large-scale document processing, document management and/or document routing solutions.
• Broader understanding of the ethical, legal and operational implications of deploying AI within Government.
• Experience supporting the transition of new digital services into live operational environments.

The Environment

• This programme is developing a new AI-enabled capability, meaning the successful candidate will be joining at a stage where both the product and the wider delivery approach are continuing to take shape.
• We are therefore looking for someone who is adaptable, pragmatic and comfortable with ambiguity, while recognising the impact that introducing new technology and ways of working can have on colleagues and users.
• The ideal person will combine strong delivery discipline with genuine enthusiasm for building a high-quality product - someone who can bring people together, challenge constructively, remove obstacles and ultimately get the product safely and successfully into the hands of users.