Director of Product

The Director of Product will lead the vision, strategy, and execution of Digital Catapult’s product portfolio, have overall responsibility for the line of business ownership and product development, for all Digital Catapults products and services and their P&L.  

The Director of Product will play a critical role in shaping the organisation’s product roadmap, ensuring alignment with market needs, emerging technologies, and organisational goals. The Director of Product will also drive cross-functional collaboration to deliver impactful products and services that meet the needs of diverse stakeholders, including startups, corporates, researchers, and government bodies. 

Leading a team of product experts, you will work closely and collaboratively across the business, and particularly with our technology, research and development, finance, and commercial teams. 

WHAT YOU’LL DO (Duties) 

• Strategic Leadership – Define and Lead product strategy and roadmap, aligning with company goals. Monitor emerging digital technologies and market trends to identify new product opportunities and maintain a competitive edge. Act as a Subject Matter Expert, contributing to the go-to-market strategy and product/market match to develop a roadmap and fuel commercial revenue growth. 

• Product Development – Leads, plans and tracks all phases of the product lifecycle, collaborating closely with the Director / Head of Product Innovation, from inception to market launch. Evaluate new product ideas for customer impact, revenue growth, and market share. Ensure products meet usability, scalability, and security high standards, while addressing stakeholder needs. Partner with the R&D Team to guide product design and development. 

• Stakeholder Engagement – Act as the primary advocate for Digital Catapult's commercial products with internal teams, external stakeholders, and industry partners. Define product specifications to ensure successful product development and implementation and collaborate with Software Practice, Product Innovation, Technology, alongside Business Development teams to establish the product roadmap. Present regularly to SLT and Board and participate in business and strategy planning. Build strong relationships with startups, corporates, and government bodies to drive product relevance and uptake. Represent Digital Catapult at industry events and in media as a thought leader in advanced digital technologies. 

• Team Leadership – Build and lead a high-performing product management team, fostering cross-department collaboration. Cultivate an inclusive, innovative culture, encouraging experimentation and rapid iteration through Scrum practices like sprint planning, stand-ups, reviews, and retrospectives. 

• Performance & Analytics – Define and track KPIs / product scorecards to measure product success and impact. Use data insights and approach to inform product decisions, establish product profitability, pricing of products, resource allocation, and customer satisfaction. Regularly report to SLT on product performance, market positioning, and strategic alignment. 

• Proven track record of product development, ideally within technology or innovation consultancy.  Managing and developing products or services throughout their full lifecycle, from inception through growth, maturity, and decline, to retirement. 

• Experience of setting up or maturing a Product function and establishing key product lifecycle practices including requirement definition and management, lifecycle management, user experience approaches, designing concepts and prototypes and system/ product validation is desirable. 

• Deep understanding of emerging technologies, digital innovation trends and their impact on various industries with experience of managing complex product portfolios and bringing innovative products to market. 

• Strategy & Planning – Ability to creating and maintain organisational level strategies to align overall business plans, actions and resources with high-level business goals. 

• Exceptional Stakeholder Management, interpersonal and communication skills. Experience working within innovation ecosystems, startups, corporates, government bodies academia or public sector organisations being highly desirable. 

• Demonstrated ability to lead and inspire others, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration and excellence in delivery of new or updated products and services. 

• Strong financial acumen and demonstrable experience of strategic product management; managing within budgets and driving product profitability and measuring success is also desirable. 

Deadline for Applications: 24th January 2025 

Commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We recognise and value the advantages and opportunities that come with having people from diverse backgrounds working with us and it is our ambition to build an organisation which is representative and reflective of UK society. We are part of the Catapult network and we are actively committed to our Inclusivity in Innovation Charter, about which you can find out more here.

We welcome applications from neurodivergent candidates, candidates from minority and underrepresented groups and from candidates with more or less experience, provided the requisite skills can be demonstrated.

As members of the Disability Confident Scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy. Please do speak with us about adjustments that could support you through our interview process.

Digital Catapult is an equal opportunities employer.

• We are in the UK’s Top 100 Best Workplaces and placed in the UK’s Best Workplaces in Tech and Large Organisations.
• Digital Catapult is a Disability Confident Committed Level 1 Employer.
• Excellent holiday package: 25 days annual leave, Bank Holidays and 3 days between Christmas and New Year:
• Double-matched pension up to 10% of your salary;
• 4% of your salary to use towards selecting benefits that work for you, including health cash plan, Private Medical Insurance; buying holiday, topping up your pension;
• E-Vehicle Scheme; Cycle2Work; Tech Scheme; Gym Discounts; Give As you Earn; PerkPal;
• Life insurance 4x salary;
• Free to access EAP & Financial Wellbeing advice;
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave;
• Hybrid working - with great offices to work from 2 days per week with some roles needing to be onsite more regularly to ensure the successful delivery of our work;
• Investment in your ongoing learning and development with us;
• Company social events throughout the year and free office snacks!

We have a vibrant and engaging culture where all voices are heard and a variety of employee led affinity groups who champion initiatives and provide opportunities for feedback to be shared.

We use moments in the year to educate everyone at Digital Catapult on different aspects of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and to raise awareness.

We also enjoy socialising and having fun together through a variety of company-wide events held throughout the year including our football team, running and climbing groups and volunteering activities.