Application Information Pack
Digital Product Manager
Introduction to Girlguiding
Thank you for your interest in the role of Digital Product Manager. This document
provides information relating to the above vacancy and should be used for information
purposes only. The information does not form part of the terms and conditions of
employment.

Girlguiding is the leading charity for girls and young women in the UK.
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Thanks to the dedication and support of 100,000 amazing volunteers, we are
active in every part of the UK, giving girls and young women a space where
they can be themselves, have fun, build brilliant friendships, gain valuable life
skills and make a positive difference to their lives and their communities.

We build girls’ confidence and raise their aspirations. We give them the chance
to discover their full potential and encourage them to be a powerful force for
good.

We are a registered charity with a Royal Charter and Bye Laws.

Our income comes from:

We have over 240 employees based throughout the UK: at our Headquarters in
central London, Trading Service in Cheshire, and Training and Activity Centres
in London, Hampshire, Sussex and Lancashire.

In 2013, Girlguiding had more than half a million members including both girls
and adults.
Membership Subscriptions
Trading Income
Fundraising
Investments
We are a member of WAGGGS (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl
Scouts); which operates in 145 countries and has 10 million members
Organisational chart
Chief Executive
Director of
Guiding Services
Deputy Chief
Executive
IT
Services
Finance
Human
Resources
Projects
Trading
Service
Executive
Directorate
Property
Management
SMT
Youth
Programmes
Quality &
Membership
Development
Director of
Communications & PR
Volunteer
Support
Digital
Communication
Fundraising
& Marketing
The role of Digital Product Manager
Girlguiding is recruiting a Product Manager, reporting to the Head of Digital
Communications, to work within our Communications & PR Directorate.
The Digital Product Manager will be required to lead both in-house and external
technical teams in an Agile and lean environment to rapidly develop Minimum Viable
Products for further testing and refinement with our users as well as creatively develop
product vision, articulate key features and functionality in line with our Digital Strategy
and strategic plan. He or she will also be required to manage a team of content and
development experts to research, develop and populate new digital products including
those within the main Girlguiding website along with work cross-organisationally to
deliver projects in partnership with other teams, and to responsibly and creatively
manage risk and find solutions to problems as they arise.
The post holder must have an excellent understanding of Agile and Lean environments,
web analytics and usability and user-experience online along with experience of large
scale web [from wed] redevelopments and CMS based websites. He or she must also
have excellent verbal and written communication skills as well as the ability to build
and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels.
Due to the nature of the work, occasional weekend working will be required,
occasionally at sites outside of London, for which time off in lieu will be given.
Applications
The closing date for applications is Monday 27 October 2014 at 9am. Please complete
the application form and equal opportunities monitoring form and return by email to
[email protected]. Alternatively, post to Human Resources, Girlguiding, 17–
19 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0PT.
Candidates will be shortlisted on the basis of the application form. Those who are
successful at this stage of the process will be invited to attend an interview.
Unfortunately we are unable to give feedback to those who are not shortlisted;
however, we will, if required, provide feedback to those who have attended an
interview.
Interviews
Interviews will be held in the week commencing 03 November 2014 at Girlguiding,
Egginton House, 25-28 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6LD
Please note that it is not Girlguiding’s policy to reimburse applicants in respect of travel
expenses to attend interviews.
Job Description
Basic job details
Job title: Digital Product Manager
Reports to: Head of Digital Communications
Department: Digital Communications
Directorate: Communications & PR
Overall purpose of job
To be responsible for the strategic direction of our platform and tools development,
creating a suite of high quality digital products for our key audiences - girls, volunteers,
parents and supporters.
To work with the Head of Digital Communications on managing and evolving our
development roadmap in-line with Girlguiding’s strategic plan, and in reference to our
Digital Strategy.
To manage a team of content and development experts to research, develop and
populate new digital products including those within the main Girlguiding website.
To manage our digital agency, and lead on user experience workshops with members and
external audiences so that their views form the basis of our digital developments.
To work cross-organisationally to deliver projects in partnership with other teams, and to
responsibly and creatively manage risk and find solutions to problems as they arise.
To act as a digital thought leader to carry the culture of Agile and lean development.
Main areas of responsibility
• To be responsible for the strategic direction of our digital developments across all
areas of Girlguiding’s work.
• To creatively develop product vision, articulate key features and functionality in line
with our Digital Strategy and strategic plan.
• To work to deliver Girlguiding’s goals – increase registrations through Join Us, advocacy
supporters, online donations, online shop transactions, etc.
• To lead on user experience research to gain a better understanding of the wants, needs
and concerns of girls and young women, volunteers, parents and other key groups
related to Girlguiding (in line with our audience personas), and ensure our members are
fully consulted.
• To manage our personas, so that we continue to develop an understanding of our
audiences.
• To lead both in-house and external technical teams in an Agile and lean environment to
rapidly develop Minimum Viable Products for further testing and refinement with our
users.
• To be responsible for our content strategy to ensure our content delivers best value for
our audience, and is managed within a clear workflow and governance structure in the
hub and spoke model.
• To ensure the content team maintain timely, regular and high-quality content
publication.
• To ensure our products are beautifully designed and on brand.
• To guarantee the accessibility of our products so they can be used easily by our diverse
membership across a range of devices.
• To manage large and complex projects successfully, including budget management, risk
and issue management, and innovative problem solving.
• To manage a continuous process of delivery - developing, launching and optimising new
products and functionality on a regular basis. This will include rigorous testing on all
completed developments.
• To ensure our digital products are well supported and robustly hosted.
• To oversee our digital analysis and testing, including A/B testing and complex goal set
up and management. To ensure we report and act on analysis, so our data is well used.
• To manage an internal team of skilled professionals responsible for content, app
development, training, analytics and first line support.
• To act as a digital thought leader, sharing best practice approaches for Agile and lean
development with staff and volunteers in Girlguiding, so our work is understood and
supported.
• To work closely with:
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Senior Managers and Managers to understand how Agile and lean
development can best support the delivery of products that relate to their
area of work
Trading team on our online shop platform
Projects and Programmes team to ensure our new Membership Systems
integrate with our digital products
Communications and PR leadership team to align our products and content
with our broader communications objectives
Design and Communications team on digital design for our products and
editorial input to long-form content
IT team to provide robust hosting solutions and support
Head of Digital Communications to manage our development roadmap
Knowledge and skills
• To have a thorough knowledge of digital strategy, and how to carry out product
development in a manner aligned to organisational goals.
• To have first rate project management skills within Agile methodology.
• To have excellent knowledge and experience of Agile and lean development best
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practice.
To have excellent knowledge of user experience and usability in the context of
responsive design.
To understand the tenets of co-creation and developing products in partnership
with users.
To have an in-depth understanding of content strategy and content management,
including content strategy for mobile.
To have knowledge of digital design best practice and a good eye for design.
To have excellent knowledge of web analytics packages such as Google/Universal
Analytics.
To have knowledge of online accessibility, including the Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines (WCAG), and experience of implementing these guidelines.
To have knowledge of data protection, safeguarding of young people online and
privacy.
To have knowledge of copyright as it relates to online publishing.
To have at least a basic understanding of coding languages, especially Ruby on
Rails, to support work with external developers and internal producers
To train and develop others on areas of digital best practice relating to analytics,
content strategy, accessibility and project management
To be committed to personal development and self-study on digital topics.
To have an understanding of Girlguiding’s work and desire to champion our brand
through digital developments.
Problem solving
• To evaluate complex and difficult situations and make decisions to resolve them while often
working independently.
• To lead internal and external project teams through large and complex projects, making
decisions on how best to mitigate risks and manage issues.
• To commit to testing different ways to resolve technical or content challenges, and proving
what works best through data.
• To anticipate potential problems ahead of time, and take measures to mitigate them where
possible.
• To undertake change management while implementing new ways of working, and to maintain
excellent relationships with staff and volunteers through this change.
• To be open-minded and creative about solutions to problems.
Innovation
• To lead, develop and implement strategic digital product development for Girlguiding.
• To suggest new ideas towards the inception and continued development of new digital
products.
• To test new ideas as Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) before taking them forward.
• To contribute to a spirit of innovation within Girlguiding.
• To use innovative approaches to keep our product development costs low, and use a
mix of open source and low cost tools to complement developments built from scratch.
• To maintain a broad knowledge of the digital landscape and act as a thought leader for
digital technologies within Girlguiding.
Planning & decision-making
• To work with the Head of Digital Communications on managing and evolving our
development roadmap, including co-ordinating digital requirements from multiple
teams and ensuring development is prioritised, timely and targeted.
• To develop and manage clear and robust project plans using appropriate Agile tools,
often involving a wide-range of stakeholders, audiences, channels, and risks.
• To lead on digital developments and co-ordinate resource in other teams.
• To develop clear processes and set up tools to ensuring we can measure the success of
all of our digital developments, and make decisions on future optimisation.
• To make frequent and significant decisions on digital product development
independently, and to know when issues need to be escalated to the Head of Digital
Communications and other senior managers.
Interpersonal skills
• To work very closely with a wide range of stakeholders and build strong relationships
based on mutual trust and respect across the charity. This includes both staff and
volunteers throughout the Countries and Regions.
• To communicate complex or challenging messages without jargon, effectively and
maturely.
• To show excellent judgment about the message, tone and content of Girlguiding’s
digital communications through our digital products.
• To deliver excellent digital content to a wide range of external audiences of all ages potential members, parents, non-volunteer supporters and stakeholders.
• To work sensitively with all members of Girlguiding through testing, research workshops
and stakeholder interviews to understand what they need from us online.
• To develop strong relationships with external agencies who will deliver digital
development for Girlguiding, and to do everything possible to include them as part of
the Girlguiding team and educate them in our aims and values.
People development and leading
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To line manage an internal team of skilled professionals responsible for content,
app development, training, analytics and first line support. This will include
regular supervisions and appraisals in-line with our HR policies.
To show strong leadership to wide range of senior stakeholders - to manage a new
way of working on digital for the charity.
To take the role of digital lead on relevant projects to deliver project and
organisational objectives and KPIs.
To project manage digital developments.
To work effectively with senior Country and Region staff and volunteers where
appropriate.
To show strong thought leadership within Girlguiding, including training and
development of other communications staff to improve their digital skillsets.
To manage resources from external agencies and freelancers.
To be committed to personal development and self-study on digital topics.
Monetary responsibility:
• To work with the Head of Digital Communications to manage a devolved portion of the
Digital Communications budget related to product development. To manage project
budgets with external suppliers.
Additional information
To undertake any other duties that may reasonably be required to fulfil the duties of
this post.
This job will involve some evening and weekend working to carry out testing and
workshops with users for which time off in lieu will be given
Person Specification
Criteria
Assessment
Essential or
Desirable
Excellent understanding of Agile and Lean development
A, I, T
Essential
Excellent understanding of usability and userexperience online.
A, I, T
Essential
Excellent experience of user research and usercentered design
A, I, T
Essential
Excellent ability to manage large complex digital
projects.
A, I, T
Essential
Excellent understanding of content strategy.
A, T
Essential
Building positive relationships with diverse stakeholders
A, I
Essential
Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
including presentation skills
A, I, T
Essential
Good eye for digital brand and design.
A, T
Essential
Ability to organise own time and workload, and
prioritise effectively.
A, I
Essential
Ability to work in a team.
A, I
Essential
Flexibility and willingness to take on challenges.
A, I
Essential
Ability to anticipate problems and provide solutions.
A, I
Essential
A, I, T
Essential
Experience with CMS-based websites.
A, I
Essential
Experience with Ruby on Rails.
A, I
Desirable
Experience of goal set up and reporting
A, I
Essential
Experience of managing project budgets.
A, I
Essential
Experience of line managing staff.
A, I
Essential
Experience of co-creation
A, I
Desirable
Experience of managing an commerce project
A, I
Desirable
Knowledge of a wide range of digital communication
channels, tools and devices
A, I
Essential
Knowledge of web analytics
A, I
Essential
Knowledge of change management
A, I
Essential
Knowledge of accessibility
A, I
Essential
Knowledge of data protection, safeguarding and privacy
A, I
Desirable
Skills
Experience
Experience of large-scale web redevelopments
Knowledge
Knowledge of ecommerce
A, I
Desirable
Values
A commitment to the quality of Girlguiding’s digital
presence.
A, I
Essential
A commitment to team working.
A, I
Essential
Understanding of working in an equal opportunities
environment.
A, I
Essential
A commitment to the aims of Girlguiding.
A, I
Essential
A = Application Form
I = Interview T = Test
Terms & Conditions
Contract Type
This post is a full-time permanent post.
Location
You will be based at Girlguiding, 17-19 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0PT.
However, this post may require a regular pattern of home working.
On occasions, you may be required to perform your duties, on a temporary or permanent
basis, from any other Girlguiding premises within a reasonable travelling distance of this
location. You may be required to travel inside the UK on business of the Organisation.
Salary/Rate
Your salary for the position is £37,332.00 per annum (including London Weighting).
Working Hours
Normal hours of work are Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm with one hour for lunch.
However, you may be required to work at times other than and in addition to your
normal hours of work.
Probationary Period
The post will be subject to a probationary period of 26 weeks.
Medical and Criminal Records Check
This post may involve substantial access to young people and it may be a requirement
under The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 that you submit
a criminal record disclosure check. Upon successful appointment, you will be required to
complete a medical questionnaire and criminal records check.
Employment is subject to satisfactory receipt of a medical and criminal records
disclosure check.
Holidays
25 days’ paid holiday per annum plus bank holidays. This increases after two years’
services as on 1 January to 26 days, and then a further one day for every two years of
service, up to a maximum of 30 days for 10 years’ service and above. Holidays and bank
holiday allowance will be pro-rata for part-time and fixed-term employees.
Terms & Conditions
Notice Period
During the probationary period, the period of notice required is four weeks by either
party; and 12 weeks thereafter.
Benefits
Pension Scheme
Upon completion of three months’ service you will be eligible to join the Girlguiding
Group Personal Pension scheme. The scheme is contributory. Full details are available
from Human Resources.
Simply Health
You will have access to a voluntary healthcare plan that provides cash to employees to
cover the cost of everyday healthcare, dental and optical bills.
For more information regarding the employee benefits at Girlguiding, please refer to the
Employee Benefits Guide in the benefits section of the website.