Product Design Lead

Product Design Lead Central Government (Payments Infrastructure Programme) London or Leeds | 2 days onsite per week £650 per day | Inside IR35 Active SC clearance required Overview A senior Product Design Lead is required to support a major national payments infrastructure transformation within a central government environment. This role sits at the front end of a high profile programme focused on shaping the next generation of RTGS capability. You will operate at strategic level, leading discovery and early stage design work that will directly influence policy, technical direction, and long term delivery roadmaps. This is not a delivery role. It is about defining what should be built, why it should exist, and how it should be shaped before it enters build. The environment is complex, heavily stakeholder driven, and sits at the intersection of policy, financial systems, and large scale technology change. Key Responsibilities Lead discovery and high level design for a new RTGS capability Translate policy intent, user needs, and external industry insight into clear product direction Develop structured outputs including business cases, option analysis, and high level requirements Shape roadmap thinking and prioritisation through engagement with senior stakeholders Support external engagement activity including consultations and discussion papers Ensure concepts are feasible, aligned, and ready for transition into delivery teams Skills and Experience Strong background in product strategy, discovery, or early stage product shaping Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and define strategic direction in complex environments Comfort operating with ambiguity and structuring unclear problems into clear, actionable outputs Experience working across business, policy, and technology functions Payments, financial services, or regulated infrastructure experience highly desirable What this role really needs This is not a hands on UX or delivery design position. It requires someone who can operate upstream, challenge assumptions, and turn political, technical, and operational complexity into a coherent product direction. Candidates who only operate at squad level delivery will not be suitable. This role needs someone who is comfortable shaping at system level, not just feature level