Lead Product Manager - Game Studio - Sunderland (Hyrid)

Job Description

Lead Product Manager – Game Studio

About the role

We’re looking for a Lead Product Manager to lead our Game Studio product team, owning the strategy, delivery and performance of tombola’s game portfolio.

This is a senior leadership role with real scope. You’ll build and nurture a high-performing team of Product Managers and Game Producers, while also remaining hands-on — personally leading our most complex, high-impact product initiatives.

You’ll be accountable for shaping and delivering the Game Studio roadmap, ensuring it balances innovation, commercial impact and responsible play, while staying aligned to tombola’s long-term vision.

What you’ll be doing

Lead, coach and grow the Game Studio product team

• Coach, mentor and develop a team of Product Managers and Game Producers, supporting both skill development and long-term career growth.

• Own performance management, including regular 1:1s, PDPs and reviews.

• Embed a strong culture of data-led decision making and player insight, coaching the team on experimentation, hypothesis testing and outcome analysis.

• Prioritise team capacity and workload based on capability, development goals and commercial impact.

• Champion continuous improvement and innovation, keeping the team up to date with emerging trends, frameworks and technologies.

Own strategy, roadmap and delivery

• Personally lead the discovery and delivery of the most critical, high-impact and innovative Game Studio initiatives.

• Translate business objectives into clear, actionable product plans and delivery initiatives.

• Own and evolve the Game Studio delivery roadmap, ensuring the right balance between iterative improvements and bolder innovation.

• Lead cross-functional prioritisation, managing trade-offs and aligning resources based on player insight, commercial value and strategic fit.

• Maintain a deep, hands-on understanding of delivery progress and risk, stepping in to unblock issues and keep initiatives on track.

Drive cross-functional alignment

• Work closely with engineering teams (engine, client and platform), as well as wider tombola and UKI/Flutter stakeholders.

• Build strong, collaborative relationships to ensure smooth delivery across multiple teams and partners.

• Act as a consistent voice for the player, ensuring product decisions align with player needs, business strategy and responsible play commitments.

What we’re looking for

• Extensive experience as a Product Manager within a technology-led business, with a strong track record of leading and developing high-performing teams.

• Proven ability to coach, mentor and grow Product Managers and Producers.

• Strong strategic and commercial mindset, with excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.

• Experience working in complex product environments; online gambling or gaming experience is highly desirable, but not essential.

• Comfortable operating under pressure, managing multiple initiatives and prioritising effectively.

You’ll thrive here if you…

• Are passionate about leadership, coaching and developing others.

• Balance innovation with commercial focus and regulatory responsibility.

• Enjoy being hands-on with complex product challenges, not just setting direction.

• Are an engaging, approachable leader with a down-to-earth style.

• Take full ownership of outcomes, from team performance to product impact.

Why tombola

At tombola, product teams have real ownership and influence. You’ll play a key role in shaping our games, growing our people and ensuring everything we build is fun, safe and responsibly delivered — all within a collaborative, people-first culture.