Strategic Customer Product Lead (Digital Products)

Job Description

BUSINESS FUNCTION: Customer & Commercial
SALARY: £59,056.00 - £ 72,542.00 Grade: ML2 /SB2
ROLE TYPE: Permanent
LOCATION: Manchester / Leeds / York
HOURS: 37 per week

People come to Northern for trains they can rely on – but what really keeps them coming back is how easy we make it to plan, buy and enjoy their journeys.

As Strategic Customer Product Lead reporting directly into the Head of Customer Experience, you’ll shape and lead the team that drives the digital experience that connects millions of people to the North every day. Your team will be responsible for Northern’s customer-facing digital products – from apps and online platforms– making sure everything we build feels simple, seamless and centred around our customers.

This is a senior leadership role with a real strategic impact. You’ll set the digital vision for how customers interact with Northern, drive innovation across our channels, and help us stay one step ahead in a fast-moving digital world.

What you’ll be doing

You’ll take ownership of our digital customer product strategy – defining what great looks like and leading the delivery of a roadmap that improves experience, efficiency and growth.

Day to day, you’ll:

• Lead, inspire and develop a talented Customer Product team (around 9 colleagues) to deliver brilliant digital experiences.
• Own and promote a digital customer product strategy to improve overall customer experience, drive digital adoption and increase business effectiveness. Digital customer products encompass all customer-facing digital platforms, applications, and systems that support the customer journey
• Build and deliver a clear product roadmap that aligns with our wider business goals.
• Work closely with senior leaders across Customer Experience, Marketing, IT and Commercial to connect digital innovation with real business outcomes.
• Champion new ideas – spotting opportunities for digital transformation and turning them into tangible improvements.
• Develop business cases for investment in new capabilities, and maintain an evidence base of collateral to support business cases, developing project scopes and objectives
• Manage supplier relationships and significant budgets to make sure delivery is reliable, efficient and great value.
• Use customer insight and data to guide decisions and measure success.
• Represent Northern externally, sharing our progress and learning from the best in other industries.

About you

Strategic thinking, digital expertise and people leadership – that’s the combination you’ll bring. You’ll know how to translate complex digital ecosystems into simple, customer-focused experiences, and how to inspire teams to make them happen.

You’ll bring:

• A solid technical background with proven experience leading digital product strategy and delivery.
• Strong understanding of platforms like CRM, e-commerce and mobile apps – and how they fit together alongside compliance with data privacy and regulatory standards.
• A track record of managing suppliers, multiple product development oversight, significant budgets and cross-functional teams.
• The ability to make data-driven decisions that balance customer needs with business priorities. You’ll have the freedom to shape strategy and make high-impact decisions.
• Natural leadership – someone who can motivate, challenge and support people to do their best work, while navigating complex priorities and an ability to inspire stakeholders to embrace digital transformation
• Experience defining and implementing continuous process improvement
• Strong understanding of product management processes and tools with experience of digital ecosystem design, and role of a customer 360 platform
• Experience overseeing contract negotiations to ensure value, compliance and strategic alignment with business objectives.
• Experience with Salesforce and strong analytical skills would be an advantage.

Experience in transport, travel or large-scale digital transformation would be helpful, but what matters most is your ability to lead, innovate and deliver.

What’s in it for you?

At Northern, we don’t just value our people - we go the extra mile to support them. Here’s a taste of what you can look forward to:

• Free Travel: Unlimited free travel for you, your partner, and your dependents on Northern services. Plus up to 75% discount on other networks in the UK and Europe.
• Generous Pension Scheme: We top up your contributions by 1.5 times.
• Enhanced Family Benefits: We offer 9 months of full pay for maternity leave and 2 weeks for paternity leave.
• Cycle to Work Scheme: Save up to 42% on a bike and spread the cost.
• Electric Car Scheme: Lease a brand new electric or plugin hybrid car.
• Exclusive Discounts: From shopping to wellbeing, Northern Perks has you covered.
• Holiday Purchase Scheme: Buy up to 5 extra days of annual leave.
• Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 support for family, lifestyle, and more.
• Training and Career Development: We offer tailored training to our colleagues and opportunities to gain recognised qualifications. Plus enhanced career pathways no matter what part of the business you’re in.
• Recognition: We know how important it is to show how much we appreciate our people. That’s why we have our Northern Lights and Northern Sparks Awards, recognising and celebrating brilliance every day.

Why Northern?

We’re more than just a train operator. We’re the heartbeat of the North - connecting communities, creating opportunities, and driving sustainable growth. With 2,500 trains running daily, we’re on a mission to improve rail travel and enhance the customer experience while protecting the environment.

Back in 1825, the first passenger train set off in the North of England, after which rail quickly spread across the globe - and this year, we’re celebrating 200 years of the modern railway. As we look back on the historic events that led us here, we also look towards the future as we move into the era of Great British Rail. Join us at this pivotal moment in rail history and play your part in our journey.

A place for everyone

The best journeys happen when everyone feels welcome on board.

At Northern, we don’t just move people from A to B - we’re building a team where everyone feels they belong. Our talent team can make reasonable adjustments to the process if that’s something you need. We're also a Level 2 Disability Confident employer, so if you meet the minimum criteria for the role, we’ll always offer an interview.

We automate parts of our screening process to remove any unconscious bias and to make sure every application is treated fairly. All successful offers will be subject to a DBS check and a medical assessment.

No matter your background, experience, or whether you call it a bap, barm, or cob… there’s a place for you here in the railway.