Skip to content

Product Policy Manager / Lead

  • Hybrid
    • Singapore, Central Singapore, Singapore
  • Policy

Job description

Who We Are

Open Government Products (OGP) operates like a startup within the government; We are a fast-paced, dynamic team of engineers, designers, and product managers dedicated to public good. We autonomously identify opportunities to solve public problems using tech, rapidly prototype, and launch solutions—from citizen apps to automating public agency operations. Embracing an open-sourced and flat hierarchy, we cut through bureaucracy to focus on real-world, user-centric innovations that drive change.

You’re tired of traditional policy work

You’ve had to navigate long clearance chains, repeated rounds of review and watch as the policies you’ve worked on get diluted with every single additional meeting. We do things differently at OGP.

Product Policy officers are given end-to-end ownership of a problem. That means engaging directly with citizens to understand their concerns, working with OGP product teams to improve product features and convincing senior public servants on the best course of action - usually all in one day.

You will not be waiting around asking your director for clearance, you’re expected to solve problems as they crop up. You won’t be evaluated based on the polish of your decks, your work is judged by how much it improves outcomes for citizens.

Who this is for

  • You must have done policy work in the Singapore public service for at least 4 years

  • You must either be technical already or be willing to learn. Within 6 months you should be able to code and will be able to explain the architecture of the product you support.

  • Be equally comfortable straddling the operational and the strategic. You understand the problem from the ground up and then convince Chief Executives (CEs), Permanent Secretaries (PSes), and Political Office Holders (POHs) what needs to be done.

  • You want to see your work directly bring about measurable positive public impact, and you're tired of watching good ideas die in the gap between policy and implementation

What you’ll do

  • Embed with OGP product teams. You’ll sit with one or more teams, learn the problem space and the product inside out, and work with the government stakeholders who own it.

  • Find the problems on the ground. You’ll talk to residents and frontline users, spot where policy and product are getting in each other’s way, and help the team sharpen features so they better serve people in Singapore.

  • Write the policy that fixes it. You’ll co-write with agency business owners so the policy and the product both come out better, and take it up to whole-of-government (WOG) level at the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) where needed.

  • Bring senior leaders along. You’ll show CEs, PSes and POHs how technology can improve citizens’ lives, and convince them on the right course of action.

  • Drive partner agency transformation. You’ll work with our partner agencies to transform their systems, policies, and ways of working.

  • [For Leads] Set the bar for a small team. You’ll manage 1-3 junior policy officers working alongside you, and set the standard for how they work.

Working at OGP

Ownership and Autonomy — Beyond technical tasks, this means having autonomy to voice opinions and suggest future directions. Building what you believe in drives the creation of great solutions.

Rapid Prototyping — We prioritise testing ideas over debating them, allowing us to identify problems quickly and convey possibilities to others. This fail-fast approach accelerates innovation.

Flexibility — We provide flexible work arrangements based on what works best for our team and its members, fostering a productive and supportive environment.

Continuous Learning — Drive professional growth by exploring new architectures, frameworks, and technologies. With dedicated yearly learning months and hackathons, continuous learning is essential as we tackle innovative ideas and challenges.

Mission-Driven — Our work is dedicated to the public good, aiming to improve the lives of Singapore citizens. We focus on creating impactful solutions that enhance the community and the place we call home.

We do actually work this way

Two things we'd point at rather than describe:

  • *ERP X.** We thought road pricing could be done better, so we built an alternative and tested it. Then we published what we tried, what worked, what didn't, and why we think this is a better way for government to build.

  • *Our AMA on r/singapore.** We sat in front of the public and answered questions about our own strengths and weaknesses, unfiltered.

Neither was a communications exercise. Both reflect a willingness to test ideas openly and share the results, including where they fell short. This approach won't suit everyone, and that's a reasonable basis for deciding whether the role is a good fit.

An overview of other OGP products can be found on our website https://open.gov.sg

or

Consent to Use and Disclosure of Personal Data

I hereby give my consent to Open Government Products, Government Technology Agency (“OGP”) to: Obtain and verify information from or with any source (including third parties) as may be deemed appropriate by OGP and/or any relevant Government agency for the purposes of assessing my application for employment and/or for recommendation to a third party for employment with or engagement by that third party (see below for more information). Share my personal data set out in this application form and any other personal data subsequently provided by me arising out of or in connection with my application for employment with other Government agencies or a third party vendor appointed by OGP for the purposes of recruitment and/or review of recruitment practices, and for such personal data to also be used as part of de-identified and aggregated data for reporting purposes.  

Additionally, where relevant, OGP may share my personal data set out in this application form and any other personal data subsequently provided by me to a third party for that third party to consider employing or otherwise engaging me to undertake work relevant to OGP. I understand and acknowledge that the collection, use and/or disclosure of such personal data may also be subject to that third party’s privacy terms. I declare that all the information given by me is true to the best of my knowledge and voluntarily given.   By clicking the 'Apply' button, I hereby certify that I have read and understood all of the clauses above and that I agree to all of them.