A Belgian federal public institution responsible for health insurance and disability policy is progressing its digital transformation for healthcare providers, citizens, policymakers and internal teams. This Senior Project Leader (AI-First) role combines the responsibilities of a product manager with product ownership, backlog management and AI knowledge and applications, including the transfer of practical AI knowledge to internal teams.
The mission
The organisation operates in the Belgian public sector across a broad stakeholder network, where digital products must support policy objectives, operational teams and people using health and social security services. The product environment is multidisciplinary and organised around short, iterative product cycles, with decisions informed by qualitative user research, quantitative data and delivery feedback. AI is being assessed as a practical capability within the organisation, rather than as a standalone technology project.
Working between strategic priorities and implementation, you will shape product questions, define roadmaps and maintain a prioritised backlog with business and development colleagues. Your scope covers opportunity discovery, hypothesis testing, release validation and production follow-up, while making AI understandable and usable for non-technical stakeholders. The stakeholder landscape includes Dutch-speaking and French-speaking communities, as well as operational and strategic contacts with different interests.
Your responsibilities
- Translate complex organisational questions into a clear product strategy, actionable hypotheses, roadmaps and measurable outcomes.
- Prioritise and manage the product backlog with business and development teams, keeping delivery aligned with user needs and organisational value.
- Identify AI opportunities, assess their feasibility and shape initiatives that can be tested and adopted in day-to-day operations.
- Transfer AI knowledge through practical explanations, working sessions and guidance that enable internal teams to make informed decisions.
- Lead user research and combine qualitative findings, product data and feedback to improve decisions throughout the product lifecycle.
- Coordinate diverse stakeholders, validate product quality and releases, and initiate improvements based on production performance.
Your profile
Essential skills
- Bring senior-level experience in product management or AI product management, with public sector experience or experience in a similarly regulated environment.
- Apply Agile Scrum ways of working and deliver through short, iterative product cycles.
- Use AI knowledge and applications to recognise relevant opportunities, frame use cases and discuss implications with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Own product strategy, product ownership and backlog management from discovery through delivery and continuous improvement.
- Conduct or direct user research and apply data-driven decision-making to validate hypotheses and prioritise changes.
- Apply stakeholder management in a complex environment, including contacts with different priorities, levels of influence and technical understanding.
- Communicate clearly, transfer knowledge effectively and make independent decisions while collaborating in a multidisciplinary team.
SEO keywords:
- Primary: senior project leader, product manager, ai product management, product ownership
- Secondary: agile scrum, backlog management, user research, stakeholder management, public sector experience
- Location: belgian, federal, national
- Long tail: senior project leader (ai-first) role, product ownership and backlog management, ai knowledge and applications, stakeholder management in a complex environment, data-driven decision-making to validate hypotheses