Delivery Manager

Job Title: Senior Delivery Manager

Contract- 2 months contract

Rate-400-450 outside IR 35

Role Summary

We’re looking for a rare blend of talent—a Delivery Manager who brings together the strategic mindset of a Product Manager, the empathy of a User-Centred Design (UCD) leader, and the delivery rigour of an experienced Agile practitioner in the UK government sector.

You will work at the heart of multidisciplinary teams delivering complex public-facing digital services. You’ll need to juggle policy, user needs, technology constraints, and GDS standards—while enabling teams to deliver high-quality outcomes iteratively and at pace.

Key Responsibilities

Agile Delivery Leadership

• Own the end-to-end delivery of digital services across Discovery, Alpha, Beta, and Live phases.
• Facilitate agile ceremonies (stand-ups, planning, retrospectives, reviews) with a focus on value delivery and team health.
• Champion iterative delivery, fast feedback loops, and lean approaches to solving problems.

User-Centred & Product Thinking

• Act as the glue between UCD, product, and technical teams—ensuring the user voice drives service design.
• Translate user research insights into delivery plans, prioritising features based on user value and organisational outcomes.
• Align delivery goals with the product roadmap, policy direction, and GOV.UK design principles.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders across government departments, policy, and operations.
• Translate technical and delivery language into clear, outcomes-focused communication.
• Manage expectations, unblock decision points, and foster alignment across service ecosystems.

Delivery Governance & Reporting

• Own delivery governance, reporting, and risk management across multiple teams or workstreams.
• Prepare for and contribute to service assessments, spend approvals, and assurance boards.
• Work with commercial and finance colleagues to ensure timely procurement and contract alignment.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Strong UCD/Product background: Prior experience as a product manager, user researcher, or service designer before moving into delivery.
• GDS/GOV.UK experience: Extensive delivery experience in UK government departments (e.g. DWP, MoJ, HMRC, NHS Digital, Home Office).
• Agile at Scale: Confident leading delivery across large-scale or multi-team programmes using Scrum, Kanban, or scaled agile methods.
• Delivery coaching: Experience supporting junior DMs, enabling high-performing agile teams, and shaping delivery culture.
• Communication: Exceptional communication skills with the ability to manage upwards and across departments effectively.
• Resilience: Ability to operate under pressure in politically complex environments while maintaining delivery momentum.
• Desirable Experience
• Leading cross-functional teams in GDS service phases (Discovery to Live).
• Familiarity with tools such as Jira, Trello, Miro, Mural, and Confluence.
• Experience working with cross-government platforms (e.g. One Login, Notify, Pay).
• Previous experience in both central and local government digital teams.
• Service assessment participation or preparation.

What We Offer

• Competitive day rate/salary depending on experience.
• Flexible and remote-friendly working environment.
• Opportunities to work on high-impact, citizen-facing services.
• A supportive delivery community and personal development pathways.