Senior Delivery Manager

Job description

We’re looking for a candidate with a demonstrated history of leading product delivery teams, with a strong emphasis on data-driven, user-centric approaches, in an agile setting. Your leadership should be deeply anchored in prioritising user needs, with a keen focus on delivering tangible outcomes and fostering a collaborative environment.

You’ll be working in a growing cross-functional team. You’ll also be working with stakeholders both internal and across government to understand needs and to deliver new capability.

You’ll be core to making decisions that build a high performing team, adept at breaking down barriers for your team, and both planning at a higher level and getting into the details to make things happen when needed.

As a Senior Delivery Manager, you’ll:

• lead and motivate multiple multi-disciplinary teams, helping them organise and plan their work, ensuring they deliver timely products and services that actually meet users’ needs
• co-create and co-own plans and progress using recognised lean/agile practices, and communicate status to more senior people and users appropriately
• provide useful and accurate delivery metrics to facilitate continual improvement 
• facilitate an inclusive team environment where innovation and challenge are welcomed from all colleagues
• deliver to the agreed goals, actively tackling impediments, risks and blockers, and communicating and escalating where necessary
• continually improve the effectiveness, efficiency and cohesion of teams 
• develop, guide and coach your delivery manager line reports
• manage stakeholders to ensure strategic alignment and effective communication, taking into account organisational context and different needs and priorities, dealing constructively with conflicting views 
• work in partnership with product and technical leads on high profile work in ambiguous, complex and/or uncertain domains
• promote continual improvement, good communication and collaboration across the organisation using the principles of agile at scale

Person specification

We’re interested in people with experience of:

• using agile practices to ensure the iterative and timely delivery of products and services that serve real user needs 
• facilitating effective workshops which give a voice to all participants and provide concrete outputs that enable delivery 
• leading successful high functioning multidisciplinary delivery teams which are aligned to the organisation’s strategic priorities and the needs of stakeholders
• actively tackling impediments, risks and blockers, and communicating and escalating where necessary

Benefits

There are many benefits of working at GDS, including:

• flexible hybrid working with flexi-time and the option to work part-time or condensed hours
• a Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%
• 25 days of annual leave, increasing by a day each year up to a maximum of 30 days
• an extra day off for the King’s birthday
• an in-year bonus scheme to recognise high performance
• career progression and coaching, including a training budget for personal development
• a focus on wellbeing with access to an employee assistance programme
• job satisfaction from making government services easier to use and more inclusive for people across the UK
• advances on pay, including for travel season tickets
• death in service benefits
• cycle to work scheme and facilities
• access to an employee discounts scheme
• 10 learning days per year
• volunteering opportunities (5 special leave days per year)
• access to a suite of learning activities through Civil Service learning

Any move to Government Digital Service from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk 

Office attendance
The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period.
DSIT does not normally offer full home working (i.e. working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home).

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

The standard selection process for roles at GDS consists of:

• a simple application screening process - We only ask for a CV and cover letter of up to 750 words. Important tip - please ensure that your cover letter includes how you meet the skills and experience listed in the “person specification” section above
• a 60 minute video interview

Depending on how many applications we get, there might also be an extra stage before the video interview, for example a phone interview or a technical exercise.

In order to assist candidates with this role, we will be holding a virtual recruitment event on Tuesday 31st March at 12:00pm where we will introduce you to what it is like to be a senior delivery manager at the Government Digital Service, the team that you will be potentially working with and a bit about how the application and interview process works within the civil service. There will also be time to answer any questions. 

If you would like to join this recruitment open day session, please use this google meet link to access the session. [12:00pm]

In the event we receive a high volume of applications, we will conduct the initial sift against the lead criteria which is:

• using agile practices to ensure the iterative and timely delivery of products and services that serve real user needs

In the Civil Service, we use Success Profiles to evaluate your skills and ability. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, increases performance and improves diversity and inclusivity. We’ll be assessing your technical abilities, skills, experience and behaviours that are relevant to this role.

For this role we’ll be assessing you against the following Civil Service Behaviours: 

• changing and improving
• making effective decisions
• leadership
• developing self and others
• delivering at pace

We’ll also be assessing your experience and specialist technical skills against the following skills defined in the Government Digital and Data Capability Framework for the Senior Delivery Manager  role: 

• agile and lean practices
• maintaining delivery momentum
• making a process work
• planning
• team dynamics and collaboration

Want to know more about who Government Digital and Data are? Click Here 

Recruitment Timeline

Sift completion: 13th April 2026

Panel interviews: w/c 20th April 2026

Candidates that do not pass the interview but have demonstrated an acceptable standard may be considered for similar roles at a lower grade.

A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

Security

Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) — red stripe on pass: CTC is required if an individual is working in proximity to public figures, or requires unescorted access to buildings assessed to be at particular risk from terrorist attacks (certain military, civil, industrial or commercial establishments and all Whitehall buildings).  

To gain CTC clearance, applicants will usually need to have been a UK resident for a minimum of 3 years. In addition to the checks performed as part of BPSS  CTC will also involve checks to prevent persons who may have connections with terrorist organisations, or who may be vulnerable to pressure from them, from undertaking certain security duties where sensitive information may be compromised. CTC normally takes 4 - 6 weeks 

Location

Whilst this role's location is Bristol/Manchester, if you are a current Civil servant working in DSIT and based in London you are also able to apply for this role. If you are successful, you will retain your current location and pay. 

Sponsorship

DSIT cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. DSIT holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.