Principal Delivery Manager

Global Software consultancy

Halifax (hybrid)

As a Principal Delivery Manager, you will be accountable for leading the delivery capability for the Sector in the Digital Services business unit, working closely with delivery managers to ensure successful and efficient delivery of multiple engagements across an account portfolio.

You will empower and support teams to perform well, learn and grow in a manner that is consistent with company values. You will strengthen and ensure successful delivery across engagements that will benefit us in winning new business with existing customers. Owns a sector view of demand for people and works with BU Operations to manage our delivery capability. You will have oversight and support Customer Success, investing in client relationships from a delivery perspective as a trusted advisor to address business problems through digital delivery.

As this is a senior management role, you will also be expected to take on additional management responsibilities as required.

You Will Be Responsible For

• Leading & championing a team - you will lead, motivate and empower teams within your capability to create a positive and creative culture for our people to perform well, learn and grow:
• Put people first & develop others - You'll manage, coach and develop a small number of senior staff, with a focus on managing employee performance
• Ensure all team members have clear goals, receive regular feedback and have timely and constructive appraisals.
• Have accountability for staffing and on-boarding of new team members.
• Act as the escalation point for issues relating to an individual, team or project.
• Build and maintain constructive and collaborative relationships with the client, other suppliers and third-party stakeholders.
• Providing delivery leadership - Understand critical success factors and anticipate industry trends for the clients and projects (beyond the traditional measures: on time, on budget and to agreed scope) and ensure each work stream has a plan in place to achieve the success factors.
• Delivering commercially viable services - you will be responsible for achieving or exceeding profitability targets plus accurate and timely forecasting and reporting of project variables (revenue, staffing, work in progress, debt etc.). You will understand the contracts and commercial terms applying to our projects and ensure that is not compromised by non-compliance.
• Nurturing our customer base - You will understand industry trends and anticipate customer needs. You will manage relationships with our customers and looking for opportunities to add value to the client, increasing the ROI that clients achieve with, ensuring that expectations are proactively managed, and issues are addressed promptly and appropriately. You will create, influence and negotiate strategies for the longer-term benefit of our customers.
• Understand current thinking from the Technology, Experience Design and Consulting capabilities and drive alignment accordingly.
• Encourage innovation in technology and process both within the project and outside the project.
• Proactively assist with recruitment activities to enable stable organisational growth
• Being a point of escalation - Your expertise will be leveraged to help respond to customer needs with precision and efficiency
• Innovation and Continuous Improvement - you will be responsible for leading and implementing process efficiencies to the benefit of our customers, encouraging innovation in technology and process
• You will also sponsor initiatives within your capability or wider BU. Understand current thinking from the Technology, Experience Design and Consulting capabilities and drive alignment accordingly.
• Proactively assist with recruitment activities to enable stable organisational growth
• Provide assurance and governance - you will ensure appropriate project governance arrangements and technical quality standards are developed Work with the assurance function to perform/support health checks, risk assessments and any required follow-up activity.
• Comply, and ensures team members comply, with all confidentiality and non-disclosure policies and agreements and ensure the security of information, at all times. You will ensure appropriate project governance arrangements and technical quality standards are developed and followed throughout the customer lifecycle. You will effectively manage project risks and issues, escalating where appropriate
• Developing business - Support future growth by working closely with Regional Sales Directors, Account Executives, Customer Success Managers, assisting where required with the sales/procurement cycle to best position to win profitable new business. You will promote successes company-wide, to our customers and to the market, through case studies, award submissions, blogs, tweets etc
• Being a role model - You'll support your colleagues and reconcile the needs of the individual with the needs of the team or Workday whilst embodying the values. You'll be the person people look up to - people trust your decisions because they are transparent and justified.
• Putting people first & developing others - You'll manage, coach and develop a small number of staff, with a focus on managing employee performance and assisting in their career development.

Minimum (essential) Requirements

• Minimum of 10 years of demonstrable success managing the delivery of technology-based projects using agile methodology.
• Substantial experience in managing and leading project teams including line management responsibility.
• Evidence of developing and managing sound client-supplier relationships and good knowledge of at least one industry vertical (e.g. Financial Services, Health or Government).
• Broad technology experience, awareness of current technology trends and a solid understanding of contemporary software engineering practices and behaviours.
• Evidence of taking responsibility for contract and commercial terms on projects.
• Experience of adhering to robust project governance and technical quality standards.
• Strong ability to make reasoned decisions under pressure taking a balanced view of client demands, commercial interests and the impact on the team.
• Proven ability to manage, motivate and empower teams and lead by example.
• Strong commercial awareness and sound understanding of project dynamics, particularly in a multi-supplier environment.
• Affable, credible and can communicate effectively with clients and colleagues, including formal presentations.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and strong negotiating prowess.
• Excellent team player capable of delivering results in less than perfect circumstances.
• Have a natural willingness to share information freely.
• Mature, firm but non-confrontational style.
• Highly flexible (including a willingness to work away from home base).
• A positive attitude to overcoming the challenges facing our clients.
• Have the vision and drive to experiment and deliver 'firsts'.
• We are passionate about developing people - a demonstrated ability in managing, coaching and developing senior members of your team and wider community.

Desirable

• Experience of project delivery aimed at digital transformation.
• Experience of managing large-scale agile projects involving distributed teams in a multi-supplier environment.
• Experience of user research, analytics and design disciplines and their contribution to the effective delivery of digital services and platforms.
• Evidence of securing significant follow-on business with an existing client.
• Evidence of innovating or leading initiatives to improve management and leadership practices within an organisation.
• Evidence of thought leadership in the public domain.
• Holds a current and recognised Project or Programme Management certification.