Head of Delivery

About the Role

UK Health Security Agency's Digital Development and Operations (DDO) division aspires to provide consistently reliable and top-tier digital services. The Head of Delivery will establish agile delivery standards throughout DDO, lead the delivery community, and exemplify best practices in delivery management. This senior leadership role requires expertise in agile and lean methodologies to drive strategic delivery outcomes aligned with UKHSA's priorities, supporting Delivery Leads across a diverse portfolio of digital products and services.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor teams in agile and lean practices, fostering continuous improvements and innovation.
• Oversee delivery speed and quality across the DDO portfolio, proactively managing risks, issues, and dependencies.
• Coordinate complex planning cycles across product and service portfolios, identifying dependencies and contributing to portfolio reporting.
• Drive organisational redesigns and develop strategies that integrate business needs with innovative analysis.
• Challenge and enhance organisational processes, coaching teams and stakeholders to adopt adaptive approaches.
• Mediate stakeholder relationships, managing risk and complexity while representing the delivery community internally and externally.
• Head the delivery management community of practice, cultivating culture, capability, excellence, and recruitment.
• Manage key commercial partnerships, handle escalations for significant commercial issues, and coach others in commercial management.
• Participate in senior management forums to influence business demand and priorities, deputising when needed for senior leaders.

Working Relationships

The Head of Delivery reports directly to the Head of Digital Products and Services and is a pivotal DDO leadership team member. Responsibilities include overseeing senior delivery managers and their teams. Internal collaborations span senior DDO leadership, product, design, data, finance, commercial, and programme management colleagues. Externally, engagement occurs with government delivery communities, cross-government professional networks, industry stakeholders, and governance bodies across government departments.

Candidate Requirements

• Extensive proven experience delivering complex digital products or services, preferably within UK Government, Health, or similarly regulated sectors, with a focus on user-centric, agile approaches.
• Substantial expertise in cross-service planning, risk navigation, issue resolution, and mentoring delivery teams as an acknowledged authority.
• Prior leadership in delivery roles, ideally as Head of Delivery or equivalent, with a record of capability building across delivery functions.
• Exceptional relationship management with strong communication and influencing skills suitable for varied audiences, including executives and technical/non-technical stakeholders.
• Proven ability to navigate ambiguous environments, clarify strategy, and provide direction and motivation for self and team.
• Experience in commercial and financial management.
• Self-driven and comfortable working autonomously in remote and distributed team settings.
• Commitment to equality, inclusivity, and fostering good workplace relations.

Desirable Attributes

• Experience managing deliveries across the full lifecycle of digital products or services.

Additional Information

The office locations include Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London Canary Wharf, with the role operating on a hybrid model requiring onsite presence approximately three days per week.

The salary is £70,797 annually plus a £20,509 employer contribution to the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme, which offers substantial benefits including an employer contribution rate of 28.97%.

UKHSA values diversity and inclusion, proactively encouraging applications from underrepresented groups and fostering an environment where differences inspire innovative solutions.

Comprehensive learning and development tailored to the role, flexible working options, and a culture supporting diversity and inclusion are key benefits.

Application Guidance

Applicants should note that any use of artificial intelligence tools must produce truthful, original content based on personal experience. Plagiarism or misrepresentations may lead to disqualification or disciplinary action.

The recruitment process follows a Success Profiles framework assessing behaviours, experience, and technical skills.