Senior Delivery Manager

Job summary

We are MHCLG

Here at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), we work on things that make a real difference to people’s lives. Whether it's through the homes we live in, the work of our local councils, or the communities we’re all part of, our work is at the top of the political agenda.

Local AI is a new team within MHCLG, working with councils to unlock the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in local public services. We support the responsible adoption of AI across local government, focusing on practical tools that save time, reduce costs and improve services for residents.

Local AI’s goal is not simply to introduce new technology. We work with councils and partners to solve real service challenges where AI can make the biggest difference.

Our work spans product development, service transformation, capability building and shaping the wider adoption of AI across local government. Recent examples include Local Transcribe our work supporting councils to responsibly adopt AI, and looking at how AI can play a role in temporary accommodation.

Joining Local AI offers a rare opportunity to help shape how one of the most significant changes of our time is applied in public services. You will work alongside experts from local and central government, academia and industry to test new ideas, deliver practical solutions and help improve outcomes for millions of people who rely on local services every day.

As a Senior Delivery Manager, you will lead the delivery of some of Local AI’s most important products and services, helping multidisciplinary teams deliver real impact for councils and residents. Alongside leading delivery, you will play a key role in developing delivery capability within the team, coaching and mentoring Delivery Managers while helping shape how Local AI grows and scales as a new organisation.

Find out more about our Digital teams and what they are working on through our MHCLG Digital blog. Please note that MHCLG do not offer visa sponsorship and applicants will need a valid visa for the duration of your employment.

Job description

The Senior Delivery Manager is accountable for the effective performance of teams and delivery of products and services. As a Senior Delivery Manager, you'll:

• Build, lead and optimise the delivery flow of teams ensuring they are motivated, collaborating and working well
• Plan and manage work to help teams deliver high-quality services for users and the department by identifying and challenging processes that are unnecessarily complicated
• Lead a continual planning process, planning beyond product delivery and ensure the teams missions and dependencies are articulated in a delivery plan with objectives detailed in quarterly cycle
• Create a team culture where people feel included, valued, and confident to share ideas and challenge thinking.
• Lead the work of the team, ensuring close coordination with product managers, UCD leads, and technical leads to deliver complex AI projects in fast-changing environments.
• Support and develop delivery managers and team members through coaching and mentoring.
• Manage budgets, resources, onboarding, and supplier relationships and contribute into business cases, including submissions to (PAB) and can communicate business-value propositions

Person specification

As Senior Delivery Manager, you’ll have:

• Experience leading and motivating multidisciplinary teams in Agile environments.
• Strong ability to manage risks, issues, blockers, and dependencies.
• A commitment to building inclusive, collaborative teams.
• Experience managing budgets, resources, and supplier relationships.
• Good understanding of Agile and Lean ways of working, with experience planning, tracking and reporting on delivery.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, adapting your approach to different audiences.
• Ability to improve team performance and resolve complex issues, including those involving multiple teams or unclear ownership.
• Experience of planning and managing work in quarterly cycles ensuring accountability through delivery metrics such as OKRs

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £58,092, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £16,829 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).At MHCLG we offer many benefits that range from tailored career pathways and flexible working to MyLifestyle Childcare Voucher and Cycle to Work Schemes. For more information, please click here.

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

Application and Selection
The application process will be split into 2 stages, testing the following Success Profiles:

Behaviours , Experience , Technical

Please ensure your CV does not contain any personally identifiable information.

Note: We do not consider direct CV applications. All applications must be submitted via the provided application link.

Stage 1: Sift (CV)

Experience: Your CV will be assessed against the criteria in the job description and person specification.

Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that each of your answers would be viewed by different assessors.

In the event that we receive a large number of applications, we may conduct an initial sift using the lead sift question listed in the