Core Cloud Delivery Manager12 months, scope to extendHybrid, London Inside IR35
Active SC would be advantageous
Public sector experience required
The Delivery Manager is accountable for the end-to-end delivery of the clients Core Cloud services, ensuring platforms, products, and supplier outcomes are delivered on time, within tolerance, and to production-grade standards.This is not a ceremonial Agile role. It is a hands-on delivery leadership position operating in a high-assurance, multi-supplier, politically visible environment. You will be expected to control risk, expose reality early, and keep delivery moving despite ambiguity, dependency churn, and security constraints.Key ResponsibilitiesDelivery & Execution* Own delivery across one or more Core Cloud workstreams (platform, migration, security uplift, tooling, or service onboarding).* Translate strategy, roadmaps, and funding intent into executable delivery plans with clear milestones, dependencies, and tolerances.* Drive delivery through discovery, alpha, beta, and live phases without losing momentum.* Actively manage delivery risk, technical debt, and operational constraintsStakeholder & Governance Management* Operate confidently across senior stakeholders, leadership, architects, security teams, and commercial functions.* Run delivery governance forums with clarity and pace, focusing on decisions, not theatre.* Provide clear, honest delivery reporting (RAG, risks, mitigations, forecast confidence).* Challenge optimism bias and escalate early when delivery is at risk.Multi-Supplier & Team Leadership* Coordinate delivery across multiple suppliers and internal teams, ensuring clear ownership and zero gaps.* Enable engineering teams by removing blockers rather than adding process drag.* Foster a delivery culture that values predictability, quality, and operational readiness.Agile, Lean & Assurance Alignment* Apply Agile pragmatically using Scrum, Kanban, or hybrid approaches as appropriate.* Ensure delivery aligns with GDS Service Manual, assurance gates, and NCSC expectations.* Balance speed with assuranceFinancial & Commercial Awareness* Track delivery against funding envelopes and call out burn-rate risks early.* Support commercial governance, change control, and scope management.* Ensure value is demonstrable, not implied.Essential Skills & Experience* Proven experience delivering large-scale cloud or platform programmes in complex environments.* Strong background in public sector digital delivery, ideally within central government.* Demonstrable experience managing multi-supplier delivery under tight assurance constraints.* Comfortable working with cloud platforms (AWS) and understanding modern DevOps delivery models.* Strong grasp of delivery metrics, forecasting, dependency management, and risk control.* Confident communicator who can challenge senior stakeholders constructively.* Experience working under security, compliance, and regulatory constraints.Desirable Experience* Experience delivering or operating core cloud, shared platforms, or landing zones.* Familiarity with public sector governance, GDS assessments, or cross-government platforms.* Exposure to FinOps, platform reliability, or live service operations.* Experience supporting migration programmes or large-scale onboarding.Behaviours & Ways of Working* Outcome-focused: you care about what lands, not what was attempted.* Comfortable with ambiguity and capable of bringing order without bureaucracy.* Calm under pressure; credible when things go wrong.* Willing to say "this won't land" early and back it up with evidence.What Success Looks Like* Delivery plans are credible, visible, and trusted.* Risks are surfaced early and actively mitigated.* Suppliers deliver outcomes, not excuses.* Core Cloud services land predictably and are operable from day one.* Senior stakeholders trust your reporting even when the news isn't good.
