Delivery Manager

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On behalf of Defra, we are looking for Delivery Managers Inside IR35 for a contract ending on 31st of March based hybrid 3 days a week in the office in either Birmingham, Blackpool, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield

In the Defra group, we deal with a vast range of issues that profoundly impact on people’s lives. We are responsible for England’s environment, our countryside and rural economy, the food and farming sectors and have lead responsibility for protection from a wide range of natural threats and hazards. We have developed a set of three strategic objectives covering our policy outcomes and corporate objectives . These objectives help us to deliver our ambitious vision to build our green and healthy future and provide a framework for all the important work we carry out.

Our objectives are:

- To pass on to the next generation a natural environment protected and enhanced for the future.
- To lead the world in food, farming, and fisheries with a sustainable model of food production.
- To be an outstanding organisation focused on making a difference, with world class delivery capability.

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs www.gov.uk .

25 Year Environment Plan - GOV.UK www.gov.uk .

HR is moving towards a service-line operating model that brings together clearer service ownership , stronger accountability and a greater focus on user and service outcomes. Moving to this Target Operating Model will require more than changes to structures and responsibilities. Teams will need practical support to adapt their ways of working, connect priorities across organisational boundaries and translate the new model into improved delivery. The Delivery Manager will provide this dedicated delivery and improvement capability.

As a Delivery Manager , your main responsibilities will be to:

- Work alongside Service Line Owners, Service Owners, subject-matter experts and service teams, the postholder will help turn agreed priorities, user needs and improvement opportunities into coordinated and deliverable action
- Help teams understand and diagnose delivery problems, prioritise work, manage dependencies, remove blockers and improve how HR services are designed, delivered and sustained. The role will provide a consistent core capability across HR, covering delivery management , structured problem-solving, planning and prioritisation, performance, risk, coordination and continuous improvement
- Work in an agile coaching style, selecting proportionate methods for the context rather than applying a single framework rigidly
- Establish a practical rhythm for delivery, help teams focus on outcomes and user needs, make priorities and trade-offs visible, manage and clear backlogs, and coach colleagues to test assumptions, learn from evidence and improve their ways of working
- Support focused experiments and improvements, gather user, service and performance evidence, assess what is and is not working, and adapt the approach accordingly

Essential:

- Previous Delivery experience in Project/Programme capacity, comfortable working Agile
- Experience with establishing backlog of issues and prioritising
- Experience unblocking challenges in agile way
- Experience in people focused roles

Desirable:

- Knowledge or experience of HR, people services, corporate services or another multidisciplinary service environment.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

Disability Confident

As a Disability Confident employer, Defra encourage applications from disabled and neurodivergent candidates . Applications from candidates who identify as having a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role will be prioritised for review. Where application volumes are high, additional role-specific and desirable criteria may be applied as part of the shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

Armed Forces Covenant

As a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, Defra welcome applications from veterans, service leavers, reservists and military spouses or partners. Applications from eligible candidates who meet the essential criteria for the role will be prioritised for review. Where application volumes are high, additional role-specific and desirable criteria may be applied as part of the shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following "this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different".