Delivery Manager (Agile Software Engineering) in Stroud

The Delivery Manager is responsible for ensuring the successful delivery of high-quality software products on time, within scope, and in alignment with business goals. This role focuses on facilitating agile practices within the team, coordinating with stakeholders, managing risks, optimizing workflows, and overseeing supplier relationships to ensure that external resources and third-party services align with project needs and timelines. The Delivery Manager acts as a bridge between the development team, product owners, and other stakeholders, including suppliers, to ensure smooth communication and efficient delivery processes.

Key Responsibilities:

• Agile Process Facilitation: Guide and support the agile team in delivering software through continuous delivery practices (e.g., Scrum, Kanban, etc.). Facilitate daily stand-ups, sprint planning, retrospectives, and other agile ceremonies. Encourage continuous improvement and the adoption of best practices in the agile process. Ensure that the team is following agile principles and maintaining a sustainable pace.
• Delivery Management: Ensure timely delivery of software increments with a focus on quality and meeting stakeholder expectations. Break down complex problems into manageable tasks and create a delivery plan. Work closely with the Product Owners to define and prioritize the product backlog. Manage cross-functional team activities to ensure dependencies and risks are identified and mitigated early.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Act as a primary point of contact for stakeholders, including business units, product owners, and leadership. Provide regular updates on progress, risks, and issues that may impact the delivery schedule. Align team goals with the broader organizational objectives and ensure stakeholder needs are met.
• Supplier Management: Manage relationships with external suppliers, contractors, and third-party service providers who contribute to the project or provide essential tools and technologies. Work closely with suppliers to ensure their deliverables are aligned with the project timelines and quality standards. Monitor supplier performance, escalate any issues or delays, and take corrective action to prevent impacts on delivery timelines. Ensure smooth communication between the internal development team and external suppliers to ensure seamless integration of external services or products.
• Team Leadership and Coaching: Support the development and growth of team members by providing mentorship and guidance. Foster a culture of collaboration, trust, and accountability within the team. Resolve conflicts and remove blockers that may impede team performance. Promote a positive team culture focused on high performance and continuous learning.
• Risk Management: Identify and manage risks that may affect delivery timelines, quality, or scope. Proactively manage any obstacles that may arise during the development cycle and resolve them swiftly. Ensure that risks are communicated transparently to stakeholders and mitigated in a timely manner.
• Metrics and Reporting: Track key delivery metrics (e.g., velocity, burn-down, cycle time) to measure the health of the delivery process. Regularly report progress, challenges, and outcomes to leadership and stakeholders. Use data to improve team performance and optimize processes.
• Process Optimization: Continuously evaluate and improve the delivery process for efficiency and effectiveness. Work with cross-functional teams to optimize workflows and remove bottlenecks. Drive the adoption of new tools or practices that can improve delivery outcomes.
• Budget and Resource Management: Manage resource allocation to ensure that the right skills are available at the right time for the delivery process. Ensure the team’s work aligns with business priorities and constraints, including budgetary limits.

About You

Required Skills and Experience:

• Agile Expertise: Solid experience with agile methodologies (e.g., Scrum, Kanban), with the ability to apply them effectively in a software development context.
• Delivery Experience: Proven track record of successfully managing and delivering software products in an agile environment.
• Supplier Management: Strong experience in managing external suppliers and third-party vendors, including service delivery, and performance monitoring.
• Communication Skills: Strong ability to communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, including external suppliers. Comfortable presenting to senior leadership and facilitating cross-team collaboration.
• Problem-Solving: Excellent critical thinking and problem-solving skills, with the ability to remove obstacles and help the team succeed.
• Leadership and Coaching: Experience leading agile teams and coaching individuals to reach their full potential.
• Project Management: Familiarity with project management tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence) and experience tracking and reporting on progress.
• Risk Management: Ability to proactively identify, assess, and mitigate risks that could affect delivery timelines or product quality.
• Continuous Improvement Mindset: Commitment to continuous improvement, both personally and for the team, using retrospectives, feedback loops, and metrics to drive improvements.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Certifications: Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), Certified Scrum Professional (CSP), or other agile certifications.
• Technical qualifications: Any that demonstrate understanding of the software development lifecycle and familiarity with relevant technical concepts (e.g., DevOps, CI/CD, microservices).

About Us

What's in it for you... Healthcare plan, life assurance and generous pension contribution. Volunteering Day. Hybrid Working. Various company discounts (including shops, gyms, days out and events). Holiday of 25 days (plus bank holidays) & ability to buy/sell days. Cycle to work scheme, car pooling and onsite parking available. As a valued member of the team, you will be supporting the Group Environmental Policy and its associated sustainability objectives and targets.

Flexibility Statement: The fast moving nature of the business means that from time to time you may be asked to perform duties or tasks outside of your original job description on an ad hoc basis. This allows the company to utilise our people in the best possible way at all times and helps our colleagues to make the best contribution in a changing environment.

Ecotricity is Britain's overall greenest energy company- it’s more than just green energy – the breadth and depth of our work on green issues is unmatched. When we started back in 1995, we were the first company in the world to provide a new kind of electricity - the green kind. Our mission was, and remains, to change the way energy is made and used in Britain - by replacing fossil fuels with clean, renewable energy. We don't just supply green energy, we use the money from our customers' bills to make it ourselves too – we have built windmills and sun parks in Britain. We call this turning 'bills into mills'. We don't just focus on energy though- we built the Electric Highway, Britain's leading network of electric vehicle charging points; we helped Forest Green Rovers become the greenest football club in the world; and we launched Britain's greenest mobile phone service, Ecotalk, where they use the money from their customers' bills to protect and regenerate Britain's lost rainforests. Ecotricity is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to providing equality for all.