Delivery Lead in Milton Keynes

The Delivery Lead is accountable for the end-to-end delivery of change initiatives allocated to their cross-functional delivery pod, ensuring work is effectively planned, mobilised and delivered in line with agreed priorities, timescales, budgets and business outcomes.

Working within the priorities and portfolio direction set by the Change Portfolio Lead, the role owns the day-to-day delivery of assigned initiatives and the effective use and sequencing of capacity within the pod. The Delivery Lead coordinates Business Analysis, Change, Testing, business, technology and supplier activity to maintain delivery momentum and ensure risks, issues and dependencies are actively managed.

The role provides clear delivery leadership across strategic, regulatory, operational and technology-enabled change, creating accountability across the full delivery lifecycle from mobilisation through implementation and handover.

The Delivery Lead is responsible for identifying when allocated demand cannot be accommodated within available pod capacity and escalating priority, resource or delivery conflicts to the Change Portfolio Lead.

Key responsibilities

Delivery Leadership

• Take accountability for the end-to-end delivery of strategic, regulatory, operational and technology-enabled initiatives allocated to the delivery pod.
• Mobilise initiatives, establishing appropriate delivery plans, milestones, governance, resources and ways of working.
• Own and maintain integrated delivery plans across business, technology, supplier and change activity.
• Drive delivery against agreed scope, timescales, budget and business outcomes.
• Maintain delivery momentum, actively removing blockers and escalating constraints where required.
• Ensure clear ownership of actions, decisions and deliverables across all contributing teams.
• Coordinate implementation, operational readiness, testing, business acceptance and transition into BAU.
• Ensure appropriate closure, handover and post-implementation activity is completed.
• Operate as the day-to-day delivery leader for the multidisciplinary pod.
• Coordinate the activity of and capacity of Business Analysts, Change Managers, Test Analysts and other allocated resources.
• Manage the sequencing and use of available pod capacity against agreed portfolio priorities.
• Provide the Change Portfolio Lead with clear visibility of pod capacity, delivery pressures and resource constraints.
• Provide delivery feedback and input to the Change Portfolio Lead to support colleague performance and development where appropriate.
• Own project planning, estimation and delivery forecasting for assigned initiatives.
• Maintain appropriate visibility of project costs, forecasts and financial commitments.
• Monitor delivery against approved investment and elevate material cost pressures or variances.
• Manage scope and change control in accordance with the Bank's agreed framework.
• Ensure key assumptions, dependencies and business resource requirements are identified and agreed.

Testing & Quality

• Accountable for ensuring appropriate testing and quality assurance is planned and completed for initiatives within the pod.
• Ensure appropriate test planning, business validation and acceptance criteria are incorporated into delivery plans.
• Ensure defects and quality risks are visible, appropriately prioritised and resolved or formally accepted before implementation.
• Escalate where internal testing capability is insufficient for the complexity, risk or scale of an initiative.
• Coordinate additional external specialist testing resource where agreed.
• Ensure appropriate evidence of testing and business acceptance is retained.
• Build effective working relationships across business functions, Technology, Risk, Compliance and other specialist teams.
• Establish clear stakeholder ownership, decision-making and business resource commitments for assigned initiatives.
• Communicate delivery progress, risks, decisions and dependencies clearly to stakeholders and governance forums.
• Coordinate third-party suppliers and implementation partners involved in key deliverables whilst holding them accountable for agreed milestones.
• Escalate strategic supplier or application-roadmap issues to the Change Portfolio Lead.

Change, Readiness & Outcomes

• Ensure change impact, operational readiness and adoption activity is integrated into the overall delivery plan.
• Work closely with the Change Manager to ensure affected colleagues and business areas are appropriately prepared for implementation.
• Ensure training, communications, process changes and business readiness dependencies are identified early enough to influence delivery.
• Ensure agreed business acceptance and readiness criteria are met prior to implementation.
• Support effective transition of delivered change into BAU ownership.
• Ensure expected outcomes and benefits measures are clearly understood and handed over to the accountable business owner.

Any other duties commensurate with the grade and level of responsibility of this role, for which the role holder has the necessary experience and/or training.

Skills and qualifications required

• Significant experience delivering complex change initiatives within financial services or another regulated environment.
• Demonstrable end-to-end accountability for project or change delivery.
• Strong planning and delivery management capability across multiple concurrent initiatives or workstreams.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams through matrix working arrangements.
• Strong understanding of project and change governance, RAID management, dependencies and change control.
• Experience managing project budgets, forecasts and supplier commitments.
• Ability to manage and sequence constrained delivery capacity against competing priorities.
• Strong stakeholder management, influencing and negotiation capability.
• Experience coordinating business, technology, testing, change and third-party delivery.
• Ability to challenge unrealistic delivery expectations and clearly articulate capacity or delivery trade-offs.
• Strong understanding of operational and regulatory risk within financial services.
• Experience delivering technology-enabled as well as business and operational change.
• Strong problem-solving, judgement and decision-making skills.
• Ability to operate with autonomy in a fast-moving delivery environment.
• GCSE English and Mathematics (or equivalent).

Please note: the position is office based with a Hybrid Working policy with flexibility to work from home up to 3 days a week.

Gatehouse Bank is an equal opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, or pregnancy and maternity.

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