Agile Delivery Manager - Intellectual Property Office - SEO in Newport

Location: Newport NP10 8QQ

Job summary:

The IPO is an exciting modern organisation where technology is a key component of our services to operate and innovate effectively. We are currently delivering a major end-to-end digital transformation program bringing cutting‑edge technologies into our estate whilst also maintaining our live services.

As a proactive and experienced Delivery Manager aligned to one of our service squads, you will be responsible for ensuring effective delivery across your squad, including new and ongoing products and services, and their operational management. You will work closely with Product Managers and ensure planning, execution, tracking and reporting of priorities, while balancing Agile best practices with pragmatic delivery decisions.

The service squad is a multi‑disciplinary team, including Development Engineers, Test Engineers, Technical Architects, Product Managers, User Researchers, Business Analysts and Service Owners. The successful candidate will have a proven background in running functional Agile teams and be passionate about Agile delivery methodologies for converting extensive backlogs to production‑ready systems at pace.

The role is critical in enabling the team to deliver high‑quality outcomes, efficiently and collaboratively, while aligning closely with wider programme objectives and timelines. You will be part of a wider Delivery Manager Community of Practice aimed at maintaining and enhancing standards of practice around Delivery Management across the DDaT Directorate. As such, you will play an integral role in not only the professional development of others in the Community of Practice but also for those that make up the service squads, by feeding into and influencing their own Communities of Practice, continually driving DDaT forward.

You will have extensive experience and knowledge in delivery management, stakeholder management, Agile ways of working and their associated frameworks, such as SCRUM and Kanban.

Working Style:

This role will be carried out in‑line with IPO Hybrid working arrangements where staff are currently expected to spend at least 20% of their time working onsite from one of our offices. This role is based in our Newport Office. The requirement for attendance at an office location can vary by role so we would encourage candidates to discuss working arrangements with the recruiting manager to agree a reasonable balance between working from home and the office.

Main duties include:

• Facilitate Agile Ceremonies: stand‑ups, planning, retrospectives, and reviews to maintain momentum and foster continuous improvement.
• Team Planning & Prioritisation: Support the team in estimating, tracking, and delivering priorities, ensuring alignment with business goals.
• Stakeholder Collaboration: Work closely with the Product Manager and technical stakeholders to understand priorities and dependencies.
• Workflow: Oversee the daily flow of work items, ensuring progression from backlog to delivery, using flow metrics where appropriate to enhance predictability and efficiency.
• Reporting & Insights: Track and report against key milestones and forecasts, providing clear visibility on team progress.
• Programme-Level Engagement: Represent the team in programme-level sessions, articulating updates, risks, and dependencies.
• Risk & Issue Management: Identify and address risks promptly, ensuring mitigation plans are in place.
• Incident Response: Act as a key escalation point during live incidents, helping to coordinate resolution and communication.
• Removing Blockers: Proactively address obstacles that hinder team performance and ensure a clear pathway for delivery.
• Continuous Improvement: Drive team maturity in agile delivery practices, fostering a culture of learning and adaptation.
• Cross-Team Dependencies: Understand and manage dependencies with other teams and workstreams across the programme. Ensure smooth integration and alignment of delivery plans.

Person specification:

• Evidence of communicating effectively across the wider organisation, understanding differing stakeholders for example technical/non‑technical and political boundaries, understanding the context.
• Expertise in facilitating agile ceremonies and team collaboration.
• Ability to manage priorities, dependencies, and risks effectively.
• Extensive background in providing accurate, timely information on progress, resourcing, and impediments to allow informed decision making.
• Experience using agile tools such as Azure DevOps, Actionable Agile or similar.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Experience of leading technical delivery teams utilising automated delivery methodologies including automated development pipelines, automated testing, operations etc.
• Ability to Influence, both inside the Digital, Data and Technology department, and across the organisation.
• Familiarity with Kanban flow metrics and data‑driven decision‑making.
• Demonstrable experience producing high value Project Delivery MI.
• A passion for continuous improvement and agile best practices.
• Product Manager/Product Owner experience to help understand the wider delivery direction.
• Understanding of DSIT/CDDO digital and technology pipelines.
• A relevant Scrum Master/Agile Project Manager qualification.