Agile Delivery Manager - Newport in Yapton

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. 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 consist of but are not limited to:

• 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.

Essential Criteria:

• Experienced Delivery Manager with proven background in running cross functional agile delivery teams.
• Extensive experience of Agile methodologies including SCRUM, Kanban and knowledge of DevOps.
• Experience of leading teams delivering solutions as part of a wider programme of delivery.
• 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.
• Candidates must hold a relevant Scrum Master or Agile Delivery Manager qualification and will be asked to provide proof if invited to a first stage interview.

How to Apply:

Click the 'Apply now' button and complete the application form by providing the following:

• Your CV: Upload an anonymised copy of your current CV. Please remove all identifying markers such as name, title, education institution etc. Make sure it clearly shows how you meet the essential criteria listed in the Person Specification.
• 500-word Personal Statement: Please provide specific examples that demonstrate your ability to lead teams delivering solutions as part of a wider programme of delivery, manage priorities, dependencies, and risks effectively, and provide accurate, timely information on progress, resourcing, and impediments to allow informed decision making.

During the selection process, we'll assess you against the Professional Framework. Up to date information on the DDaT Framework and its associated roles can be found on the Government Digital & Data Framework pages.

For further information on the sift and interview stages of this recruitment campaign, please head to our 'Things you need to know' section below.

Please visit our Civil Service Careers page - IPO - Recruitment Support, Civil Service Careers.

If you require job-specific information, please contact Alex Morgan.

Qualifications:

Candidates must hold a relevant Scrum Master or Agile Delivery Manager qualification and will be asked to provide proof if invited to a first stage interview.

Behaviours:

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Leadership, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together, Delivering at Pace.

Benefits:

Alongside your salary of 47,766, Intellectual Property Office contributes 13,837 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Unlimited Pluralsight video learning access.
• Access to Microsoft's ESI training suite.
• Hybrid working with no core hours.
• Substantial support for career progression.
• 25 days annual leave moving to 30 days in annual increments.
• You will also get 8 days public leave and 1 day privilege leave.

For more information about what's on offer at the Intellectual Property Office please review our IPO benefit pack attached to the bottom of this advert. Please note that benefits may be subject to change.

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified, applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours and Experience. Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check and if successful you must also hold, or be willing to obtain, a higher Security Clearance. For meaningful checks to be carried out individuals will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time, depending on the level of clearance, to enable appropriate checks to be carried out.

The assessment process will comprise of the following:

• Stage 1 - Sift: An initial sift of applications will be carried out to create a shortlist based on the evidence provided for the Success Profile elements.
• Stage 2 - Interview 1: Experience-based questioning will be used.
• Stage 3 - Interview 2: Behaviours and Experience-based questioning will be used.

This recruitment campaign will keep a reserve list for 12 months. If you meet the requirements for this role but aren't offered after passing the interview, you'll be placed on the reserve list. If a suitable position opens up during this time, we will reach out to individuals in merit order.

Applicants to note: CVs sent direct to the IPO will not be accepted. There may be important information contained within the job role profile candidates may also wish to refer to. We recommend candidates download and save a copy of the role profile for reference.

In line with Government guidance, successfully appointed candidates will need to provide documents for our Right to Work checks. Information on this will be sent within the invite to interview text.

If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process, then please let the recruitment team know.

In the event of a high volume of applications, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) reserves the right to raise the minimum qualifying score at sift to manage volumes and ensure a proportionate and fair assessment process. Please be aware that only one application per candidate is permitted for each recruitment campaign. Multiple applications may result in your application being withdrawn or rejected at any stage of the process.

For more information on the IPO's terms and conditions, please review the attached IPO Modernised Terms and Conditions document.

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed.

This job is broadly open to UK nationals, nationals of the Republic of Ireland, nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK, nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS).

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities.