At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead high-impact tech initiatives and ensure seamless delivery across teams.
- Company: Join Springer Nature, a trusted source of knowledge for over 180 years.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible working, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in technology while driving innovation and collaboration.
- Qualifications: Experience in managing complex tech programmes and strong leadership skills.
- Other info: Dynamic role with excellent career advancement opportunities in a supportive environment.
The predicted salary is between 48000 - 72000 Β£ per year.
Location: London
Reports to: Director of Technology / Head of Digital Platforms
About Springer Nature
Springer Nature opens the doors to discovery for researchers, educators, clinicians and other professionals. Every day, around the globe, our imprints, books, journals, platforms and technology solutions reach millions of people. For over 180 years our brands and imprints have been a trusted source of knowledge to these communities and today, more than ever, we see it as our responsibility to ensure that fundamental knowledge can be found, verified, understood and used by our communities β enabling them to improve outcomes, make progress, and benefit the generations that follow.
About the role
Weβre looking for a decisive and delivery-focused Delivery Lead to lead the execution of high-impact, cross-functional initiatives within our Digital Platform Team. This role is central to ensuring the scalable, secure, and resilient technology foundations that enable rapid product delivery and business growth. You will lead the delivery of multiple concurrent programmes, manage strategic vendors (100+ personnel across two providers), mitigate delivery risks before they escalate, and align globally distributed engineering teams to deliver outcomes, not just outputs. This is a hands-on leadership roleβnot for spectators or coordinators. We need someone who thrives in complexity, removes friction across teams, and is equally comfortable discussing platform architecture and managing stakeholder expectations.
Key Responsibilities
- Own and drive the end-to-end delivery of critical platform initiatives, ensuring commitments on scope, timeline, and budget are met.
- Define delivery strategies, orchestrate cross-team dependencies, and actively resolve delivery challenges.
- Embed delivery metrics, OKRs, and governance into every programme to track progress, surface risks, and adjust with confidence.
- Align and lead multiple delivery teams, fostering ownership, accountability, and delivery velocity.
- Actively coach and mentor team leads and PMs, building a high-performance delivery culture with clarity of purpose.
- Champion consistency in delivery practices and continuous improvement across squads.
- Establish and enforce delivery governance frameworks.
- Identify, assess, and proactively mitigate risks and cross-team dependencies.
- Communicate risk exposure clearly and regularly to senior stakeholders β no surprises.
- Manage strategic delivery partners (100+ resources across two major vendors), ensuring contract alignment, performance transparency, and delivery accountability.
- Ensure transparency between all teams.
- Balance cost, quality, and velocity β negotiate effectively when delivery or quality slips.
- Act as a trusted delivery advisor to technology and business leadership.
- Translate delivery status into business impact and technical clarity.
- Lead programme steering sessions and executive updates with confidence, clarity, and data.
- Ensure that platform initiatives are aligned to enterprise architecture, security, and scalability standards.
- Confidently challenge technical decisions when necessary to stay aligned on delivery outcomes.
What You Bring
- Experience leading complex, multi-workstream technology programmes in platform engineering, cloud infrastructure, or digital delivery environments.
- Strong command of delivery governance, risk management, and cross-team coordination.
- Proven experience managing multiple external vendors, delivering at enterprise scale (2+ vendors, 100+ people).
- Deep understanding of hybrid Project management and Agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban) and familiarity with Lean Portfolio Management.
- Strong leadership presence: you know when to elevate, when to step in, and when to coach.
- Adept at converting architecture and engineering detail into clear, actionable insights for execs.
- Expertise in Release / delivery tracking and collaboration tools (Jira, Confluence, etc.).
Nice to Have
- Experience in high-scale digital environments.
- Familiarity with AWS, Azure, or CI/CD pipelines; container orchestration; API platforms.
- Certifications in Programme & Project Management β PMP, Agile, or equivalent.
What Success Looks Like
- Programmes are delivered on time, within budget, and exceed stakeholder expectations.
- Teams are aligned, autonomous, and consistently delivering business value.
- Strategic risks are identified and neutralised early β no surprises.
- Vendor delivery performance is visible, accountable, and consistently high.
- Engineering output aligns with architectural direction and scales effectively with the business.
- Technology is a value add and we provide a consistent stable and optimised service.
Programme Manager/Delivery Lead employer: Springer Nature
Contact Detail:
Springer Nature Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice π€«
We think this is how you could land Programme Manager/Delivery Lead
β¨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to your connections in the industry, attend relevant meetups, and engage with professionals on LinkedIn. We all know that sometimes itβs not just what you know, but who you know that can help you land that Programme Manager role.
β¨Tip Number 2
Prepare for those interviews by practising common questions related to delivery management and risk mitigation. We recommend doing mock interviews with friends or using online platforms to get comfortable discussing your experience and how it aligns with the job description.
β¨Tip Number 3
Showcase your leadership skills during interviews! Be ready to share examples of how you've led complex projects and managed teams. We want to hear about your hands-on approach and how youβve tackled challenges head-on.
β¨Tip Number 4
Donβt forget to apply through our website! Itβs the best way to ensure your application gets noticed. Plus, we love seeing candidates who are proactive and engaged with our brand. Letβs get you that Delivery Lead position!
We think you need these skills to ace Programme Manager/Delivery Lead
Some tips for your application π«‘
Tailor Your Application: Make sure to customise your CV and cover letter for the Programme Manager role. Highlight your experience in leading complex technology programmes and managing multiple vendors, as this will show us you understand what we're looking for.
Showcase Your Leadership Skills: We want to see how you've led teams and projects in the past. Share specific examples of how you've fostered ownership and accountability within your teams, and how you've navigated challenges to deliver successful outcomes.
Be Clear and Concise: When writing your application, keep it straightforward. Use clear language to convey your experience and skills, especially around delivery governance and risk management. We appreciate a well-structured application that gets straight to the point!
Apply Through Our Website: Don't forget to submit your application through our website! This ensures we receive all your details correctly and helps us process your application more efficiently. We can't wait to hear from you!
How to prepare for a job interview at Springer Nature
β¨Know Your Programmes Inside Out
Before the interview, dive deep into your past experiences with complex technology programmes. Be ready to discuss specific examples where you led multi-workstream initiatives, managed vendors, and navigated delivery challenges. This will show that you understand the intricacies of the role.
β¨Master the Metrics
Familiarise yourself with key delivery metrics, OKRs, and governance frameworks. Be prepared to explain how you've embedded these into your previous projects to track progress and mitigate risks. This demonstrates your proactive approach to delivery management.
β¨Showcase Your Leadership Style
Think about your leadership presence and how you foster accountability and ownership within teams. Share examples of how you've coached team leads and PMs to build a high-performance culture. This will highlight your ability to lead effectively in a hands-on role.
β¨Communicate Clearly and Confidently
Practice articulating complex technical details in a way that's easy for non-technical stakeholders to understand. Prepare to discuss how you've translated delivery status into business impact in the past. Clear communication is key to ensuring everyone is aligned and informed.