Delivery Manager in Scotland

About Toptal

Toptal is a global network of top talent in business, design, and technology that enables companies to scale their teams, on-demand. With $200+ million in annual revenue and team members based around the globe, Toptal is the world’s largest fully remote workforce. We take the best elements of virtual teams and combine them with a support structure that encourages innovation, social interaction, and fun. We see no borders, move at a fast pace, and are never afraid to break the mold.

Job Summary

The Delivery Manager is responsible for day‑to‑day execution of client engagements (talent, projects, managed services) within the organization, ensuring on‑time, high‑quality delivery and strong financial performance for an assigned set of clients and engagements. This role translates strategic direction from Delivery Directors into concrete delivery plans and actions, owning project‑level execution, client reporting, and margin protection. The ideal candidate will have hands‑on experience managing technology and professional services engagements, driving predictable delivery outcomes, managing project‑level financials, and embedding AI‑enabled and standardized ways of working into daily execution. This is a remote position. We do not offer visa sponsorship or assistance. Resumes and communication must be submitted in English.

Responsibilities

• Delivery Quality and Consistency

• Own the end‑to‑end delivery lifecycle to ensure consistent client satisfaction and revenue retention.
• Own end‑to‑end delivery execution for assigned projects and managed services, from kickoff through closure or transition to steady state, ensuring scope, schedule, and quality commitments are met.
• Build and maintain detailed delivery plans, milestones, and work breakdown structures, proactively managing risks, issues, and dependencies across distributed teams.
• Enforce standardized delivery methodologies, SLAs, and best practices defined by the Delivery Director and Practices, ensuring consistent execution across all engagements.
• Run recurring delivery ceremonies (stand‑ups, sprint reviews, status calls, service reviews) and drive clear action ownership and follow‑through.
• Monitor delivery KPIs (defects, rework, SLA adherence, CSAT, incident trends) and implement corrective actions and continuous improvement initiatives.

• Serve as the primary day‑to‑day delivery contact for client stakeholders for assigned engagements, fostering trusted relationships through clear, proactive communication.
• Prepare and lead regular client status and service review meetings, providing concise views of progress, risks, issues, financials, and improvement actions.
• Manage expectations and escalations in partnership with Delivery Directors and Account/Sales counterparts, ensuring transparent handling of challenges and trade‑offs.
• Capture client feedback and translate it into concrete delivery improvements and opportunities for expanded value.

• Manage engagement‑level financials within portfolio guardrails, including revenue realization, margin performance, and accurate forecasting for assigned projects and services.
• Track effort, burn, and utilization against plan; proactively adjust staffing, scope, and delivery approach to protect margins while maintaining quality.
• Ensure proper scope control and change management, identifying out‑of‑scope work and partnering with Sales and Delivery Directors to structure change orders.
• Support accurate and timely billing by validating deliverable sign‑offs, timesheets, and milestone completions.

• Apply AI‑enabled tools and automation (e.g., for planning, estimation, testing, monitoring, reporting) in daily execution, following standards and guardrails set by Delivery Directors and AI/Operations teams.
• Use data and analytics to inform delivery decisions, including forecasting, capacity planning, and early risk identification.
• Champion adoption of standardized playbooks, templates, and tooling to reduce variability, improve productivity, and enhance client outcomes.
• Provide feedback on AI‑enabled and standardized processes to help refine and improve delivery practices over time.

• Coordinate and lead cross‑functional teams (talent placement, consultants, engineers, SMEs) across multiple time zones to deliver against commitments.
• Provide day‑to‑day direction, prioritization, and coaching to team members, creating clarity on goals, roles, and expectations.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement through retrospectives and data‑driven learning.

• Partner with Sales, Presales, and Delivery Directors to provide delivery inputs to proposals, SOWs, and account plans, ensuring commitments are realistic and executable.
• Contribute to solution design with practical delivery approaches, plans estimates, and risk assessments for new and expanding engagements.
• Participate in select client pre‑sales discussions to represent delivery feasibility, delivery model options (project vs managed services), and implementation considerations.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• On‑time delivery and milestone adherence for assigned engagements.
• Engagement‑level delivery margin and revenue realization against forecast.
• Client satisfaction scores and qualitative feedback for assigned projects/accounts.
• SLA and quality metrics (incident rates, rework, defect trends, uptime/service metrics where applicable).
• Delivery productivity metrics (e.g., hours saved, throughput, efficiency) driven by standardized and AI‑enabled practices.
• Accuracy of forecasts (schedule, resourcing, financials) for owned engagements.

In the first week, expect to:

• Onboard and integrate into Toptal; meet Delivery, Sales, Talent, and Operations colleagues.
• Learn about the company’s history, culture, service offerings, and delivery models (talent placement, professional services, managed services).
• Review delivery playbooks, tools, and governance frameworks used across engagements.

In the first month, expect to:

• Build working relationships with Delivery Directors, Sales, PreSales, Practice Leads, and Talent Operations for your accounts.
• Shadow existing client engagements to understand current delivery approaches, financial models, and stakeholder expectations.
• Take ownership of selected workstreams or smaller engagements under guidance from a Delivery Director.

In the first three months, expect to:

• Fully own day‑to‑day execution for a set of projects and/or managed services, including delivery plans, status reporting, and risk/issue management.
• Demonstrate consistent use of standardized delivery practices and tools, including AI‑enabled workflows where available.
• Identify initial improvement opportunities in quality, process, or financial performance within your engagements while exercising discretion and independent judgment.

In the first six months, expect to:

• Run a stable portfolio of engagements with predictable delivery outcomes, strong client feedback, and sound financial performance.
• Implement targeted optimizations in your engagements (e.g., better forecasting, resourcing changes, process improvements, automation).
• Serve as a go‑to delivery partner for Sales and Delivery Directors on new opportunities within your client set.

In the first year, expect to:

• Be recognized as a trusted delivery leader for your accounts, with strong client relationships and internal partnerships.
• Consistently achieve or exceed targets for on‑time delivery, client satisfaction, and engagement‑level margin across your portfolio.
• Contribute best practices, lessons learned, and feedback to help evolve delivery methodologies, tooling, and AI‑enabled practices.

Qualifications and Job Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree is required.
• 7–10+ years of experience in Professional Services delivery, consulting, or related roles.
• 3–5+ years managing projects or services for multiple clients or workstreams, ideally in a global or distributed delivery environment.
• Proven track record delivering complex technology or professional services engagements with strong client satisfaction and predictable outcomes.
• Solid understanding of both project-based and managed services delivery models, including governance and SLAs.
• Hands‑on experience with project/engagement financials (forecasting, revenue recognition basics, margin drivers, utilization, change control).
• Experience working with or implementing technology‑ and automation‑led improvements in delivery; exposure to AI‑enabled tools is a strong plus.
• Strong understanding of Professional Services fundamentals (SOWs, deliverables, risk management, change management, and commercial models).
• Excellent client‑facing communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to simplify complex delivery topics.
• Detail‑oriented, data‑driven, and outcome‑focused, with strong problem‑solving and decision‑making skills.
• Collaborative, empathetic team player who builds trust while driving accountability and clear ownership.
• Comfortable working through change and ambiguity while maintaining composure and client confidence.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work in a fast‑paced, rapidly growing company and handle a wide variety of challenges, deadlines, and a diverse array of contacts.
• You must be a world‑class individual contributor to thrive at Toptal. You will not be here just to tell other people what to do.

Seniority level: Mid‑Senior level

Employment type: Full‑time

Job function: Management and Manufacturing

Industries: Technology, Information and Internet