Senior Delivery Manager - Digital Planning programme

Job summary

We are MHCLG

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Digital Planning Programme within the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). Our mission is to modernise the planning system through digital transformation, making it more transparent, accessible, and efficient for everyone. We are delivering tangible improvements to support communities across the UK, creating great places to live and work.

As a Senior Delivery Manager, you will play a pivotal role in supporting the delivery of cutting-edge digital services within the planning software and open digital planning or planning data or Strategic planning or GMPP programme assurance workstreams. You may work with multidisciplinary teams, partner councils, and digital agencies to co-create and deliver best-in-class digital solutions. This includes supporting the development of innovative tools related to planning data, local plans, and planning software, all underpinned by a radical, digital-first approach. We believe that modern digital approaches and technologies can dramatically improve local public services, and you will be instrumental in driving this change. This role requires you to have a deep understanding of agile and lean practices, and to make sound judgments on the use of appropriate tools and techniques. You will be expected to uphold and enhance established working practices, which revolve around the use of human-centred design practices and Scrum.

As MHCLG moves to a hybrid model of team working, part of your role will be coaching the team in effective ways of working across different locations. This is not a project management role. We are looking for individuals who want to deliver software products and can act as servant leaders to an empowered team.

Find out more about our Digital teams and what they are working on through our MHCLG Digital blog. Please note that MHCLG do not offer visa sponsorship and applicants will need a valid visa for the duration of your employment.

Job description

As a Senior Delivery Manager, you’ll:

• Lead and motivate multiple multi-disciplinary teams, helping them organise and plan their work, ensuring they deliver products and services that meet users’ needs
• Ensure teams clearly communicate their plans and progress using recognised agile practices
• Ensure that working practices are iterated to achieve effective delivery work with senior stakeholders to influence strategic direction and encourage continuous adoption of agile practices
• Take responsibility for relationships with contracted suppliers and lead on the procurement and contract management elements of the commercial case and support the drafting of business cases
• Coach, manage and lead teams in agile and lean practices, advocating these approaches and continuously reflecting and challenging the team mediate between people and mend relationships
• Communicate with stakeholders at all levels and identify and rectify problems or issues using agile health-checks and providing feedback
• Optimise the delivery flow of teams, actively addressing risks, issues, and dependencies and provide data to help report on the programme to the portfolio and senior management team
• Identify and challenge organisational processes, coaching the organisation to inspect and adapt lead a continual planning process in a complex environment, identifying dependencies and coordinating delivery support the head of delivery and finance colleagues in forecasting statement of works and wider programme spend

Person specification

As a Senior Delivery Manager, you’ll have:

• A successful track record as a Delivery Management professional and demonstrable experience and knowledge of using agile methodologies and practices to deliver large-scale digital products, services, or projects
• Experience of a continuous approach to planning, forecasting, estimating, managing uncertainty, metrics and measurements, contingency planning, and roadmapping
• A minimum of 3 years’ experience as a Senior Delivery Manager working in digital or technical teams
• Experience in coaching and leading teams in Agile and Lean practices
• Experience working in a government digital team and closely with local authorities
• Understanding of the government digital landscape and the GDS Service Manual
• Experience managing virtual teams
• Experience managing the delivery of a multi-product service, portfolio or programme
• Demonstrable experience of taking responsibility for complex relationships with contracted suppliers and negotiations by understanding how to influence, or set budget and business cases in complex environments
• Experience of multiple parts of the product life cycle, and appropriate deliverables for each phase

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,167, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £16,271 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.At MHCLG we offer many benefits that range from tailored career pathways and flexible working to MyLifestyle Childcare Voucher and Cycle to Work Schemes. For more information, please click here.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

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 (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Application and Selection

The application process will be split into 2 stages, testing the following Success Profiles:

Behaviours , Experience , Strengths , Technical

Please ensure your CV does not contain any personally identifiable information.

Note: We do not consider direct CV applications. All applications must be submitted via the provided application link.

Important: Your CV and Cover Letter must be merged into a single document before uploading.

Stage 1: Sift (CV & Cover Letter)

Experience & Technical:

In your CV and covering letter, please include:
a. why you are interested in the role;
b. how you meet the essential skills and experience required

Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that each of your answers would be viewed by different assessors.

In the event that we receive a large number of applications, we may conduct an initial sift using the lead sift question listed in the advert. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to interview.

Lead sift question (Experience): Can you share an example of how you led and motivated multi-disciplinary teams using Agile practices to deliver products and services that meet users' needs?

Stage 2: Interview

• Behaviours: "Leadership", "Developing Self and Others"
• Experience: Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description.
• Strengths: The strength-based questions will require natural responses from the candidates.

Sift and Interview Dates

Sifting is envisaged to take place the week commencing 30th March 2026.

Interviews are envisaged to take place the week commencing 13th April 2026 and are currently being held remotely via videocall. This could be subject to change.

How We Recruit

Find out everything you need to know before applying here..

• Applying
• Sifting
• Interview
• Interview Results & Feedback
• Reserve List
• Near Miss
• Civil Service Grades
• We are a DCS, RIS & GPTWV employer
• Reasonable Adjustments

How to Apply

What you need to know before applying.

• Security Clearance Requirements
• Civil Service Nationality Requirements
• Right to Work
• Artificial Intelligence
• Civil Service Code and Recruitment Principles
• CV Declaration
• Sponsorships
• Salary and Grade
• Existing Civil Servants
• Conflict of Interest
• Location and Flexible Working
• Fixed Term Contracts
• Internal Fraud Database - Internal Fraud Register
• Appeals and Complaints
• Conflict of Interest

Security Clearance Requirements

National Office:

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• 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) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Digital Data Jobs
• Email : Digitaldatajobs@communities.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : Digitaldatajobs@communities.gov.uk