Delivery Lead (Synergy Programme)

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP); Leeds; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) seeks a senior programme lead to direct the ISSC2 transition for DEFRA and the Home Office, delivering a major cross-government transformation. You will drive exit and transition activities across multiple partners, aligning workstreams and ensuring end-to-end delivery.

The role requires strong leadership, stakeholder engagement at all levels, and robust governance; you will mentor team members and promote continuous improvement across the programme.

Qualifications

• Experience leading supplier management or transition on a major government contract or framework.
• Experience defining exit and transition components: scope, deliverables, timescales, resources, contract management.
• Ability to integrate project outputs into BAU to enable business change and benefits realization.
• Proven ability to build collaborative relationships with supplier partners and senior stakeholders.
• Outstanding communicator able to influence, negotiate and challenge across political environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead a complex programme of contract exit and transition with multiple partners and stakeholders.
• Provide insight, leadership and challenge to achieve the programme outcomes.
• Unify competing workstreams, manage interdependencies and deliver an end-to-end view.
• Identify and manage relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Apply risk management methods and escalation as needed.
• Drive governance, transition planning and delivery, adapting methodologies across phases.
• Coach and develop the team and promote high performance.

Skills

Programme leadership

Stakeholder management

Risk management

Governance

Cross-government collaboration

Job description

This is an exciting opportunity to lead the ISSC2 transition for DEFRA and the Home Office, playing a key role in delivering a significant cross-government transformation programme.

Successful candidates can be expected to:

• Lead and drive a complex programme of contract exit and transition related activity with competing priorities, in a multiple partner and stakeholder environment at pace
• Provide insight, leadership and challenge at all levels to achieve the desired outcome
• Work to unify competing workstreams, spot opportunities and break down silos, manage interdependencies to ensure an end-to-end programme view
• Identify and expertly manage stakeholder relationships for multiple internal and external stakeholders as appropriate
• Use appropriate methodologies to identify and monitor risks and issues, applying mitigation, controls and escalation as appropriate
• Drive effective governance, transition planning and execution, setting appropriate delivery methodologies including between programme phases to manage change effectively
• Provide support, guidance and coaching for the team. Show commitment to personal development. Promote effective individual and team performance.

Person specification

Candidates must be able to demonstrate the following essential criteria:

• Previous experience of leading supplier management or transition on the Independent Shared Services Centre 2 (ISSC2) Agreement (Lead criteria).
• Experience of transitioning services, defining the fundamental components of exit and transition in terms of scope, deliverables, time scales, resource requirements and contract management, including the production of broader plans incorporating risk and quality to provide a consolidated overview of service exit and transition.
• Experience of integrating project outputs into ‘business as usual’ (BAU) ensuring activities are planned and completed to enable the business to implement the change and realise the benefits.
• Experience of building effective and collaborative relationships with supplier partners, senior stakeholders and holding others responsible for driving key deliverables
• Outstanding communicator with the ability to influence at all levels and lead constructive challenge, negotiation and collaboration in politically sensitive environments.