Delivery & Operations Lead

John Lewis Partnership; London; Hybrid; GBP 63,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a leading employee-owned business as a Delivery & Operations Lead in London. You will drive value creation, manage budgets, and lead teams to achieve strategic goals. Embrace a hybrid working model while fostering stakeholder relationships and personal growth.

Qualifications

• Proven track record in Agile Portfolio Delivery, Operational support, or continuous improvement.
• Experience managing budgets and delivering complex projects.

Responsibilities

• Set clear intent, direction, and guardrails to achieve outcomes aligned with the Partnership strategy.
• Optimize delivery costs by effectively utilizing partners and third parties.
• Inspire and motivate teams focused on creating value.

Skills

Agile Portfolio Delivery

Stakeholder Management

Financial Management

Communication

Coaching

Job description

Join to apply for the Delivery & Operations Lead role at John Lewis Partnership

About The Role

As a Delivery and Operations Lead in our business, your primary focus is to work collaboratively to create more value for our customers through a relentless drive to deliver value, supporting our business objectives. You will act as an immediate escalation point to unblock issues and impediments. This role involves assuring, executing, and maintaining technical services within a specific domain (e.g., Supply Chain), managing significant budgets, and maintaining a strategic view of technical services, projects, and outcomes. You will also develop and maintain stakeholder relationships, demonstrating effective influencing skills, and have opportunities for personal and professional growth.

Contract type

This role is a permanent contract.

Working pattern/flexible working

The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach, allowing a mix of office and home-based work based on personal needs and business requirements.

Location

This role is based in London or Bracknell, with the specific location to be agreed with the line manager. The role requires regular work in London or Bracknell and other locations as needed.

Salary

The expected salary for this role is up to £75,000.

Key Responsibilities

1. Set clear intent, direction, and guardrails to achieve outcomes aligned with the Partnership and business strategy.
2. Embrace Agile working principles, demonstrating flexibility and supporting colleagues to ensure success.
3. Own and improve ways of working within capabilities, encouraging safe experimentation.
4. Mitigate business risks while maintaining throughput and value.
5. Optimize delivery costs by effectively utilizing partners and third parties, removing waste.
6. Ensure operability delivery within your area.
7. Ensure all teams/services have clear OKRs.
8. Inspire and motivate teams focused on creating value.
9. Empower teams to make decisions and resolve challenges.
10. Invest in personal and team development.
11. Manage Partners in line with JL&P principles, with clear OKRs and performance management.
12. Share ownership responsibilities actively and support Partners and colleagues.

Essential Skills/Experience

• Proven track record in Agile Portfolio Delivery, Operational support, or continuous improvement.
• Ability to thrive in a dynamic, ambiguous environment.
• Strong team-building skills.
• Excellent stakeholder management.
• Financial management experience, including budgeting and cost control.
• Strong communication and influencing skills, both written and verbal.
• People and task management experience.
• Familiarity with agile ways of working and DevOps culture.
• Experience managing budgets and delivering complex projects.
• Strong coaching skills and understanding of Lean principles.
• Effective planning and outcome focus.
• Experience in a matrix management environment.
• Understanding of Product Management processes and principles.
• Excellent stakeholder and third-party management skills.
• Ability to cope with ambiguity and tight delivery timelines.
• High level of personal accountability.

Desirable Skills/Experience

• Experience in Supply Chain or Retail sectors.
• Knowledge of Warehousing or Ordering solutions.

About The Partnership

We’re the UK’s largest employee-owned business, home to John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re committed to building a happier world, innovating, diversifying, and providing excellent service. As Partners, we share ownership and responsibility, contributing to our collective success while respecting each other’s differences. We foster an environment where everyone can thrive and be themselves.

Additional Information

Some roles may require pre-employment vetting, including DBS checks and financial probity checks. We encourage early application as vacancies may close early. We support flexible working arrangements, including flexible hours, job sharing, or shorter contracts—discuss these options with the hiring manager during your interview.

Seniority level

Mid-Senior level

Employment type

Full-time

Job function

Management and Manufacturing

Industries

Retail