Principal Agile Delivery Manager

Hippo; Leeds; On-site; GBP 95,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Contributory pension

25 days holiday

Perkbox access

Life insurance

Volunteer days

Cycle-to-work

EV salary sacrifice

Season tickets

Wellbeing programs

Job summary

Hippo in Leeds is seeking a Principal Delivery Manager to shape strategic delivery across large, high‑stakes programs. You will lead a multi‑disciplinary team and partner with data, design, product, and engineering to deliver impactful digital services.

You will work with executive stakeholders to set the long‑term roadmap, oversee multiple projects, and mentor other Delivery Managers. Travel to client sites as required and help recruit top delivery talent to strengthen Hippo’s practice.

Qualifications

• Experience guiding delivery change in large, complex organisations.
• Ability to use metrics and insights to influence senior leaders.
• Expertise in documenting governance and reporting at high level.
• Experience leading delivery process improvements across multi-disciplinary teams.
• Experience implementing AI tools in delivery.
• Consulting experience with senior stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Investigate major delivery and organisational challenges; define long‑term roadmap for large-scale programs.
• Oversee health and performance of delivery across a portfolio of projects; transform operations with agile/lean.
• Lead workshops with executive stakeholders to align on goals, funding, and transformation roadmaps.
• Build and maintain relationships with critical clients; identify risks and strategic opportunities.
• Directly manage, advise, and lead other Delivery Managers; grow Hippo’s delivery profession.
• Lead strategy for hiring delivery talent and chair interview panels.

Skills

Stakeholder mgmt

Delivery leadership

Agile leadership

User-centered delivery

Job description

About The Role

Hippo is a rapidly growing digital consultancy passionate about building and delivering transformative digital solutions for a diverse range of Public and Private sector clients. We are recruiting for a Principal Delivery Manager to support our mission. We work at the intersection of strategy, design, and technology to solve complex problems and create lasting value. Our collaborative and agile culture empowers our teams to make a genuine impact.

As a Principal Delivery Manager, you will play an important role in making Hippo the best Consultancy out there. You will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team combining data, design, product, delivery, analysis and engineering to deliver bespoke digital services that make a positive and meaningful impact on organisations and society. We're confident in our abilities, authentic in our approach, and passionate about what we do.

You will act as a Principal Consultant to deliver Delivery Management services to our clients. You will be a recognised leader in the agile delivery world, with deep expertise in managing large‑scale, high‑stakes programs. You will shape the strategic direction for delivery across major accounts, ensuring that we design and deliver services that work for people while driving organisational change at the highest level.

Our solutions empower our customers to build and support secure, scalable, and well‑engineered systems beyond traditional boundaries that allow our customers to understand and get the most from their data and digital services. The Principal Delivery Manager will be a key player and strategic leader in this.

[Please note we are looking for candidates who are looking for growth at the Principal level; therefore, the advertised salary band represents the entry point for this level, allowing for clear progression within the role.]

Your Role in a Nutshell

• Take the lead in investigating major delivery and organisational challenges, defining the long‑term roadmap for how large‑scale programs are executed.
• Oversee the health and performance of delivery across a portfolio of projects, finding ways to transform business operations through superior agile logic and lean processes.
• Lead high‑level workshops with executive stakeholders to align on strategic delivery goals, funding models, and organisational transformation roadmaps.
• Build and maintain strong, long‑lasting relationships with our most critical clients, identifying potential risks and strategic delivery opportunities before they arise.
• Directly manage, advise, and lead other Delivery Managers while driving the growth and excellence of the Hippo Delivery profession.
• Lead the strategy for hiring new delivery talent, defining what "great" looks like for Hippo and chairing interview panels for the discipline.

About the Candidate

Essential Experience

• Expert‑level experience in seeing the big picture and guiding how large, complex organisations handle delivery‑led change and digital transformation.
• Proven track record of using delivery data, performance metrics, and research insights to influence the strategic decisions of top‑level executive leaders.
• Extensive experience guiding the best ways to define and document delivery requirements, governance, and reporting at a high level, both within Hippo and the wider industry.
• Recognised expertise in promoting user‑centered delivery and demonstrating the strategic value that delivery professionals bring to organisational efficiency and pace.
• Expert experience in leading delivery process improvements and documenting complex information and dependency flows across multi‑disciplinary teams.
• Demonstrated ability to manage delivery work based on long‑term client needs, ensuring our solutions fit their future strategic goals and commercial landscapes.
• Practical experience of implementing AI tools and workflows, producing stronger delivery outcomes for clients and Hippo.
• Proven consulting experience in navigating and influencing complex outcomes for our most senior stakeholders

Desirable Experience

• Ability to use deep industry knowledge and external trends (such as AI in project management, scaling frameworks, or value stream mapping) to help define Hippo’s future offerings.
• Active use of professional delivery connections to find ways to help others within Hippo and for our clients.
• Experience playing a key role in shaping the wider global delivery community through high‑profile events, publications, and knowledge sharing.

About The Company

As well as a competitive salary which we’re transparent about from the outset, you can also expect a range of benefits:

• Contributory pension scheme (Hippo 6% with employee contributions of 2%)
• 25 days holiday plus UK public holidays
• Perkbox access for a wide range of discounts
• Critical illness cover
• Life assurance and death in service cover
• Volunteer days
• Cycle‑to‑work scheme for the avid cyclists
• Salary sacrifice electric vehicles scheme
• Season ticket loans
• Financial and general wellbeing sessions
• Flexible benefits scheme with options of:
  • private health cover
  • private dental cover
  • additional company pension contributions
  • additional holidays (up to an extra 2 days)
  • wellbeing contribution
  • charity contributions
  • tree planting

Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at Hippo

At Hippo, we’re dedicated to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace that works for everyone. We understand that having a diverse team unlocks our capacity for innovation, creativity and problem solving. Only by building a community of diverse perspectives, cultures and socio‑economic backgrounds can we create an environment where all can contribute and thrive.

We actively encourage applications from underrepresented groups including women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+, neurodivergent and people with disabilities. We are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment process that reflects our workplace culture. We are a registered Disability Confident Employer, Mindful Employer, Endometriosis Friendly Employer and a member of the Armed Forces Covenant. Hippo continually strives to remove barriers, provide accommodations and offer reasonable adjustments to ensure equity throughout our practices.

Hi, we’re Hippo.

At Hippo, we design with empathy and build for impact. We do this by combining data‑informed evidence, human‑centred design and software engineering. We're a digital services partner who is genuinely invested in helping our clients thrive as modern organisations. Our delivery methodology is truly agile, from concept to reality, supporting innovation and continuous improvement to achieve your desired outcomes.

We firmly believe that technology should serve humanity, not the other way around. We take a human‑centred approach to everything we do because we understand that complex problems require a service design approach. This means understanding how users behave and ensuring our solutions work for them in the real world.

Our combination of data, design, and engineering delivers bespoke digital services that make a positive and meaningful impact on organisations and society. We're confident in our abilities, authentic in our approach, and passionate about what we do. If you're looking for a digital services partner that can deliver real results, let us help you build for the future and make a lasting impact.

Hippo locations

We are headquartered in Leeds and have offices across the UK in Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, London and Bristol. We're on the lookout for top talent nationwide but you need to be located within reasonable travelling distance from one of our offices which will be your contracted office location. Given the dynamic nature of a consulting business, you may be required to work on‑site at a Hippo office or at an in/out of town client location for a number of days per week (client dependent) and therefore candidates will need to be open/flexible to travel. Plus, we offer a generous relocation support package of up to £8k (please ask for terms and conditions) to help make your move a smooth one.