Delivery Lead

Humankind; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 1,379,694,000 - 1,432,924,000; Full time

Job summary

Humankind is seeking a Delivery Lead - Software Engineering to join our banking/financial services team in Stellenbosch, Western Cape. The role focuses on leading complex technology initiatives from planning through development, testing, release and implementation, with a strong emphasis on engineering excellence.

You will work closely with engineers, product managers and designers to drive delivery while maintaining quality and governance.

Qualifications

• Experience leading delivery in software engineering projects.
• Strong understanding of SDLC and agile practices.
• Proven ability to align technical delivery with business objectives.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coordinate software delivery across engineering teams.
• Translate priorities into executable delivery plans.
• Drive CI/CD and automated testing practices.
• Manage timelines, risks and blockers, ensuring production readiness.

Skills

Delivery leadership

Agile delivery

SDLC knowledge

CI/CD pipelines

Stakeholder management

Technical documentation

Education

Tertiary qualification in IT/CS/SE

Tools

CI/CD

Automated testing

Job description

Delivery Lead - Software Engineering

Industry: Banking / Financial Services

Location: Stellenbosch / Technopark, Western Cape

Contract: Initial 6-month contract with potential extension and permanent conversion

Work Arrangement: 4 days onsite per week

Hourly Rate: R481.48 - R500.00 per hour

Employment Equity: Open

Availability: Immediate to within the next month is essential

The Opportunity

We are looking for an experienced Delivery Lead to join a large, established organisation within the banking and financial services sector.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone with a strong technical delivery and software engineering background who understands how to lead complex technology initiatives from planning through development, testing, release and implementation.

This is not a traditional Project Manager role focused purely on timelines and reporting. The successful candidate needs to be technically credible, comfortable working closely with Software Engineers, Product Managers, Designers and technical stakeholders, and able to drive delivery while promoting strong engineering practices.

The client is looking to move quickly on this requirement, so candidates should be immediately available or able to start within the next month.

Key Responsibilities

As the Delivery Lead, you will take ownership of technical delivery across software engineering initiatives and ensure teams remain aligned to agreed business and product objectives.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Lead and coordinate the delivery of software and technology initiatives across engineering teams.
• Work closely with Software Engineers, Engineering Leads, Product Managers, Designers and technical stakeholders to drive successful delivery.
• Translate product and business priorities into clear and executable delivery plans.
• Drive technical execution across the software development lifecycle.
• Manage delivery timelines, milestones, dependencies, risks and potential blockers.
• Coordinate phased rollouts and releases, ensuring dependencies are understood and appropriately managed.
• Facilitate effective Agile delivery practices and ensure teams maintain momentum and accountability.
• Drive collaboration across Product, Design, Engineering and other relevant business functions.
• Support engineering teams in establishing realistic delivery commitments.
• Promote strong engineering practices, including automated testing, CI/CD and quality-focused software delivery.
• Ensure appropriate technical and delivery documentation is maintained.
• Provide clear visibility of delivery progress, risks and dependencies to key stakeholders.
• Drive issues through to resolution and escalate risks where necessary.
• Support release planning, implementation and production readiness.
• Ensure technical delivery remains aligned with broader business objectives and product roadmaps.
• Identify opportunities to continuously improve delivery processes and ways of working.
• Help teams balance speed of delivery, quality, technical sustainability and business priorities.

What We Are Looking For

The successful candidate should have:

• Proven experience as a Delivery Lead, Technical Delivery Lead, Engineering Delivery Lead, Technical Project Lead or in a similar technical delivery position.
• A strong background working within software development and/or software engineering environments.
• Experience leading or coordinating software engineering teams.
• A solid understanding of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).
• Strong experience working in Agile delivery environments.
• Practical understanding of CI/CD pipelines and modern software deployment practices.
• Experience working with automated testing as part of the engineering lifecycle.
• Experience managing complex technical dependencies and competing delivery priorities.
• Experience managing phased releases, rollouts and implementation timelines.
• Strong technical documentation and governance experience.
• Experience working closely with Product Managers and Designers as part of multidisciplinary technology teams.
• Strong stakeholder management skills across both technical and business environments.
• The ability to challenge constructively, remove blockers and drive accountability across teams.
• The ability to operate effectively within a fast-moving and complex technology environment.

Technical Knowledge

While this is a leadership and delivery role and not necessarily a hands‑on development position, candidates need to be technically credible and comfortable engaging engineering teams around:

• Software development and engineering lifecycles
• Agile software delivery
• CI/CD and deployment pipelines
• Automated testing
• Release and deployment management
• Technical dependencies
• Development, testing and production environments
• Engineering quality and best practices
• Technical documentation and governance
• Production readiness
• Phased software rollouts

Candidates who have previously worked in software development, engineering or another hands‑on technical discipline before moving into delivery leadership would be particularly well suited to the role.

The Person We Are Looking For

You should be someone who can take ownership and drive delivery rather than simply track tasks. You will need to bring structure to complexity, identify risks early, challenge where necessary and build credibility with technical teams.

You should also be:

• Proactive and delivery-focused.
• Comfortable operating in a fast‑paced environment.
• Confident engaging with senior and technical stakeholders.
• Able to communicate technical delivery matters clearly to non‑technical stakeholders.
• Solutions-driven when faced with changing requirements or priorities.
• Strong at identifying and managing delivery risks.
• Collaborative in your leadership style.
• Comfortable influencing teams even where there is no direct reporting line.
• Focused on both delivery outcomes and engineering quality.

Qualifications

A relevant tertiary qualification in Information Technology, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, Project Management or a related discipline would be advantageous.

Relevant Agile, Scrum or delivery certifications would also be beneficial; however, strong practical technical delivery experience is more important than certifications alone.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

This is an excellent opportunity to join a large banking and financial services environment where technology and software engineering play a significant role in the organisation's continued growth and digital development.

You will work alongside experienced Engineering, Product and Design teams, contribute to meaningful technology initiatives and have the opportunity to establish yourself within the organisation through the initial contract period, with the potential for a longer‑term opportunity.