Senior Delivery Manager

Job Title: Senior Delivery Manager

Reports to: Head of Delivery

Direct Reports: None

Must be UK based

Close date: 12/5/25

Kooth PLC is a digital mental health company committed to providing accessible mental health care for all, focusing on children and young people in the UK and US. We aim to support the mental wellbeing of over 17 million people, with over twenty years of data and clinical excellence. We have partnered with the NHS and Local Authorities for over two decades, offering NICE-compliant services and holding a BACP accreditation. Kooth offers diverse access options, serving over 10.9 million people in the UK, providing immediate support 24/7 without referrals or waiting lists.

With a workforce of 600 employees, Kooth values professional development, diversity, and inclusion.

Role Objective

The Senior Delivery Manager provides hands-on leadership in managing software and technology delivery, ensuring products are developed efficiently, meet business objectives, and are delivered on time and within budget. They foster collaboration, promote agile principles, mitigate risks, and empower teams to ensure high-quality, value-driven delivery.

Key Components:

1. Lead delivery of products and technology projects - 40%
2. Communicate with and manage stakeholders - 25%
3. Optimize delivery in squads - 25%
4. Maintain and develop delivery practice at Kooth - 10%

Main responsibilities:

Lead delivery of products and technology projects

• Manage end-to-end software development across 1-2 squads, coordinating with engineering, product management, and other disciplines to deliver value.
• Lead planning processes, including sprint and quarterly planning, ensuring objectives are clear and achievable. Work with colleagues to produce roadmaps, manage dependencies, and set measures.
• Accountable for squad milestones, delivering value at pace, and resolving issues as the squad's point of escalation.
• Lead agile delivery processes, facilitate meetings, upskill colleagues, and build squad capability in agile and lean techniques.
• Support quality assurance throughout the delivery lifecycle, ensuring good practices for discovery, design, testing, release, and monitoring.
• Identify, manage, and mitigate risks and issues affecting delivery timelines, cost, or quality, and communicate these to stakeholders.

Stakeholder communication and management

• Lead relationships with partner teams to ensure successful cross-team delivery, mediating and facilitating discussions in complex scenarios.
• Provide stakeholders with visibility into project progress using tools like roadmaps and dashboards.
• Act as a bridge between technical teams and business stakeholders, fostering collaboration and understanding of priorities and constraints.
• Proactively communicate risks and issues, involving stakeholders in critical decisions.
• Manage external contractors or agencies as needed.
• Lead by example with proactive communication and strong interpersonal skills.

Optimize delivery in squads

• Create a positive working environment, protecting and empowering squads.
• Plan, forecast, and manage uncertainty and pace, using data like cycle time and deployment frequency.
• Act as a team coach, facilitating constructive discussions and continuous improvement.
• Monitor team dynamics and morale, maintaining high performance under challenging circumstances.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging retrospectives and learning.
• Ensure squads have the necessary information to perform and deliver value.
• Challenge and improve organizational processes impacting delivery pace.

Maintain and improve our inclusive and diverse culture

• Develop delivery practices and introduce best practices in agile/lean techniques.
• Maintain understanding of work within squads and facilitate knowledge sharing.
• Participate in Communities of Practice to share expertise and learn new skills.
• Contribute to shared resources like the delivery toolkit.
• Engage with senior stakeholders to shape the role of Delivery at Kooth.

Qualifications and experience:

• Experience in agile multidisciplinary teams delivering high transactional digital products.
• Deep knowledge of user-centered product teams, delivery methods, and agile techniques.
• Strong understanding of software development, cloud technologies, and modern practices (e.g., CI/CD, microservices, DevOps, TDD).
• Proven stakeholder relationship management skills.
• Excellent analytical, presentation, and communication skills.
• Ability to coach teams and individuals for high performance.
• Action-oriented with good judgment in problem-solving.

Benefits:

• Up to £80,000 salary
• 28 days annual leave plus public holidays
• Professional development programs
• Pension contributions and share options
• Health cover and Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
• Life assurance up to 4x salary
• Flexible remote working options
• Supportive, inclusive work environment

We are committed to diversity, inclusion, and safeguarding. We welcome applicants with disabilities and provide reasonable adjustments upon request. Kooth plc is dedicated to safeguarding and will conduct appropriate screening, including a DBS check.