UK Health Security Agency
Senior Agile Delivery Manager
UK Health Security AgencyUnited Kingdom3 days ago
ContractRemote FriendlyProject Management, Information Technology
This role is being offered as hybrid working based at any of our Core HQ’s. We offer great flexible working opportunities at UKHSA and operate using a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce. As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata, (averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's core HQ’s (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London) Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centre transport link and benefit from benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC)

Job Summary

We are looking for an experienced Delivery Manager to join our Digital Development and Operations team. You’ll manage one or more multidisciplinary teams, delivering complex, high-risk products and services within an agile portfolio of work. The teams are a mix of internal resources and resources from multiple suppliers. You will work on a range of citizen-facing change projects building sustainable capabilities to secure the nation’s health, removing blockers and working in partnership with users, policy makers, developers and senior managers.

You will have the opportunity to influence and shape new demand, before commissioning the vehicles for delivery and driving the project through the product delivery lifecycle, in line with the Government Service Standard, from Discovery, through Alpha, Beta and into live operations. You may also be involved in the decommissioning or legacy products or services.

Your job will be to create iterative plans to solve problems and deliver new services, focusing multi-disciplinary teams on what’s important and getting the best value against constraints. You’ll build awareness and capability across UKHSA of Agile Delivery and Government Standards. Through delivering your projects, and applying learning, including from covid, we will build repeatable services for a wide range of threats, delivering high performing services which satisfy our citizens and colleagues across a wide variety of organisations in the UK and beyond.

Job Description

As a senior member of the team you will have the opportunity to shape our delivery function to respond swiftly for the future.

The Senior Delivery Manager is a Key role in the Government Digital and Data profession, accountable for the performance of the multi-disciplinary teams and the delivery of digital products and services within it, that meet the needs of UKHSA and external users.

Your focus will be on agile delivery of specific projects/services once they enter the delivery lifecycle, whilst there will be a Senior Delivery Managers (Portfolio) focussed on managing the broad portfolio, managing interdependencies, common risks and opportunities. Both are Delivery Managers, but one is focussed on broad portfolio responsibility and the other, deep project/service specific responsibility.

As a senior member of the team you will have the opportunity to shape our delivery function to respond swiftly for the future.

The Senior Delivery Manager is a Key role in the Government Digital and Data profession, accountable for the performance of the multi-disciplinary teams and the delivery of digital products and services within it, that meet the needs of UKHSA and external users.

Your focus will be on agile delivery of specific projects/services once they enter the delivery lifecycle, whilst there will be a Senior Delivery Managers (Portfolio) focussed on managing the broad portfolio, managing interdependencies, common risks and opportunities. Both are Delivery Managers, but one is focussed on broad portfolio responsibility and the other, deep project/service specific responsibility.

Person specification

Main Duties Will Be

  • building and maintaining multi-disciplinary teams, from multiple organisations, ensuring that they are motivated, organised and collaborating to agreed iterative plans, backlogs and agile ceremonies.
  • coaching teams and team members, facilitating continuous improvement and applying the most appropriate Agile and lean tools and techniques to product delivery
  • planning and communicating with stakeholders including via delivery reports, overcoming challenges and visualising progress towards agreed goals
  • identifying the people, skills, and resources that teams need to deliver agreed goals
  • proactively managing delivery progress via iterative plans
  • actively managing the risks, issues, dependencies and blockers to delivery as well as any delegated budgets and benefit/value realisation and reporting these things to the appropriate delivery board or stakeholder
  • participating in the delivery group, learning, sharing and applying skills and knowledge to improve delivery outcomes
  • keeping the delivery teams focussed on identifying and meeting user needs so that they remain on track to meet the GDS Service Standard
  • managing budgets and suppliers, submitting all necessary forecasts and gaining all necessary investment approvals
  • working closely with the Product Delivery community to ensure new services, products and capabilities deliver value to citizens, in line with UKHSA priorities and threats
  • managing suppliers and drafting commercial agreements (contract requirements or SOWs) to commission outcomes and ensure value for money

In addition to the job specific requirements above, this role will require adherence to all UKHSA Policies and Procedures. All staff are expected to contribute to the delivery of corporate goals and objectives.

The role holder may be expected to support corporate service activity as set out in the Corporate Services Standard Operating Procedures

This document provides an outline of the tasks, responsibility and outcomes required of the role. The job holder will carry out any other duties that may reasonably be required by their line manager

The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in accordance with the changing needs of the team, Directorate, and the Organisation.

Essential Criteria

  • Demonstrable experience of leading delivery using a range of Agile and lean tools and techniques, empowering agile teams to be self-organising, inclusive and continuously improving
  • Demonstrable experience in delivering successful digital products and services to standards such as GDS service standards
  • Demonstrable experience of growing and nurturing Delivery Management capability and coaching teams in good agile practice
  • Demonstrable to communicate effectively across organisational, technical and non-technical audiences
  • Ability to communicate with others in a clear, honest and enthusiastic way in order to build trust and delivering difficult messages, being persuasive when required making sure all stakeholder expectations are managed
  • Experience and comfort planning, forecasting, estimating and delivering in an often uncertain and fast changing environment
  • Experience in managing blended teams and holding external parties to account, including drafting commercial agreements to commission outcomes and ensure value for money

Desirable Criteria

  • Proven experience in similar roles like Scrum Master or Agile Coach, showcasing expertise in enhancing delivery, fostering teamwork, and demonstrating strong business and commercial acumen
  • Experience in delivery of products and services across the lifecycle, to the Government Service Standard and leading teams through service assessments

Alongside your salary of £56,185, UK Health Security Agency contributes £16,276 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce. UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.  

  • Learning and development tailored to your role
  • An environment with flexible working options
  • A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
  • A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Selection process details

Selection Process

Stage 1: Application & Sift

This vacancy is using Success Profiles

At sift stage you will be assessed against the essential experience listed in the job advert.

You Will Be Required To Complete An

  • Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
  • Up to 1000 words supporting statement

This should outline how your skills, experience, and knowledge, provide evidence of your suitability for the role.

Healthjobs UK has a word limit of 1500, but your supporting statement must be no more than 1000 words.

You will receive a joint score for your application form and statement. (The application form is the kind of information you would put into your C.V –please be advised you will not be able to upload your CV. Please complete the application form in as much detail as possible)

If we receive a large number of applications an initial sift against the lead criteria of " The ability to communicate effectively across organisational, technical and non-technical audiences"

Longlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we may longlist into 3 piles of:

  • Meets all essential criteria
  • Meets some essential criteria
  • Meets no essential criteria

We will only take through those that meet ALL essential criteria. Please note feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Desirable criteria may be used if we receive a large number of credible applications

Stage 2: Interview (success profiles)

You will be invited to a face to face interview. In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to offer a remote interview.

Interviews will be held week commencing 17th November 2025, please note these dates are subject to change.

This vacancy is being assessed using Success Profiles. During the interview we will assess you against the below:

Behaviours

  • Making Effective Decisions
  • Changing & Improving
  • Communicating & Influencing
  • Working Together

Skills

  • Previous Skills and Experience: relating to leadership of multi-disciplinary teams to deliver digital products and services through agile approaches.

You will be asked to prepare and present an 8 minute presentation relating to the transition of a project, from one delivery partner to another.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Eligibility Criteria

Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants).

Location:

This role is being offered as hybrid working based at any of our Core HQ’s. We offer great flexible working opportunities at UKHSA and operate using a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce. As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata, (averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's core HQ’s (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London) Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centre transport link and benefit from benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Future location

UKHSA is investing in a new state-of-the-art National Biosecurity Centre in Harlow, Essex, which will eventually bring together teams currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale and Porton Down. For more details, please see: Huge biosecurity centre investment to boost pandemic protection - GOV.UK.

The new facilities will start becoming operational in the mid-2030s, with full completion by 2038. Staff will move in phases as facilities become available. If you're appointed to a role currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale or Porton Down, please note that we'll continue investing in these sites for the next decade. As we get closer to the transition, we'll provide full information about relocation support available to staff.

Reasonable Adjustments

The Civil Service is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone. To help you during the recruitment process, we will consider any reasonable adjustments that could help you. An adjustment is a change to the recruitment process or an adjustment at work. This is separate to the Disability Confident Scheme. If you need an adjustment to be made at any point during the recruitment process you should contact the recruitment team in confidence as soon as possible to discuss your needs.

You can find out more information about reasonable adjustments across the Civil Service here: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments/

International Police check

If you have spent more than 6 months abroad over the last 3 years you may need an International Police Check. This would not necessarily have to be in a single block, and it could be time accrued over that period.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Link Below

Artificial intelligence and recruitment , Civil Service Careers

Security Clearance Level Requirement

All successful candidates must meet the basic security requirements before they can be appointed.

  • The level of security needed is Basic Personnel Security Standard (BPSS).
  • Successful candidates must pass a standard disclosure and barring security check.
  • Security Clearance

For meaningful National Security Vetting checks to be carried out individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time. You should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 5 years as the role requires a Security Check (SC) residency less than the outlined periods may not necessarily bar you from gaining national security vetting and applicants should contact the Vacancy Holder / Recruiting Manager listed in the advert for further advice. 

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups

  • UK nationals
  • nationals of the Republic of Ireland
  • nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
  • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
  • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
  • individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
  • Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job Contact

Recruitment team

Further information

The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact UKHSA Public Accountability Unit via email: [email protected] If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk

Key Skills

Ranked by relevance
Apply