Head of IT Delivery

Head of IT Delivery – Applications – Subject to Consultation

Location - UK

About the role

A primary focus for the Applications Head of Delivery is to orchestrate processes for prioritizing application portfolio delivery in conjunction with the applications teams the other I&T delivery leaders as well as central and divisional business teams.

As the Head of Delivery, you will have a significant level of interaction with cross-functional departments across the company and will also be responsible for ensuring projects are resourced with effective project management capabilities. You will manage projects and ensure governance in line with group PMO frameworks and standards. 

A primary focus for the Head of Delivery is: 

• To own and develop the I&T Application PMO processes (including, portfolio management, project management, resource and capacity management) 

• To own the performance and strategy delivery frameworks for the I&T Application agenda   

• Actively ensure delivery of the Applications Portfolio to time, cost and quality: stepping into facilitate correction actions and implementing return to green plans as necessary 

• To enable the improvement and alignment of process and people capabilities as part of the wider I&T transformation and performance portfolio with a dotted line into the Group I&T Transformation and Performance Director  

• To work across DS Smith I&T teams to gain a better understanding of the project portfolio and business priorities 

• Secure and develop project management capabilities for the strategic delivery portfolio. This may entail managing project deliveries themselves as required  

• Facilitate the demand pipeline for Applications, detailing forecast demand vs delivery capability – managing constraints and conflicts, and establishing relationships with 3rd parties to enable necessary flex in delivery throughput 

• With a dotted line report to the I&T Transformation and Performance Director, ensure project delivery is maintained in line with group reporting and governance standards 

• To work with the DS Smith I&T Team to create a PMO roadmap that will increase PMO Maturity within DS Smith and deliver a service that satisfies the needs of DS Smith  

• Perform services in accordance with best practice, internal standards or frameworks and with professional standards of skill, care and diligence. 

The Head of Delivery will have an aptitude for translating complex, technical subjects into clear, business-oriented language and have the ability to work across diverse organisations leading complex internal and external project teams. 

Key responsibilities:

• Responsible for maintaining the demand and portfolio management processes within Applications & Platforms 

• Responsible for the resourcing of project management and delivery standards for the formally identified set of projects which form the corporate or division project portfolio. 

• Administers the portfolio management process across  SE IT and business executives.  

• Ensures all project are appropriately resourced with Project management capabilities, and all projects are evaluated and managed against std project evaluation criteria and management frameworks 

• Works with the finance organization to ensure project benefits are demonstrated in methodology that will enable objective evaluation of projects against company objectives and thereby aid project approval decision-making  

• Works with business partners, functional leaders, and project managers to identify project interrelationships that will affect portfolio priority and resource allocation decisions  

• Ensures all required data for making portfolio decisions is complete and available for decision-making, working with functional managers and project managers to do so  

• Maintains the portfolio documentation and minutes of project review board meetings  

• Monitors projects in the portfolio—milestone schedule commitments, resource commitments—and collects project information to update the portfolio.  

• Distributes project portfolio information to executive management, directors, and other key personnel  

• Works with project managers to translate portfolio decisions to appropriate plans for and execution of the project 

• Responsible For working with the I&T transformation and Performance director to implement improvements in functional processes and also development of people capabilities across the division  

About you

• Demonstrated knowledge in strategic planning and execution. 

• Experience in areas of portfolio management, resource management, test management will be preferred 

• Have a proven track record of successful leadership of Program and Project management function. 

• Demonstrable experience of leadership responsibilities. 

• Preferably five or more years of experience in large, multi-national, cross-functional teams influencing senior-level management and key stakeholders effectively across the organization and within complex contexts. 

• Proven experience in Prince II, MS Project or equivalent 

• Bachelor or Masters degree in computer science, information systems, business administration or related field, or equivalent work experience.