Principal Delivery Manager

About the role

We’re looking for an experienced Principal Delivery Manager to lead the successful delivery of complex digital projects, AI and IoT technology, and web applications across our client portfolio.

You’ll lead delivery across multiple teams and work streams, bringing clarity to ambiguity, anticipating risks and dependencies, and creating the conditions for cross-functional teams across Engineering, Design, UX, QA, Data and AI to perform at their best. You’ll use your judgement to shape the right delivery approach for each engagement, improving ways of working and creating greater autonomy, predictability and accountability.

Beyond day-to-day delivery, you’ll build trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders and develop a strong understanding of their wider business goals. You’ll challenge thinking, provide strategic advice and spot opportunities for Parallax to create additional value - strengthening our client relationships and supporting the growth of our accounts.

Internally, you’ll help raise the standard of delivery across Parallax. You’ll mentor and coach others, strengthen our ways of working and use learning from across projects to improve how we deliver. You’ll contribute your experience to commercial activity, estimation and proposals, while helping create greater consistency, predictability and autonomy across our delivery capability.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead complex digital engagements from shaping and discovery through to delivery and growth, taking accountability for successful client, user and commercial outcomes.

• Lead across multiple teams and workstreams, creating clarity around priorities and dependencies, removing barriers and enabling cross-functional teams to work with autonomy and accountability.

• Shape the right delivery approach for each engagement, adapting ways of working to the client, team and problem rather than applying a one-size-fits-all process.

• Build trusted relationships with senior client stakeholders, challenging constructively, providing strategic advice and helping clients make pragmatic decisions.

• Manage scope, budgets, forecasts and delivery risk with strong commercial awareness, balancing client needs with successful outcomes for Parallax.

• Identify opportunities to create additional value within client accounts and contribute to commercial activity including discovery, estimation, proposals and SoWs.

• Mentor and coach others and help raise delivery standards across Parallax by sharing learning and improving our processes and ways of working.

About You

You’re a confident, organised delivery leader who brings calmness and clarity to complex environments. You’re comfortable moving between strategic conversations and delivery detail, know when to step in and when to empower a team, and can make sound decisions without needing oversight.

You’re someone who:

• Takes ownership and uses good judgement in complex or ambiguous situations.

• Builds credibility quickly with senior clients and internal teams.

• Challenges appropriately and is comfortable having difficult conversations.

• Brings people together around clear priorities, outcomes and decisions.

• Thinks commercially as well as operationally.

• Enjoys developing others and improving how teams work.

Key Skills

What you need to have:

• Significant experience leading complex digital product, web/app or software engagements within a consultancy environment.

• Experience leading multidisciplinary Agile teams and multiple workstreams, including navigating complex risks, dependencies and stakeholder groups.

• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence senior and executive stakeholders and act as a trusted client adviser.

• Strong commercial awareness, including experience drafting statements of work and managing budgets, forecasts, scope and delivery risk and making pragmatic trade-offs.

• Experience contributing to account growth, pre-sales, discovery, estimation, proposals or similar commercial activity.

• Strong understanding of product and delivery practices, with the ability to adapt your approach to different clients and challenges.

• Experience coaching or mentoring others and improving delivery practices beyond your immediate project.

• Enough technical understanding to work credibly with engineering teams across concepts such as APIs, architecture, environments, QA, DevOps and cloud infrastructure.

• Be a team player; get involved in the wider Parallax culture, build strong internal relationships, take feedback gracefully, learn from others and be open-minded about opportunities to develop your skills.

Nice to haves (don't worry if you don't have any of the following experiences, we'd still like to hear from you):

• Experience delivering AI, IoT or data-intensive projects.

• Experience with AI-assisted development tools or rapid prototyping approaches.

Benefits

• Private medical insurance with Bupa

• Private Dental Care

• Pension with Salary Sacrifice

• Hybrid working (flexible, office time not mandated but required for workshops/team events)

• Flexible working 

• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays + enhanced annual leave (For every year that you’re employed, we give you an extra day’s holiday up to a maximum of 5 days)

• Enhanced maternity & paternity leave

• Enhanced company sick pay

• 2 subscriptions packages up to the value of £30 in total, on us

• Quarterly company Hackathons

• Professional Development (PD) days and training

• Free lunch in the office every Thursday

• Regular team socials