Job Description

Job title: Senior Delivery Manager

Location:

Based at Service Headquarters - Tovil, Maidstone

Hours:

Full Time - 37 Hours per week

Pension:

Automatic membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme - career average pension scheme with 18.5% employer contribution

Holidays:

In

addition

to bank/ public holidays you will receive

31

days holiday

Base salary: Grade 9 - 56,5729,914 - 64,556

per annum depending on experience

Being a part of Kent Fire and Rescue Service

Everyone is unique. Everyone has value. Everyone helps to make Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) a great place to work. We are one team. Together with our customers we are creating a safer future for Kent and Medway.

Being the Senior Delivery Manager

As Senior Delivery Manager, you'll play a critical role in ensuring the organisation has the capacity and capability to deliver complex programmes and projects that drive strategic outcomes. You'll balance the need for consistent delivery standards with the flexibility to tailor approaches based on complexity, risk, and stakeholder context.

Acting as the primary escalation point for delivery challenges, you'll support the Head of Portoflio and Business Change provide assurance to the Strategic Leadership Board (SLB) that programmes and projects are on track to deliver their intended benefits. You'll lead and mentor Programme Managers, Senior Project Managers, and Project Managers building delivery capability and ensuring initiatives are delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest quality standards.

While not a technical specialist, you'll bring a broad understanding of IT, business, and organisational change projects to guide delivery teams, assess complexity, and support risk evaluation. Though not a direct budget holder, you'll have oversight of programmes and projects with significant financial and resource implications.

What you'll do

Provide direct line management to Programme Managers and Project Managers, fostering a high-performing, professional delivery function. Oversee complex programmes and projects across the full lifecycle, ensuring delivery to time, cost, and quality standards, with effective resource allocation. Lead risk and issue management across delivery teams, embedding consistent frameworks and ensuring timely escalation and resolution with fit-for-purpose methodologies. Act as the primary escalation point for delivery challenges, offering clear recommendations and solutions to unblock progress. Promote continuous improvement through post-project reviews, lessons learned, and the adoption of best practices. Build strong stakeholder relationships, ensuring delivery teams engage sponsors, senior leaders, and end users throughout the lifecycle. Provide assurance and delivery insights to the Strategic Leadership Board (SLB), including progress updates, risk exposure, resource utilisation, and delivery confidence.

What you'll bring

Proven experience in line management of Programme and Project Managers, with a focus on coaching and capability development. Practitioner-level qualifications in Project and Programme Management (e.g. PRINCE2, APM PMQ, MSP), or equivalent experience. Agile/Hybrid delivery certifications (e.g. AgilePM Practitioner, SAFe, Scrum Master). Strong knowledge of delivery methodologies (PRINCE2, MSP, Agile) and structured risk and issue management frameworks. Familiarity with governance structures, stage gates, and assurance mechanisms. Experience planning, tracking, and measuring benefits across the full lifecycle, with a clear understanding of how benefits link to strategic outcomes. Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects/programmes simultaneously and balance resources effectively. Skilled in stakeholder engagement, communication planning, and change adoption--confidently engaging senior executives, sponsors, and governance boards. Understanding of budget monitoring, cost forecasting, and variance analysis at project/programme level. Ability to translate complex data into actionable insights and recommendations.

Benefits we're offering

Automatic membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme Blue Light Card discount scheme A range of family friendly policies including promoting work-life balance Access to health and wellbeing services and advice Free parking Above all you'll become part of a service that is committed to the safety of our community
If you're organised, collaborative, and passionate about continuous improvement, we'd love to hear from you. Apply today and be part of a service that's always learning, always evolving, and always putting people first.

How to apply

Please complete an online application and provide your CV by

Friday 3rd October 2025 via the link below:

https://ce0013li.webitrent.com/ce0013li_webrecruitment/wrd/run/etrec179gf.open?WVID=88103581k3&LANG=USA&VACANCY_ID=039406Bfnk

They will then be in touch shortly to arrange the next steps. Interviews will take place on

15th, 16th, 17th October

2025

. Interviews will take place at Service Headquarters, Tovil, Kent.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy upon receiving a sufficient number of applications. If you are interested in this role we recommend that you submit your application at the earliest opportunity.

Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. We know that great minds don't think alike, so we rely on diverse thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and backgrounds to create the best working environment that we can possibly offer.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service, its employees, and volunteers are committed to safeguarding, protecting, and supporting children, young people, and adults at risk. As part of our safer recruitment process, we will undertake pre-employment checks to verify your suitability for the role. These checks will include your references and a standard or enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Enhanced DBS check with barred lists are carried out for roles with direct and unsupervised access to children, young people, and adults at risk. Risk assessments will be undertaken on any disclosures identified as part of the pre-employment checks.

As a Public Sector organisation with added responsibilities under the Equality Act, 2010 the candidate must demonstrate an understanding of what is meant by Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion and how this fits in with their everyday work.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: 56,572.00-64,556.00 per year

Benefits:

Company pension Employee discount Free parking Health & wellbeing programme Life insurance On-site parking Sick pay Work from home
Work Location: In person