Project Manager

IT Delivery Manager Pertemps Network Group | Salary: Up to £65,000 Location - Solihull The Opportunity We are looking for an experienced and highly capable IT Delivery Manager to take a leading role in delivering technology change and transformation across Pertemps Network Group. This is a hands-on delivery and people leadership role for someone who understands the complexities of internal software development, can take ownership of challenging projects and knows how to build a high-performing delivery team. You will personally lead significant IT projects while managing and developing an established team of Project Managers, Business Analysts and Testers. You will also take ownership of shaping and improving our project governance framework, bringing greater consistency, accountability and predictability to how technology change is delivered. Working within a shared services environment, you will support multiple businesses and operational teams, balancing competing priorities, shared resources and the demands of delivering business-critical technology solutions. We need someone who can engage confidently with developers, architects and technical specialists, challenge estimates and assumptions, identify gaps and dependencies, and ensure that delivery plans are realistic and achievable. Equally important is your ability to work with business stakeholders, understand their requirements and manage expectations, particularly where technology delivery directly affects operational performance and external customers. This is not a role focused solely on project coordination, reporting or governance. We are looking for someone who leads from the front, takes personal responsibility for delivery, develops the people around them and has the confidence to challenge constructively when things are not on track. We are looking for an established IT delivery professional who combines strong hands-on project delivery experience with proven people management and leadership capability. You will have successfully delivered complex technology projects involving internal software development teams and understand the challenges of managing requirements, development capacity, technical dependencies, testing and implementation. You do not need to be a software developer or technical architect, but you must understand the development lifecycle well enough to engage credibly with technical teams, ask the right questions and recognise when plans, estimates or progress reports need challenging. You will be comfortable taking ownership of difficult delivery situations, bringing structure to ambiguity and maintaining momentum when priorities change or obstacles arise. You will also be an effective people manager, capable of developing less experienced colleagues, improving team performance and creating a culture where individuals take responsibility for delivering quality outcomes. Most importantly, you will combine strong governance and planning disciplines with a pragmatic, commercially aware and results-driven approach. What You'll Be Doing Leading IT and Software Delivery

• Take direct responsibility for the end-to-end delivery of complex IT, software development and technology transformation projects.
• Work closely with internal development teams, technical leads, architects and Product Owners to plan, coordinate and drive delivery.
• Apply a strong understanding of the software development lifecycle, from requirements gathering and solution design through development, testing, deployment and operational handover.
• Develop realistic project plans, milestones and delivery schedules based on technical complexity, available resources and dependencies.
• Challenge development estimates, assumptions, delivery progress and proposed timescales to ensure commitments are credible and achievable.
• Identify gaps in requirements, technical dependencies, resource constraints and delivery risks before they become significant issues.
• Manage project scope, budgets, resources, risks, issues and change control.
• Coordinate multiple workstreams across development, infrastructure, business operations, testing and external suppliers.
• Maintain clear visibility of actual delivery progress, ensuring that project reporting is accurate, evidence-based and transparent.
• Take ownership of resolving delivery obstacles, escalating significant risks and recommending corrective action where required.
• Ensure appropriate testing, business acceptance, release planning and operational readiness are completed before implementation.
• Support the successful transition of delivered solutions into business operations and ongoing support. Managing and Developing the Delivery Team
• Provide direct line management and leadership to a team of Project Managers, Business Analysts and Testers, including junior and apprentice colleagues.
• Establish clear responsibilities, objectives and performance expectations across the team.
• Hold team members accountable for delivery commitments, quality of work and professional standards.
• Coach, mentor and develop colleagues, improving their confidence, capability and effectiveness.
• Provide practical guidance to Project Managers on planning, stakeholder management, risk management and delivery challenges.
• Support Business Analysts in improving the quality, clarity and completeness of requirements, ensuring these are suitable for development and testing.
• Coordinate testing resources and activities to ensure appropriate test coverage, defect management and business acceptance.
• Identify development needs, skills gaps and opportunities to improve team performance.
• Conduct regular performance reviews, provide constructive feedback and address underperformance where necessary.
• Build a collaborative, accountable and delivery-focused culture where issues are raised early and individuals take ownership of their responsibilities. Project Governance and Delivery Improvement
• Take ownership of developing, implementing and continuously improving the existing project governance framework.
• Establish practical and proportionate project management standards that provide appropriate control without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Ensure projects have clearly defined objectives, scope, deliverables, ownership, success criteria and governance arrangements.
• Improve the consistency and quality of project initiation, planning, reporting, risk management, dependency tracking and change control.
• Establish clear reporting and escalation processes, ensuring senior stakeholders have an accurate understanding of project status and delivery confidence.
• Support the coordination of competing project priorities and shared delivery resources across the business.
• Identify capacity constraints and resource conflicts, making recommendations on priorities and delivery commitments.
• Ensure appropriate governance and approval processes are followed throughout the project lifecycle.
• Maintain effective oversight of project risks, issues, decisions and dependencies, ensuring accountability for agreed actions.
• Introduce lessons learned and continuous improvement activities to strengthen delivery performance across the team.
• Adapt governance and delivery approaches to suit different project types, including internal software development, infrastructure change and third-party implementations. Stakeholder Engagement and Business Change
• Build effective working relationships with senior leaders, business stakeholders, operational teams and technical specialists.
• Understand business requirements, priorities and operational dependencies, translating these into clear and achievable delivery objectives.
• Challenge stakeholders constructively where expectations, requirements or proposed timescales are unrealistic.
• Communicate technical issues, risks and dependencies in clear business language, explaining their impact on delivery and operations.
• Manage stakeholder expectations through transparent communication, accurate reporting and timely escalation.
• Coordinate business readiness activities, including communications, training, user acceptance testing and implementation planning.
• Ensure the impact of technology change on internal operations, external customers and other stakeholders is properly understood and managed.
• Work with business sponsors to ensure project outcomes and expected benefits are clearly defined and appropriately tracked.
• Promote strong collaboration between the business, project delivery teams and technical functions. Essential Skills and Experience
• Significant experience personally managing and successfully delivering complex IT, software development or technology transformation projects.
• Proven experience delivering projects through internal software development teams, rather than exclusively managing external technology suppliers or packaged software implementations.
• Strong understanding of the full software development lifecycle, including requirements analysis, solution design, development, testing, UAT, deployment and operational handover.
• Ability to challenge development estimates, technical assumptions, delivery plans and progress updates constructively and confidently.
• Demonstrable experience directly managing, coaching, mentoring and developing project delivery professionals.
• Experience setting performance expectations, managing individual performance and improving team capability.
• Experience establishing, implementing or improving project governance frameworks, delivery standards and reporting processes.
• Strong project planning and scheduling skills, including the management of shared resources, dependencies and competing priorities.
• Experience managing multiple workstreams involving technical specialists, operational teams and business stakeholders.
• Good understanding of Agile, Waterfall and hybrid delivery methodologies, and the ability to apply appropriate governance and controls.
• Strong risk, issue, dependency, budget and change-control management skills.
• Experience coordinating Business Analysis and software testing activities within technology projects.
• Confidence engaging with senior stakeholders, challenging expectations and communicating difficult delivery messages.
• Ability to translate complex technical issues into clear business impacts, risks and recommended actions.
• Experience managing project budgets, resources and delivery financials.
• Strong analytical, organisational, problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• A proactive, accountable and delivery-focused approach, with the resilience to manage challenging projects and competing demands. Desirable Skills and Experience
• Experience delivering solutions using Microsoft Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Dataverse, Azure or related Microsoft technologies.
• Practical experience using Azure DevOps, Jira, Microsoft Project or equivalent project and development management tools.
• Experience working within a shared services operating model supporting multiple business units or organisations.
• Experience in recruitment, staffing, payroll, finance or other business-critical, transaction-intensive environments.
• Experience recovering underperforming projects or improving established delivery functions.
• Experience leading teams comprising Project Managers, Business Analysts and Testers.
• PRINCE2 Practitioner, AgilePM, Scrum or an equivalent recognised project management qualification.
• Experience delivering technology change across multi-site or multi-brand organisations.
• Experience coordinating business change, operational readiness and service transition activities. The Person You will be someone who:
• Leads from the front — takes personal responsibility for delivery and is prepared to get involved in the detail when required.
• Understands technology delivery — knows how internal software development works and can distinguish genuine progress from optimistic reporting.
• Challenges constructively — has the confidence to question developers, technical specialists and senior stakeholders while maintaining positive working relationships.
• Develops people — takes an active interest in coaching, mentoring and improving the performance of colleagues.
• Creates accountability — sets clear expectations, follows through on commitments and addresses problems rather than allowing them to continue.
• Brings structure and clarity — can organise complex projects, establish effective controls and bring order to competing priorities.
• Communicates effectively — can explain technical challenges and delivery risks clearly to stakeholders at all levels.
• Balances governance with pragmatism — understands the importance of process and control without allowing bureaucracy to obstruct progress.
• Remains resilient and composed — can manage pressure, difficult conversations and changing priorities while maintaining delivery momentum.
• Is driven by results — takes pride in delivering tangible outcomes that make a difference to the business.