Head of Delivery - National Security Programmes

Head of Delivery – National Security Programmes Location: Woking, Surrey Salary: Circa £95,000 + Benefits Security Clearance: Eligible for SC Clearance as a minimum, with the ability to obtain additional policing-related clearances. The Opportunity An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Head of Delivery to lead a portfolio of programmes and projects within a growing National Security business. This role sits within a senior leadership team responsible for delivering complex technology and engineering solutions to organisations operating across the UK Government, Law Enforcement, and National Security sectors. The portfolio is recognised as a key strategic growth area, offering significant scope to influence delivery strategy, improve operational performance, and support future expansion. The successful candidate will combine strong delivery leadership, commercial awareness, and stakeholder management skills to ensure programmes are delivered successfully while helping shape the future direction of the business. The Role As Head of Delivery, you will be responsible for the successful delivery of a portfolio of programmes, projects, and services, ensuring commitments are met while maintaining strong delivery confidence, forecasting accuracy, and operational excellence. You will work closely with account leadership, programme teams, engineering leaders, and business development teams to drive performance, improve efficiency, manage risk, and support growth initiatives. This is a highly visible leadership role offering significant autonomy and influence across both delivery and future business strategy. Key Responsibilities Delivery Leadership

• Provide leadership across a portfolio of programmes, projects, and managed services.
• Maintain high levels of customer confidence through successful delivery execution.
• Act as the senior escalation point for delivery risks, issues, and challenges.
• Support programme and project leadership teams to deliver against objectives.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance delivery effectiveness and efficiency. Portfolio & Operational Management
• Ensure accurate reporting, forecasting, and performance management across the portfolio.
• Provide meaningful management information to support strategic decision-making.
• Oversee resource planning, infrastructure requirements, security considerations, tooling, and operational support needs.
• Identify, manage, and escalate portfolio risks and opportunities. Financial & Commercial Performance
• Own forecasting accuracy across monthly, quarterly, and annual business cycles.
• Drive improved utilisation, productivity, profitability, and margin performance.
• Identify opportunities to maximise portfolio performance and commercial outcomes.
• Support integrated business planning activities. Stakeholder Management
• Build trusted relationships with senior customer and internal stakeholders.
• Work collaboratively across delivery, engineering, operations, and business development functions.
• Communicate effectively at both operational and executive levels. Growth & Strategy
• Support strategic account growth initiatives and business development activities.
• Contribute to bid and capture opportunities.
• Use market knowledge and customer understanding to identify future opportunities.
• Help shape the future direction of the delivery function and portfolio strategy. First Year Priorities
• Develop a detailed understanding of the existing programme portfolio.
• Build strong relationships with customers and internal stakeholders.
• Assess delivery capability, performance, and improvement opportunities.
• Establish credibility and influence across key customer communities.
• Improve forecasting accuracy and delivery confidence.
• Support the identification and pursuit of strategic growth opportunities. Candidate Profile Essential Experience
• Senior Project, Programme, or Portfolio Management (P3M) leadership experience.
• Proven track record delivering complex programmes within Government, National Security, Defence, Law Enforcement, or similarly regulated environments.
• Experience leading large, multi-disciplinary teams and portfolios.
• Strong financial management and forecasting capability.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement and relationship-building skills.
• Experience operating effectively within matrix organisations.
• Strong risk, governance, and delivery assurance expertise. Desirable Experience
• Existing SC Clearance.
• Experience supporting business development, bids, and capture activities.
• Background in technology, engineering, cyber, communications, defence, or secure government programmes.
• Knowledge of government delivery environments and associated governance frameworks. What's on Offer?
• Opportunity to lead a strategically significant and growing business area.
• High-profile position with strong executive visibility.
• Significant autonomy to shape delivery approaches and drive improvements.
• Exposure to complex, mission-critical programmes.
• Opportunity to influence growth and expansion across a key market sector.
• No individual sales or revenue targets. Working Arrangements
• Hybrid working environment.
• Surrey-based office preferred.
• Candidates located across the South East and Greater London will be particularly well-positioned. Interview Process Stage 1: Virtual interview Stage 2: Final face-to-face interview, including a potential presentation exercise.