About Providence:
Providence provides government, defence, and law enforcement customers with bespoke capability development initiatives, equipment procurement solutions, and best-in-class operational training.
We are a small business set in the heart of the Duchy estate in Harewood End, occupying a series of charming, restored barns and overlooking the beautiful sprawling Herefordshire countryside. We pride ourselves on our excellent reputation for delivering the best solutions and services to our clients, without fuss, and in discreet support of their many varied requirements.
We understand that people are the engine behind Providence, and we draw on our technical, operational, and customer support experience to provide the know-how and means to solve some of our clients’ most challenging operational problems
We are looking for a Head of Project Delivery to lead our project team. This role will work closely with our Projects Portfolio Director. A key focus of the role will be driving high standards through excellence in service and delivery.
This role is suited to someone who can head up the day-to-day project delivery function while remaining actively involved in the work. The successful candidate must be comfortable personally managing projects, supporting Project Managers, producing project outputs, chasing actions, coordinating stakeholders and resolving delivery issues.
The Role:
The Head of Project Delivery is responsible for the day-to-day leadership, coordination and control of Providence’s project delivery function. The role heads up delivery activity across the Projects team, supporting Project Managers, maintaining delivery discipline, improving project controls, and ensuring that live projects are actively managed against time, cost, scope, quality, technical dependencies and customer commitments.
The role will typically support the delivery of ISR-focused and wider defence, security and government projects, primarily for UK MOD, UKIC and related customer communities, where strong project control, customer credibility, technical awareness and discretion are essential.
This is a hands-on delivery leadership role with a strong technical delivery focus. The post holder will be expected to understand and engage confidently with technical project content, technical risks, delivery dependencies, system or equipment integration issues, supplier technical inputs and customer technical discussions. The role does not require the post holder to act as the technical authority; however, they must have sufficient technical understanding to challenge delivery assumptions, coordinate technical contributors, identify technical risk, and translate technical matters into clear project, commercial and customer-facing language.
The post holder will personally manage designated projects while also supporting the wider Projects team with planning, reporting, governance, risk management, stakeholder coordination, technical delivery coordination and issue resolution.
The role reports to the Projects Portfolio Director and exists to create operational capacity within the Projects function. By taking ownership of day-to-day delivery management, the Head of Project Delivery enables the Projects Portfolio Director to focus on portfolio strategy, growth, opportunity shaping, senior stakeholder engagement and wider business development.
Key Responsibilities
Project Delivery Leadership
- Lead the day-to-day project delivery function, ensuring projects are planned, controlled and delivered effectively.
- Maintain clear visibility of status across plans, technical dependencies, risks, issues, finances and resourcing.
- Support and challenge Project Managers to maintain delivery performance.
- Escalate risks, blockers, technical concerns and commercial issues with clear recommendations.
Technical Delivery Leadership
- Coordinate technically complex projects, ensuring technical activities, dependencies and risks are understood and actively managed.
- Work confidently with engineers, suppliers and customers to align technical delivery with scope, schedule, cost and quality.
- Identify and escalate technical risks early with clear impacts and mitigation options.
- Translate technical issues into clear project and customer-facing language.
- Ensure technical inputs are reflected in plans, RAID logs, reporting and change control.
Hands-on Project Management
- Personally manage assigned projects end-to-end, including technical, ISR, equipment or integration elements.
- Maintain core documentation (plans, schedules, RAID, reports).
- Lead meetings, coordinate contributors and drive actions.
- Deliver against time, cost, scope, quality and technical requirements.
Team Coordination and PM Support
- Coordinate Project Managers and support staff against priorities and constraints.
- Manage workload, dependencies and cross-project pressures.
- Provide practical support on delivery, planning and issue resolution.
- Promote consistent, proportionate delivery standards.
Deputising for the Projects Portfolio Director
- Deputise on delivery matters, internal coordination and routine customer engagement.
- Represent the Projects function in delivery-level forums.
- Provide clear status updates, including technical risks and issues.
- Escalate strategic or sensitive matters appropriately.
Governance, Reporting and Control
- Produce clear, timely reporting for internal and customer reviews.
- Maintain visibility of milestones, risks, dependencies and financial position.
- Support project reviews and track actions to completion.
- Ensure proportionate governance and effective controls.
Customer, Supplier and Stakeholder Management
- Act as the day-to-day delivery interface for projects and customers.
- Build effective relationships with customers, suppliers and partners.
- Coordinate contributors to maintain delivery momentum across technical and non-technical activity.
Commercial and Financial Control
- Support cost tracking, forecasting and budget control.
- Identify and escalate cost, scope, schedule or technical risks.
- Ensure changes are managed through appropriate commercial and contractual routes.
Bid and Tender Support
- Provide delivery and technical input to bids where required.
- Contribute to plans, technical assumptions, risks, resources and schedules.
- Ensure solutions are realistic, deliverable and aligned to requirements.
- Support transition from bid into delivery.
Continuous Improvement
- Improve delivery processes, reporting and ways of working.
- Capture and apply lessons learned, including technical delivery insights.
- Keep improvements practical and proportionate
Role Requirements and Eligibility
- You are always required to comply with our rules, policies, and procedures as stipulated in the staff handbook.
- Hold a full, valid UK driving license and passport.
- This role is subject to security clearance. Guidance and support will be provided during the process.
- Willingness to travel when required.
Other Duties
This Job description sets out current duties of the post that may vary from time to time without changing the general character of the post or the level of responsibility entailed.
Not all specific tasks can be listed, and your role includes any other duties or responsibilities on request as may reasonably and lawfully be expected to assist in the day-to-day operation of the Company.
Education and Qualifications
Essential:
- Degree in a relevant discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
- Recognised project management qualification, such as APM PMQ, PRINCE2, PMP, or equivalent.
Desirable:
- Technical qualification or background in engineering, systems, ISR, communications, software, equipment or a related discipline.
- Additional training in commercial management, procurement, risk, leadership or assurance.
- Evidence of ongoing professional development relevant to project management & delivery, coordination, or governance.
Knowledge and Experience
Essential:
- Familiarity with MOD, UK Government or regulated delivery environments.
- Strong working knowledge of project management principles, controls, tools and delivery methods.
- Good level of technical understanding, gained through a relevant technical qualification, technical project delivery background, engineering experience, or equivalent professional experience.
- Able to work effectively on technology-led, ISR-focused, defence or security-related projects without acting as the technical authority.
- Proven experience managing projects within a structured project delivery environment.
- Experience working with UK MOD, UKIC or closely related UK defence, security, law enforcement or national security customers.
- Experience delivering or supporting technically complex projects, including defence, security, ISR, operational capability, equipment, systems, integration, training, procurement or specialist service projects.
- Experience coordinating multiple live projects, including plans, schedules, technical dependencies, risks, issues, budgets and customer commitments.
- Experience working with technical teams, engineers, suppliers or subject matter experts to coordinate delivery activity and resolve issues.
- Experience supporting, guiding or coordinating Project Managers, project support staff or multidisciplinary delivery teams.
- Experience operating within governance, compliance, quality or assurance frameworks.
- Experience producing clear project reporting for internal reviews, customer meetings and senior stakeholders.
Desirable:
- Experience working in a small, busy team where individuals are expected to operate with autonomy and take ownership of delivery outputs.
- Experience working with sensitive government, defence or national security customer communities.
- Experience supporting bids, tenders or proposal development, including delivery planning, technical assumptions, risks and schedules.
- Awareness of MOD commercial, contractual, security or assurance requirements
Essential Skills and Attributes:
- Strong planning, organisation and coordination skills.
- Able to head up the day-to-day project delivery function while remaining personally involved in delivery.
- Able to manage multiple projects, priorities, technical dependencies and deadlines
- Able to support, guide and constructively challenge Project Managers and delivery staff.
- Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills. Professional, credible and confident when engaging with customers, suppliers and internal stakeholders.
- Able to work confidently with technical teams, engineers, suppliers and subject matter experts.
- Able to understand technical delivery issues, dependencies and risks sufficiently to manage their impact on schedule, cost, scope, quality and customer commitments.
- Able to translate technical matters into clear project, commercial and customer-facing language.
- Able to constructively challenge technical assumptions and delivery inputs without acting as the technical authority.
- Able to manage budgets, risks, issues, changes and dependencies effectively.
- Commercially aware, with an understanding of cost, margin, scope, schedule, risk and customer impact.
- Pragmatic and delivery-focused, with the ability to improve controls without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.
- Able to escalate appropriately, particularly where matters are strategic, commercial, sensitive or outside agreed authority.
Additional Information:
- A pleasant rural working environment with a supportive team culture.
- YuLife wellbeing rewards platform, including EAP access, alongside Help@Hand, providing additional confidential employee assistance support.
- Following successful completion of probation, you will be eligible to join the company’s private medical insurance (Bupa) and Medicash cash plan.
- Group Life Insurance provided from day one of employment.
- Group Income Protection (long-term sickness cover) available after six months’ service.
- Company pension scheme.
- 25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing by one additional day per full year of service up to a maximum of five additional days.
- Opportunities for continuous professional development to support growth in the role.
- Options for flexible working from home upon successful completion of a probationary period and where appropriate to current business activities.
We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone feels valued and supported. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and will provide reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process and employment.
Pay: £80,000.00-£90,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Company pension
- Free parking
- Health & wellbeing programme
- Life insurance
- On-site parking
- Private medical insurance
Application question(s):
- Do you have familiarity with MOD, UK Government or regulated delivery environments?
- Do you have a recognised project management qualification, such as APM PMQ, PRINCE2, PMP, or equivalent?
- Do you have experience working with UK MOD, UKIC or closely related UK defence, security, law enforcement or national security customers?
- Have you lived in the UK consecutively for the past 5 years?
- Do you have experience working within a Project Management team/role?
- This role requires the postholder to undergo Developed Vetting (DV) security clearance. Therefore, have you lived consecutively in the UK for the past 10 years?
Work authorisation:
- United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person
