Head of Software Delivery - JHB at Kerridge Commercial Systems South Africa

At KCS, the Head of Product Delivery is responsible for leading a team of Delivery Leads to ensure effective delivery of product against project and product roadmap objectives.  The Head of Product Delivery works closely with the Product and Project Management Leads to plan and successfully execute against these product objectives. 

They are ultimately responsible for managing the teams who are tasked for the successful delivery of product against scope, quality and delivery metrics.    

As a Head of Delivery, you will be responsible for turning the product roadmap into a reality. As the primary liaison between the Head of Product and Portfolio Director, you will be accountable for maximising the delivery of the product team and successfully delivering product releases that align with company and product goals. 

Key Responsibilities: 

Delivery Team Management: 

• Communicates with stakeholders – product managers, project managers, and the development team to make sure the goals are clear and the vision is aligned with business objectives
• Leads Delivery Managers for the product to ensure the delivery team stays on track regardless of the agile nature of software development projects
• Leads the execution of delivery objectives against development objectives 
• Works closely with the Head of Product and the Portfolio Director to ensure product delivery teams are aligned with product objectives and successfully execute against product roadmap milestones
• Tracks and monitors revenue and value achievement against product and project objectives with a clear understanding of the role Delivery plays in achieving overall business success
• Implements best practice for coding standards, technical specifications, code reviews and code quality metrics.
• Works with Product, Project Leads and the Head of Delivery Lead to understand product scope and assign solution design time to further analyse and break down product requirements
• Pro-actively communicates the impact and risks associated with delivery execution against roadmap objectives 
• Actively takes decisions on a daily basis to re-align priorities and focus the team on the right objectives 

Release Management 

• Work with the Head of Product and Product Owners to set the release cadence for the product 
• Support the Head of Product and Portfolio Director to set and communicate release goals for the Product Owners and Development Teams to ensure they understand the product vision and their part in its success 

Implements effective tools: 

• Provides the framework for the implementation of best practice for the management of code and test cases in collaboration with the Head of Product
• Monitors and tracks the Delivery Leads’ implementation of techniques such as “pair programming”, code reviews and others
• Leads the team in the implementation of practices to reduce development time and improve the architecture and quality of the product. 

JIRA management: 

• Defines dashboards and tracking tools in JIRA and are able to give a status update on progress on request 

Internal / External Customer Engagement 

• Actively build and manage relationships within the business, and customers
• Provide clear visibility on delivery milestones as well as product roadmap progress 
• Work alongside Delivery teams to ensure any delivery milestone risks are captured during the development lifecycle to allow transparent customer and stakeholder expectation setting 

Key Requirements: 

Experience & Knowledge: 

• Experience in running development teams in executing against roadmap objectives.
• Experience in the software development industry and what it means to deliver software solutions together with other core product offerings.
• Proven experience acting as a liaison between a variety of departments and stakeholders.
• Ability to track metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs), analyse them, and turn them into actionable strategies. 
• Proven experience in managing cross functional delivery teams using the appropriate development methodologies to suit the business, team maturity and stage in the product life cycle
• Ability to present and share data in a polished, meaningful way, whether it’s a quick email, in-depth report, or presentation deck.  

Skills & Qualities: 

• The ability to clearly communicate delivery strategies effectively to all levels of business, delivery and customer stakeholders
• The ability to build and maintain strong and trusted relationships with all levels of business, delivery and customer stakeholders
• The ability to present objectively with authority and confidence to senior levels of business
• The ability to act decisively and communicate the data driven rationale behind product strategy decisions
• The ability to adapt to change and successfully lead teams through any periods of change/disruption
• The ability to accurately prioritise, organise and plan their work and to seek continuous improvement to drive efficiencies in their product space