Delivery Director – Digital Workplace (DWP)
Role Purpose
The Delivery Director is accountable for the end-to-end operational delivery of three critical IT service towers within DWP: Service Desk, Field Services, and Engineering Services. This role ensures that technology support services are delivered at scale, in line with agreed service levels, and continuously improved to meet the evolving business needs.
The post holder will lead multi-disciplinary teams, manage supplier relationships, own service performance, and act as a key escalation point for complex incidents and delivery challenges. Working within DWP's agile and ITIL-aligned operating model, the Delivery Director drives a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Key Responsibilities
Service Desk Delivery
• Own end-to-end accountability for the Service Desk function, ensuring timely and effective resolution of incidents, requests, and queries across all contact channels (phone, portal, chat).
• Monitor and manage performance against KPIs including First Contact Resolution (FCR), Average Handling Time, CSAT, SLA adherence, and abandoned call rates.
• Drive continual improvement in self-service adoption and deflection rates, reducing demand through automation and knowledge management.
• Oversee workforce planning, shift patterns, and resource capacity to ensure appropriate coverage across all hours of operation.
• Ensure escalation pathways are clearly defined and functioning, with Major Incident processes embedded within the team.
Field Services Delivery
• Lead delivery of the Field Services function responsible for on-site IT support, device deployment, break/fix, and moves/adds/changes across DWP estate.
• Manage the scheduling, prioritization, and quality of on-site engineer visits, ensuring SLAs for incident resolution and deployment activities are met.
• Oversee lifecycle management for end-user devices including laptops, desktops, thin clients, and peripherals, working closely with Asset Management.
• Coordinate high-volume device refresh programmes and estate-wide deployment projects, ensuring minimal disruption to business operations.
• Maintain health and safety compliance for field operations and ensure engineers operate within agreed policies and standards.
• Manage partner and vendor relations ensuring high quality service to customers
Engineering Services Delivery
• Accountable for the delivery of Engineering Services function like Device management, application packaging, provisioning, Conferencing tools, Collaboration services and Digital experience platforms.
• Ensure robust change management processes are followed for all engineering activities, minimizing risk and unplanned outages.
• Oversee technical delivery of engineering projects including network upgrades, print services, AV/VC infrastructure, and collaboration tooling.
• Drive standardisation and automation across engineering processes, reducing toil and improving reliability.
• Maintain close alignment with architecture and security teams to ensure engineering outputs meet DWP's technology and compliance standards.
Governance & Performance Management
• Define, own, and report on a balanced scorecard of service performance metrics across all three towers, presenting to senior stakeholders on a regular cadence.
• Manage operational risk registers, ensuring issues are identified early, mitigated, and escalated appropriately.
• Lead service review meetings with internal teams and external suppliers, holding partners accountable to contracted deliverables.
• Prepare and present management information, board-level briefings, and exception reports as required.
Supplier & Stakeholder Management
• Act as the primary interface between DWP Digital and third-party service providers across the three delivery towers.
• Manage supplier performance through contractual SLAs, KPIs, and service improvement plans, escalating where performance falls short.
• Build trusted relationships with senior DWP business stakeholders, acting as a credible delivery partner and advisor.
• Collaborate with procurement and commercial teams on contract renewals, market engagement, and supplier due diligence.
People Leadership
• Lead, motivate, and develop a diverse team of managers and technical specialists, fostering a high-performance culture.
• Set clear objectives aligned to departmental goals, conduct regular 1-2-1s, and manage performance proactively.
• Support recruitment, onboarding, and succession planning across all three service towers.
• Champion inclusion, diversity, and employee wellbeing, actively creating an environment where people can thrive.
Continuous Improvement & Transformation
• Embed a culture of continuous improvement, using data, user feedback, and industry best practice to identify and deliver meaningful service enhancements.
• Lead or contribute to transformation programmes impacting the service towers, ensuring delivery remains stable during periods of change.
• Champion adoption of agile ways of working, automation, and digital tooling to drive efficiency and improve user experience.
Person Specification
Essential Criteria
• Demonstrable experience (15+ years) managing large-scale IT service delivery operations, ideally encompassing service desk, field services, or infrastructure engineering functions.
• Managed large global clients with 50,000+ devices
• Strong track record of leading and developing multi-disciplinary teams in a complex, large-scale organization.
• Proven ability to manage supplier relationships and hold third parties accountable to contractual obligations.
• Experience owning and reporting on service performance metrics and KPIs at a senior level.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships across technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience working within ITIL-aligned service management frameworks, with an understanding of incident, problem, change, and request processes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex information clearly to senior audiences.
• Comfortable working in ambiguous, fast-paced environments with competing priorities.
Desirable Criteria
• ITIL Foundation (or higher) certification.
• Familiarity with agile delivery methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe).
• Experience with device lifecycle management, SCCM/MECM, modern device management (Intune/JAMF), M365 tools, Nexthink or similar platforms
• Project management qualification (e.g., PRINCE2, MSP, APM).
• Experience leading or contributing to large-scale digital transformation programmes.
The Cognizant community:
We are a high caliber team who appreciate and support one another. Our people uphold an energetic, collaborative and inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive.
- Cognizant is a global community with more than 300,000 associates around the world.
- We don’t just dream of a better way – we make it happen.
- We take care of our people, clients, company, communities and climate by doing what’s right.
- We foster an innovative environment where you can build the career path that’s right for you.
About us:
Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH) is an AI Builder and technology services provider, building the bridge between AI investment and enterprise value by building full-stack AI solutions for our clients. Our deep industry, process and engineering expertise enables us to build an organization’s unique context into technology systems that amplify human potential, realize tangible returns and keep global enterprises ahead in a fast-changing world. See how at www.cognizant.com or @cognizant.
Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. Your application and candidacy will not be considered based on race, color, sex, religion, creed, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
If you have a disability that requires reasonable accommodation to search for a job opening or submit an application, please email [email protected] with your request and contact information.
Disclaimer:
Compensation information is accurate as of the date of this posting. Cognizant reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.
Applicants may be required to attend interviews in person or by video conference. In addition, candidates may be required to present their current state or government issued ID during each interview.