{"id":3560055,"url":"https://alion.io/job/kainos-principal-delivery-manager-defence","title":"Principal Delivery Manager (Defence)","company":{"id":51458,"name":"Kainos","domain":"kainos.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/kainos","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"services","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workday","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":80,"open_postings":12,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.75,"repost_share":0.083,"time_to_fill_p50_days":35,"computed_at":"2026-11-05T05:54:30Z"}},"role":"Product","role_family":"Product","seniority":"lead","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["London, United Kingdom","Birmingham, United Kingdom","United Kingdom"],"countries":["GB"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":82000,"max_usd":175000,"period":"year","method":"role_seniority_country_remote_cell","sample_n":76},"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Agile","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-30T00:00:00Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-30","last_verified_at":"2026-11-06T04:33:54Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":7,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":7},"description":"Join Kainos and Shape the Future\nAt Kainos, we’re problem solvers, innovators, and collaborators - driven by a shared mission to create real impact. Whether we’re transforming digital services for millions, delivering cutting-edge Workday solutions, or pushing the boundaries of technology, we do it together.\nWe believe in a people-first culture, where your ideas are valued, your growth is supported, and your contributions truly make a difference. Here, you’ll be part of a diverse, ambitious team that celebrates creativity and collaboration.\nReady to make your mark? Join us and be part of something bigger.\nAs a Principal Delivery Manager at Kainos, you’ll lead the successful delivery of complex digital transformation programmes across in one of our Sector client in Defence. You’ll create the conditions for multiple multidisciplinary teams and suppliers to deliver measurable outcomes, while maintaining clear governance, strong commercial performance and trusted senior client relationships.\nYou’ll work with Director and C-level stakeholders to understand their priorities, shape delivery strategy and identify opportunities to deepen our relationships and grow our accounts. You’ll also take ownership of capacity and resourcing across your engagements, working closely with account teams and BU Operations to ensure we have the right people in place.\nAt Kainos, we put people first. You’ll lead, coach and empower delivery teams, helping individuals thrive while contributing to the continued development of our Sector business and wider Delivery capability.\nYou will be responsible for:\nDelivery\nLead complex, high-value digital programmes across multiple teams, workstreams and suppliers, ensuring delivery is aligned to strategic goals and achieves measurable outcomes for customers and end users.\nDefine the critical success factors for each programme, going beyond time, budget and scope to include long-term impact, client satisfaction and continuous improvement.\nProvide senior delivery leadership in fast-moving and challenging environments, making reasoned decisions that balance client priorities, Kainos commercial interests and the impact on our people.\nCreate clarity across programmes by setting direction, aligning plans and ensuring dependencies, risks and delivery challenges are actively managed.\nCommercial and account growth\nTake ownership of programme financial performance, meeting or exceeding agreed profitability targets and ensuring accurate forecasting and reporting of cost, revenue and margin.\nUnderstand the contracts and commercial terms that apply to your programmes, ensuring Kainos is protected, and delivery remains compliant.\nBuild trusted relationships with Director and C-level stakeholders, proactively managing expectations, and strengthening confidence in Kainos as a delivery partner.\nIdentify and develop opportunities to grow the Sector accounts you support, contributing to account strategy, customer conversations, proposals, bids and pitches.\nWork closely with Sales, Account Leads and Account Management teams to shape compelling responses that reflect client needs, procurement requirements, and evolving priorities.\nTeam and capability leadership\nCreate an inclusive, high-performing environment where multidisciplinary teams can do their best work, learn, and continuously improve.\nLead, coach and develop delivery leaders and programme teams, setting clear expectations, providing regular feedback and supporting meaningful development objectives.\nTake ownership of capacity and staffing across your engagements, working with BU Operations to anticipate demand, make effective resourcing decisions, and support the onboarding of new team members.\nContribute to recruitment, succession planning and the continued growth of the Delivery capability.\nTake on wider management and leadership responsibilities across the Sector business and broader Delivery capability when required.\nGovernance, assurance and risk\nEstablish and maintain proportionate programme governance, with clear accountability, effective decision-making and robust technical quality standards.\nActively manage programme risks, issues and dependencies, escalating appropriately to protect delivery outcomes and maintain client confidence.\nProvide appropriate assurance across multiple workstreams and suppliers, ensuring progress, quality and commercial performance are visible and understood.\nEnsure teams comply with confidentiality, non-disclosure and information security requirements at all times.\nInnovation and continuous improvement\nEncourage innovation in technology, process and ways of working, helping teams use new tools and approaches to improve delivery effectiveness, team experience and customer outcomes.\nLead and implement improvements that increase efficiency and create value for clients and Kainos.\nShare learning and celebrate success across Kainos, with customers and through relevant external industry channels.\nContribute to continuous improvement within the Management capability and maintain awareness of current thinking across Technology, Experience Design and Consulting.\nMinimum requirements:\nSignificant experience delivering complex digital programmes within a consultancy, professional services or comparable environment.\nDigital delivery experience and stakeholder management in a complex environment.\nProven experience leading large-scale digital transformation programmes across multiple teams and suppliers.\nExperience working within Agile delivery environments.\nA strong track record of delivering successful outcomes while balancing customer needs, commercial objectives, and delivery performance.\nExperience establishing programme governance and managing risks, issues and assurance within complex delivery environments.\nExperience building trusted relationships and influencing senior stakeholders, including Director and/or C-level decision makers.\nExperience leading, developing and coaching high-performing teams, including line management responsibility.\nExcellent communication, influencing and decision-making skills, with the ability to operate effectively in complex stakeholder environments.\nFlexibility to work on customer sites and travel when required.\nActive SC clearance (lived in the UK continuously for 5 years, background checks).\nDesirable:\nExperience delivering programmes within central government, healthcare, defence or another highly regulated environment.\nBroad technology experience and awareness of emerging trends, including AI, with curiosity about how they can improve delivery effectiveness and customer outcomes.\nStrong business development and account growth experience, including account planning, bids, proposals, and procurement activities.\nEvidence of securing follow-on work or expanding existing client relationships.\nExperience leading improvements to management, delivery or leadership practices across a team, account or organisation.\nEmbracing our differences\nAt Kainos, we believe in the power of diversity, equity and inclusion. We are committed to building a team that is as diverse as the world we live in, where everyone is valued, respected, and given an equal chance to thrive. We actively seek out talented people from all backgrounds, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or any other characteristic that makes them who they are. We also believe every candidate deserves a level playing field. \nOur friendly talent acquisition team is here to support you every step of the way, so if you require any accommodations or adjustments, we encourage you to reach out. \nWe understand that everyone's journey is different, and by having a private conversation we can ensure that our recruitment process is tailored to your needs.","description_format":"text","description_chars":7796,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":5,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Equity"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["IT Consulting & Digital Transformation","Custom Software Development"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-31T03:26:03Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":63,"band":"ok","label":"Likely open","p_open":1,"p_active":0.632,"p_room":1,"age_days":6,"expected_fill_days":35,"reasons":["conf:4","stale_co","velocity","win:early"],"computed_at":"2026-11-05T05:54:30Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/kainos-principal-delivery-manager-defence","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/kainos-principal-delivery-manager-defence.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-06T05:02:45Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":8759,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-07T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":51458},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=51458"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fkainos-principal-delivery-manager-defence"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fkainos-principal-delivery-manager-defence"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fkainos-principal-delivery-manager-defence"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/kainos-principal-delivery-manager-defence\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fkainos-principal-delivery-manager-defence"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3560055}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"kainos.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3560055},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. Docs: https://alion.io/developers"}}