About the Organisation

Spring is the open innovation hub for the UK and Irish water sector, driving transformation in response to climate change, population growth, ageing infrastructure, and increasing public scrutiny. Our vision is to be global leaders in open innovation, and our mission is to connect and support the brightest thinkers inside and outside the sector to accelerate progress. We act as a trusted source of intelligence on needs, trials, data, and emerging solutions—offering a clear view of who’s doing what and where breakthroughs are happening. By brokering partnerships, reducing duplication, and curating insight, we give water companies the headspace to innovate and help the sector deliver resilient, sustainable services for people and the environment.

The Role

As our Delivery Manager, you will lead the new Intelligence Delivery Team, uniting Spring’s innovation and insight delivery functions into one coordinated unit. In this full-time senior leadership role, you’ll translate high-level programme priorities into clear, week-by-week plans, coach and support team members, and shield them from distractions by managing competing demands. Reporting directly to the Managing Director and working closely with the Heads of Service Strategy and Operations, your success will be defined by timely delivery, a strong team culture, and the space you create for senior leaders to focus on strategic priorities.

Key Responsibilities

Plan & Track Delivery, Translate strategic programme plans into detailed, trackable delivery schedules; monitor milestones, manage risk proactively.
A trusted pair of hands who can demonstrate strong People Leadership & Development, Provide day‑to‑day line‑management of currently seven team members; run 1‑to‑1s, set objectives, coach for growth and foster a psychologically safe, high‑performance culture.
Shield & Prioritise, Act as the “pressure buffer”, filtering requests from senior leadership team, so the team can focus on priorities without context switching.
Project Pipeline & OFWAT Engagement, Own and manage the knowledge sharing pipeline, ensuring Spring is formally cited as a delivery partner on OFWAT innovation fund projects (and others as appropriate), so that intelligence can be extracted early and communicated across the water sector.
Quality Assurance, Ensure every output (briefing, dashboard, presentation) meets agreed standards and truly answers stakeholder questions before sign‑off.
Resource Management, Spot capacity pinch‑points early, rebalance workloads and commission short‑term support when needed.
Continuous Improvement, Embed lessons, refine delivery templates and champion tools that boost efficiency and knowledge sharing.
Governance & Reporting, Chair weekly delivery meetings, produce monthly SLT dashboards and quarterly board reports on team performance, pipeline health and budget utilisation.
Commercial Oversight; Ensuring work is invoiced correctly, working with the Head of Operations to ensure income is received from all invoices.
Stakeholder Communication, Provide clear, concise progress updates to the senior‑leadership team and, when required, the Board.

Experience & Skills

Demonstratable and current experience in your career of leading multidisciplinary insight, research, or analytics teams in busy environments
Experienced in delivering projects on time and budget using Agile/traditional methods
Strong focus on quality assurance and organisational reputation
Skilled coach with experience boosting team performance and engagement
Confident presenting to senior leaders, boards, and steering groups
Advanced programme and project management, scheduling, and risk management skills
High emotional intelligence with strong leadership and conflict resolution
Effective cross-functional collaborator delivering integrated outcomes
Clear communicator who turns complex insights into practical stories
Analytical and comfortable guiding data-driven decision-making
Agile organiser, adept at managing priorities and adapting quickly
Proficient with Microsoft 365, project management (Planner, Jira), and collaboration tools (SharePoint, Miro)

Requirements

Legal right to work in the United Kingdom without restriction. Willingness and ability to travel within the UK for occasional team sessions and stakeholder meetings. Bachelor ’s degree in a relevant discipline (desirable).

Senior project‑management/programme delivery is advantageous.

Benefits

Hybrid working model: Weekly Office day at our London HQ
Salary: Up to £70K pa.
Holiday: 27 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing with service.
Hours: Full time- 35 Hours Per week
Professional Development: Three paid volunteering days per year.
Benefits: Private health insurance & EAP, Pension scheme 6 % employer contributions. Life assurance at three times salary.

Delivery Manager, Intelligence Team