Agile Delivery Manager (SC Cleared) - Contract Outside IR35 - Taunton, UK at Cactus IT Solutions UK Ltd, Taunton, 6 Months, £Contract Rate

We are seeking an experienced Scrum Master cum Agile Project Manager to lead Agile delivery for complex, business-critical programmes within a secure and highly regulated environment.

The role blends hands-on Scrum facilitation with end-to-end Project management/Delivery management accountability, including planning, governance, stakeholder engagement, and financial control. The successful candidate will ensure predictable delivery aligned to Agile principles, while operating within structured project management and governance frameworks typical of UK public sector and regulated clients.

This role requires strong leadership presence, excellent stakeholder management skills, and the ability to work effectively in an SC-cleared, onshore delivery model, with regular collaboration at the customer site in Taunton.

Key Responsibilities

Agile & Scrum Delivery

• Facilitate all Scrum ceremonies including Daily Stand-ups, Sprint Planning, Sprint Reviews, and Retrospectives, ensuring consistent and effective team cadence.
• Coach delivery teams, Product Owners, and stakeholders on Agile values, Scrum practices, and value-driven delivery.
• Promote continuous improvement through metrics-driven inspection and adaptation (velocity, burn-down, flow metrics).
• Remove impediments and manage dependencies to enable teams to deliver predictably and sustainably.

Project Planning & Management

• Own and manage integrated project plans, ensuring alignment between sprint goals, release plans, and overall programme milestones.
• Monitor and control scope, schedule, risks, issues, and dependencies, ensuring timely escalation and resolution.
• Ensure delivery is on time, within scope, and within agreed budgets, while maintaining quality and compliance.
• Ensure adherence to organisational project management standards, governance, and reporting frameworks.

Financial & Governance Management

• Help in tracking and managing project financials, including effort tracking, budget utilisation, forecasting, and variance analysis.
• Support governance forums with accurate and timely reporting on progress, risks, financials, and delivery health.
• Develop and maintain delivery artefacts aligned to programme and client governance requirements.

Stakeholder & Team Leadership

• Act as the primary point of contact for internal and external stakeholders regarding delivery status and outcomes.
• Build strong relationships with senior stakeholders, delivery partners, and customer representatives.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-performing team culture across multi-disciplinary teams.
• Coordinate effectively with architects, delivery managers, technical leads, and operational teams.

Required Skills & Experience

• Extensive experience working as a Scrum Master on medium to large-scale Agile programmes.
• Proven experience in Agile Project Management, including planning, tracking, and governance.
• Demonstrable experience managing project financials, including budgeting, forecasting, and cost control.
• Strong understanding of Agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban) and their application in structured environments.
• Experience working within regulated, secure, or public-sector delivery contexts.
• Strong leadership, facilitation, and decision-making capability.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Tools & Technologies

• Hands-on experience with Agile and project management tools such as:
  • Azure DevOps
  • JIRA
  • Confluence
  • Trello or equivalent