Oxford Hub & Platforms Delivery Lead

About the Role

As the digital transformation becomes central to the Press's future, the Platforms Lead will be accountable for the delivery of customer-facing ELT digital products, managing a mix of internal and external suppliers. The Platforms Lead will act as a credible delivery leader, serving as the primary point of contact for technical delivery. This role requires establishing trust with senior stakeholders across the Press by ensuring the agile delivery of agreed-upon scope and objectives. The Platforms Lead will leverage key metrics to ensure delivery teams, both internal and external, are aligned and meeting performance goals. The role involves operating across business functions to deliver a cohesive service, supported by transparent reporting and performance data.

Key responsibilities include working closely with OUP's divisional product teams, product owners, and stakeholders to specify, estimate, enhance, and implement market-leading products that align with OUP's business strategy. The Platforms Lead will ensure these products meet quality standards, deliver a consistent experience to internal and external customers, and drive the success of OUP's technology investments.

The Platforms Lead works to ensure the successful delivery and solution outcomes of the product technology investment portfolio. Focused on delivering value to customers, the Platforms Lead will ensure quality, budget adherence, engineering excellence, standards compliance, and supplier performance. By partnering with Enterprise Architecture teams, the role ensures delivery is aligned with both technology and business strategies.

Key Accountabilities & Relationships:

1. Manage and oversee internal and 3rd party engineering and delivery teams/resources to deliver application development, ongoing roadmap enhancements, and maintenance activities to existing product systems and applications. Own the ongoing run costs of in-scope value streams.
2. Partner with the Divisional Product Strategy team and other Technology and Business functions to define and develop in order to deliver on Value Stream commitments as agreed with the Product Manager.
3. Work with delivery partners to ensure continuous improvement is embedded, driven by data and comprehensive delivery processes.
4. Ensure that Product solutions are delivered on time and on budget.
5. Focus on quality, cost/budget, engineering rigour, standards alignment and compliance, supplier and resource selection, and performance.
6. Partner with the architecture team to deliver applications that move the press towards an agreed target architecture and standards.
7. Transition of new applications/products from Strategic Programme/Project phase into Value Stream by working closely with operational teams to plan and transition smoothly from programme/project structure into value stream.
8. Work closely with the Change Management Team and Change Approval Board to ensure value stream deployments are communicated effectively and are following correct procedure.
9. Drive continuous improvement across the service, underpinned by a relentless focus on improving the customer journey.

We operate a hybrid working policy that requires a minimum of 2 days per week in the Oxford office.