Job Description

Senior Delivery Lead – Technology Services

He angitūtanga: The opportunity

At Auckland Council, this role is formally known as a Release Train Engineer. However, the role is deliberately positioned as a delivery and leadership function, with a strong emphasis on financial management, investment planning, and enterprise‑level delivery.

Auckland Council’s Technology Services group delivers large, complex initiatives that underpin the services Aucklanders rely on every day. We are seeking a Senior Delivery Lead to take accountability for the delivery, financial management, and performance of an Agile Release Train (ART).

You will lead the end‑to‑end delivery of initiatives across multiple teams, working in close partnership with Product Management and Architecture to balance product strategy, roadmap ambition, technical constraints, and delivery transparency. As an RTE, you play a critical role in connecting roadmap intent to delivery feasibility, ensuring that commitments are realistic, sequenced appropriately, and aligned to funding, capacity, and technical constraints. You need to know when to push, when to slow down, and how to surface trade-offs clearly so informed decisions can be made.

Te hiranga o tēnei mahi: Why this role matters

Technology enables Auckland Council to serve its communities effectively, safely, and sustainably. In this role, you ensure that significant technology investments are planned realistically, governed responsibly, and delivered with discipline.

By working closely with Product Managers and Architects, you help translate strategy and roadmaps into executable delivery plans that teams can confidently deliver against. Your leadership enables:

• Informed decision‑making on roadmap priorities
• Financial transparency and trust with senior leaders
• Predictable delivery in a complex, multi‑team environment
• Sustainable outcomes that balance short‑term delivery with long‑term platform health

This is a role for someone who understands that delivery is as much about financial confidence and trust as it is about execution.

Ngā kawenga matua: Key responsibilities

As Senior Delivery Lead, you will be accountable for:

Delivery, Product & Architecture alignment

• Partner closely with Product Management and Architecture as part of the ART Leadership Team
• Balance product roadmaps, architectural direction, and delivery capacity to create achievable plans
• Challenge assumptions and surface delivery, financial, and technical trade‑offs early
• Support Product Managers in translating roadmap intent into sequenced, fundable delivery increments

Delivery & leadership

• Own delivery outcomes across a group of technology teams aligned to an ART
• Lead planning and coordination across initiatives, managing dependencies and sequencing
• Maintain a clear view of delivery progress, risks, and constraints
• Drive recovery planning where delivery or financial outcomes are at risk

Financial management

• End‑to‑end financial management for the ART, including:
• Forecasting and budget management
• Investment tracking and recovery cost management
• Financial reporting and variance explanations
• Supporting business case development
• Partnering with finance, procurement, and business stakeholders to ensure financial discipline and transparency

Stakeholder, governance, and vendor engagement

• Acting as a senior delivery point of contact for:
• Business leaders and GMs
• Governance and steering groups
• External partners and vendors
• Providing clear, honest delivery insights to support decision‑making at enterprise level

Agile Release Train oversight

• Leading ART‑level planning events (e.g. PI Planning) with a strong focus on delivery realism and financial alignment
• Facilitating coordination forums where they add value to delivery outcomes
• Ensuring teams are aligned to priorities, capacity constraints, and investment intent

This role is not primarily focused on coaching teams or embedding agile practices. The emphasis is ondelivery leadership, financial accountability, and organisational alignment.

He kōrero mōu: About you

You are a senior delivery leader who understands that great outcomes sit at the intersection of product strategy, technical direction, and delivery execution. You have a strong track record of delivering complex initiatives in large, complex organisations. You are comfortable balancing strategy with execution and can operate confidently in conversations where money, scope, risk, and trade‑offs are on the table.

You bring credibility through:

• Sound judgement
• Clear communication
• Financial and commercial confidence
• A pragmatic, outcome‑focused delivery mindset

You will bring:

• Proven experience leading large‑scale technology or change delivery
• Strong capability in financial management,including forecasting, budgeting, cost recovery, and investment tracking
• Experience working with:
• Product Management and Architecture
• Quarterly planning and budget cycles
• Business cases and investment governance
• Confidence engaging with senior leaders, GMs, and governance forums
• Experience operating across multiple teams or delivery streams
• Working knowledge of Agile or scaled delivery approaches (SAFe or similar), applied pragmatically
• The ability to bring structure, clarity, and momentum to complex delivery environments

Experience in a formal RTE role is beneficial but not required: senior delivery, programme, or portfolio leadership backgrounds are highly relevant.

Ngā āhuatanga kei a mātou: What we offer

At Auckland Council, your mahi directly contributes to the wellbeing of Aucklanders. In return, we offer:

• A senior role with meaningful influence and accountability
• Flexibility in how and where you work
• A supportive, purpose‑driven environment
• Opportunities to work on complex, high‑impact initiatives
• A workplace committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion
  (GenderTick accredited, Pride Pledge signatory)

This role is suited to candidates with strong delivery and financial leadership experience. Candidates seeking a primarily coaching‑focused or agile enablement role may find this position is not the right fit.