Chief Delivery Officer

CHIEF DELIVERY OFFICER
JOB DESCRIPTION

About S&S

Sullivan & Stanley is not a traditional consulting firm. We are intentionally building something different.

We are a company of relationship builders, consultants and entrepreneurs who believe that how work gets done matters just as much as what gets delivered. We exist to challenge ineffective change and outdated consulting models, replacing them with approaches that are human, pragmatic and built for the realities of modern organisations.

Culture at S&S is something we take seriously. Not as a certification, but as a daily practice. We are committed to creating an environment where people are trusted, supported and encouraged to bring their full selves to work, balancing high standards with humanity, care and accountability.

We are deeply mission driven. We want to change business for good, so that the next generation, including our founder Pat Lynes' sons, Sullivan and Stanley, who the company is named after, inherit organisations that are healthier, fairer and better equipped for the future.

As we grow, we are pioneering a Service-as-a-Software approach to consulting, blending community, capability, technology and delivery at scale. This is an opportunity to join a firm in its next phase of growth and help shape what consulting becomes next, not just participate in what it has been.

Our values

• Stand connected
• Stronger together
• Say it straight
• Stay sharp
• See it through

About you and the role

You are a senior delivery and capability leader who understands that exceptional client outcomes are achieved through disciplined execution, strong delivery leadership and clear accountability, not heroics or reactive resourcing.

The Chief Delivery Officer (CDO) is 100% accountable for the successful delivery and execution of all client contracts, ensuring work is delivered to agreed scope, quality, timelines and commercial outcomes, and to the standards of Sullivan & Stanley. The role holds end-to-end responsibility for delivery performance across the firm, from mobilisation through to completion, and provides executive ownership of delivery risk, assurance and outcomes.

Operating at C-suite level, the CDO has executive accountability for delivery leadership, including direct line management of delivery leadership roles and ownership of firm-wide delivery standards. The role sets clear expectations, governance and decision rights for how work is mobilised, staffed, delivered and assured across S&S, spanning consulting teams, associates and partner-delivered capability.

The CDO provides strategic leadership of delivery capability and capacity, ensuring the firm consistently has the right people, skills and structures in place to meet current and future client commitments without compromising quality, culture or commercial performance. You balance forward-looking planning with decisive intervention where required, maintaining control and confidence as the firm scales.

The Chief Delivery Officer reports directly to the CEO and is a core member of the executive leadership team.

This role is for a leader who can hold the full delivery system end to end, from contract ownership and mobilisation through to execution, assurance and successful client outcomes, while building a delivery model that scales with integrity and intent.

Executive responsibilities

1. Supply-side strategy & operating model

• Partner with Sales leadership to ensure delivery commitments align to contracted work and pipeline forecasts.
• Own and evolve the end-to-end supply-side delivery strategy, aligned to business growth, demand forecasts and strategic priorities.
• Shape and continuously improve the target operating model from a delivery and supply perspective.
• Ensure the supply model supports S&S's Service-as-a-Software ambition, enabling scale with consistency and control.

2. Capacity planning & delivery readiness

• Provide executive oversight of consulting and associate capacity planning across current and future demand.
• Ensure delivery teams are appropriately staffed, skilled and supported across all engagements.
• Maintain a clear view of capability readiness, utilisation and deployment risk across the portfolio.

3. Capability development & quality

• Own the delivery assurance methodology, stage gates and process, working with the delivery assurance coordinator to assure successful deliveries.
• Partner with the Head of Consulting to align capability development to consulting propositions and client needs.
• Ensure consistent standards of delivery capability, quality and professionalism across employed consultants, associates and partners.
• Act as an executive sponsor for delivery excellence and continuous improvement.

4. Associate & partner network

• Work closely with the Sales lead to ensure associate sourcing, readiness, onboarding and deployment meet delivery standards.
• Oversee the health, scalability and performance of the associate and partner delivery network.

5. Risk management & complex mobilisation

• Identify supply-side risks, constraints and bottlenecks early and put clear mitigation plans in place.
• Support the mobilisation of complex, multi-disciplinary delivery teams across strategic engagements.
• Provide executive intervention where delivery risk threatens quality, client outcomes or reputation.

6. Executive leadership & collaboration

• Act as a senior leadership partner across Consulting, People, Operations and Commercial leadership.
• Contribute to executive decision-making, growth planning and investment prioritisation.
• Role-model S&S values, behaviours and leadership standards across the delivery community.

Accountabilities

• Availability, readiness and resilience of delivery capability
• Alignment of supply capacity to demand and pipeline
• Quality, consistency and effectiveness of delivery capability
• Supply-side risk identification and mitigation
• Scalability and sustainability of the delivery operating model

Skills & qualifications

Experience

• 8–12+ years' experience in senior consulting, delivery leadership, resource management or capability leadership roles within professional services or consulting environments.
• Demonstrable experience operating at executive or senior leadership level, influencing firm-wide outcomes.

Strategic capability

• Proven track record of aligning people, skills and capacity to delivery demand at scale.
• Experience shaping or operating within complex target operating models.
• Strong commercial and operational judgement.

Delivery insight

• Deep understanding of consulting delivery models, resourcing dynamics and associate-based networks.
• Ability to balance strategic planning with hands-on problem solving when required.

Leadership & influence

• Credibility partnering with senior leaders across Consulting, Delivery, People and Operations.
• Calm, decisive leadership style with a strong bias to action.
• Values-led, human and pragmatic approach to leadership.

Success measures & KPIs

The following success measures are indicative and will evolve as the firm's strategy, scale and operating model mature.

• Capacity readiness — supply coverage: delivery demand consistently covered with appropriately skilled consulting and associate capability.
• Quality of supply — capability quality: positive feedback on skill fit and performance of supplied teams.
• Demand alignment — supply–demand match: minimal delivery disruption due to capacity gaps or misalignment.
• Risk management — supply risk mitigation: supply risks identified early and managed proactively.
• Scalability — supply model effectiveness: supply model scales with growth without loss of quality or control.
• Contract delivery — contract performance: client contracts delivered successfully against scope, quality, timeline and commercials.

Benefits

• Borough Market office space with event space and bar
• Monthly gym membership contribution
• Access to learning and development opportunities
• Membership of The Change Society
• NEST pension and life assurance
• Hybrid working

Additional information

S&S values difference. We're working to be our best, diverse selves, and we're committed to providing an inclusive, safe and amicable environment for all people, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and religion (or lack thereof).

We're an equal opportunity employer, and our recruitment process is based on capability and experience.

S&S also values giving forward, which is why Business for Good is one of our five strategic pillars. We believe that to be good you need to do good, and all it takes is a company with an idea and the passion to make something good happen. Our objectives for Business for Good are:

• Good for our people: create an exemplary and equitable working environment in which to learn and develop
• Good for our community: create a positive impact for the charities we support and provide our associate network with purposeful work
• Good for our clients: deliver meaningful and sustainable change