Role and Responsibilities of a Delivery Manager
Recently, the Automation Academy team met with Venyamin Kazimirovskiy, Delivery and Program Manager for WorkFusion Professional Services. We asked him about the Delivery Manager role and responsibilities to get some insights into this key position on an automation team:
Venyamin, how would you describe the role of Delivery Manager?
A Delivery Manager (DM) is a technology lead who is focused on customer success, which is achieved by driving engineering resources against project goals and deliverables.
What are the key responsibilities?
The key responsibilities of the Delivery Manager revolve around helping customers execute their automation programs, which results in business benefits. That is done through technical leadership, project management, and delivery lifecycle oversight. The DM operates as the program-level technical lead by providing guidance on feasibility analysis, deployment approaches, specifics of machine learning automation, Agile implementation leadership, coordination of development, and production support services.
What is the difference between Delivery Manager and Project Manager?
The Delivery Manager role differs from the Project Manager role in following key aspects:
- The role of Delivery Manager is more technical, ensuring that technology is applied in the most efficient way.
- Apart from dealing with the project team, DMs are responsible for establishing and driving efficient cooperation with other teams. In the automation space, these are primarily IT and Business.
- The DM’s role is driven by achieved business value, rather than solely optimal budget utilization. This means that even if the scope of the project is delivered on time, within the budget, with the utmost quality, and with a happy team and key stakeholders, but without generating the expected business value, a Delivery Manager can't consider the project successful.
What do you enjoy in the Delivery Manager’s day-to-day work?
First of all, it is a lot of fun! I like the challenges you face while executing different automation initiatives, working closely with those affected by the automation most: key stakeholders. And, of course, I like using the best AI-driven technologies and products. But most of all, I like being on the frontline of the mission to accelerate the world’s transition to more meaningful work.
Is a technical background essential to be a WorkFusion Delivery Manager?
For a Delivery Manager, it is a must. Proven project management experience, technical solution design, and execution experience are essential to fulfill this role.
What training does WorkFusion provide for Delivery Managers?
To efficiently grow DM expertise within our partners and customers, we first help them identify the right people among their team who will be able to fulfill the role of Delivery Manager. The next step is digital training in Automation Academy, which is followed by an in-person interview with a seasoned expert from WorkFusion. Finally, to complete the learning curve, we engage them in real deliveries under the supervision of a senior DM.
What advice can you give to those seeking a Delivery Manager career?
If you're passionate about automation and technology — but even more so about customer success — then DM is the role where you can have both at once.
