Becky has been recognised as a Rising Star by WeAreTheCity for her impact as an emerging digital leader. As a Senior Digital Delivery Manager in DWP Digital, she leads teams delivering automation and AI solutions, combining technical expertise with people-first leadership and a strong commitment to developing others.
I never intended to be a project manager or to work in tech. I started my career in marketing but gradually took on more project management work as it became clear this aligned well with how I work. From there, it naturally grew.
I currently work as a Senior Delivery Manager within The Garage, a team in DWP Digital that designs and delivers automated solutions to increase productivity, improve customer experience and free up colleagues to focus on highervalue work. We work hard to improve existing processes across the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) by automating them. Our customers are often interacting with DWP at times of real need, and what my team delivers can drastically reduce waiting times, for example by speeding up decisions on claims.
The variety of the work. I manage multiple projects at any one time, and they can be very different in nature, in skill set and in technology. It’s never boring, and while it sounds like a cliché, no two days are the same.
There’s a common misconception that working in government is slowpaced, but that hasn’t been my experience at all. The projects I work on in DWP Digital are exciting, and often right at the front of what’s possible.
I was the Senior Delivery Lead for the 2022 Cost of Living Payments. As a team, we were working to extremely tight timescales and were tasked with delivering something that had never been done before at such scale. We successfully paid 8 million households over £125 billion in support.
The year or so spent delivering the different payment rounds, and the subsequent mopups, was intense and challenging, but I’m really proud that we made a genuine difference to people who needed it most at a very difficult time.
I love my job within The Garage and can certainly see myself staying here for a while. That said, I’d love the opportunity to progress.
Technology is changing daily, and working in The Garage makes that really clear. The things we can now do for our customers and colleagues are huge, even compared to a year ago. I’m excited to see how far we can go and what we can achieve next.
I’ve seen lots of great leaders since working at DWP Digital. The best ones, I find, lead by example, surround themselves with strong teams, and have a clear vision of what they want to achieve.
I’d like to think I’m doing a good job supporting those in my team and the people who report to me. Being a line manager and having the opportunity to support others is one of my favourite parts of the role. Giving people exciting projects, offering new opportunities, and supporting them in whatever they want to work towards is something I always try to do.
Really positive. Since starting at DWP Digital, I’ve always been line managed by other women, and often the chain of command up to the top has been entirely women. I would highly recommend working in tech, especially somewhere that clearly demonstrates a strong commitment to equality.
