Embedded Delivery Leadership
The right leader in the seat. SIG behind them.
When an Agile Release Train is wobbling or a critical program can’t wait months for a hiring search, SIG embeds an experienced delivery leader who gets the work moving and leaves your team stronger when they go.
Sound familiar?
You don’t need a whole transformation. You need someone good in one seat.
Your ART lost its RTE right before PI Planning.
The train still has to run, and the event can’t wait for a new hire to ramp up.
A big program is drifting and nobody owns the whole picture.
Teams are busy, status reports look fine, and leaders still can’t tell you when it will land.
You need senior capability now, not after a long search.
A permanent hire is months away, and the work in front of you is due this quarter.
The roles we fill
Embedded delivery leadership for the roles that can’t wait.
With embedded delivery leadership from SIG, every role is scoped to a defined term with a handoff plan from day one. We come in, get it working, and make sure your people can run it after we leave.
Agile at Scale
Release Train Engineer or Solution Train Engineer
When you need one
You’re launching a new ART or Solution Train, an existing train has lost its rhythm, or PI Planning is coming with nobody ready to run it.
What we do
- Prepare and facilitate PI Planning and train events
- Run ART Sync and manage risks and dependencies
- Coordinate across ARTs and suppliers on large solutions
- Coach Scrum Masters and make progress visible to leaders
What you keep
A steady operating rhythm for your train, a coached internal RTE or STE, and playbooks your team owns.
See how SAFe defines the Release Train Engineer and Solution Train Engineer roles.
Technology Delivery
Technical Program Manager
When you need one
A technical program spans several teams, platforms, or vendors and needs one person who owns the whole thing end to end.
What we do
- Build one integrated roadmap across teams
- Track dependencies and get ahead of delivery risk
- Set up clear, honest executive reporting
- Bring practical AI tools into program operations
What you keep
A program playbook, a reporting cadence leaders trust, and a team that knows how to keep it going.
High Stakes Work
Complex Program and Project Management
When you need one
You have a cross functional initiative with a hard deadline, lots of moving parts, or a project that has already gone off the rails.
What we do
- Stabilize the plan, scope, and schedule
- Put lightweight governance in place
- Align stakeholders on decisions and tradeoffs
- Recover troubled projects and reset expectations
What you keep
A clear governance model, reusable templates, and a project that is back on a plan people believe in.
Portfolio
Portfolio Manager
When you need one
Intake and prioritization have turned into a pile of competing requests, and nobody can say which work matters most.
What we do
- Stand up a simple, working intake process
- Prioritize with WSJF and real capacity data
- Run Lean Portfolio Management events like portfolio sync
- Connect the work back to strategy and funding
What you keep
An intake and prioritization process that sticks, and a portfolio picture your leaders trust.
PMO Leadership
PMO Lead
When you need one
Your PMO is between leaders, or it has turned into a reporting function that people work around.
What we do
- Keep the PMO running while you search for a permanent leader
- Simplify standards, templates, and governance
- Build reporting executives actually use
- Develop the PMO team and set a clear direction
What you keep
A PMO with clear standards, a steadier team, and a smooth handoff to your next leader.
Need a role that isn’t listed here? Tell us about it. If it lives in program, portfolio, or agile delivery, there’s a good chance we can help.
Every placement comes with SIG
You’re not just getting a person. You’re getting the whole playbook.
This is what separates embedded delivery leadership from SIG and a contractor you found on a job board.
Led or overseen by Josh
Every engagement is either delivered by Dr. Josh Stephens or overseen by him, with regular check ins on how the work is going.
Vetted practitioners
Anyone we place is a practitioner Josh has interviewed, checked references on, and trusts with your work.
SIG tools from day one
Our workshop guides, assessments, and program toolkit come with the role, so nobody starts from a blank page.
A handoff plan from the start
We agree on what done looks like before we begin, and we build your team’s capability so the work keeps going after we step back.
How it works
From open seat to steady work.
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01
Talk about the seat
A candid conversation about the role, the team, and what is actually going on.
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02
Match the right leader
We agree on scope, term, and outcomes, then put the right person in the seat.
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03
Embed and stabilize
Your leader gets to work with SIG tools and a SIG team member checking in along the way.
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04
Hand off and step back
We transfer the playbooks and the know how, then stay available if you need us.
Fractional or embedded?
Fractional leaders set direction. Embedded leaders run the work.
Fractional PMO and transformation leadership is for when you need someone shaping strategy at the top. Embedded delivery leadership is for when you need someone in the room every day, running the train or the program. Some situations call for one, and some call for both.
Highly skilled at driving outcomes, Stephens Insight Group started adding value on day one!
Head of Global IT PMO, Fortune 500 Company
Have a seat to fill?
Tell us about the role and what’s going on. We’ll tell you honestly whether embedded delivery leadership is the right fit.
Talk About a RoleFor practitioners
Join the SIG Bench.
Are you an experienced RTE or STE, Technical Program Manager, program or project manager, portfolio manager, or PMO leader who is open to embedded work? We’d love to know you.
Share a few details and a SIG team member will reach out when a role fits your experience. No spam, and no obligation.