Head of Delivery — escalation framework
Purpose: Clear path for when issues leave the CSO ↔ SL triangle and need Head of Delivery (or delegate) attention.
Escalate to Head of Delivery when
- Client or revenue risk is material (renewal at risk, exec complaint, legal/security concern).
- Scope vs SOW conflict cannot be resolved between CSO and SL in writing within a short window.
- Repeated standard misses on the same account after explicit feedback (Linear hygiene, comms cadence, plan quality).
- Cross-pod dependency blocks delivery and no owner is stepping up.
- Resourcing mismatch threatens milestones and CSO + SL cannot reprioritize safely.
Do not escalate (handle locally first)
- Single ticket delays — SL unblocks ICs; CSO manages client expectation.
- One-off miscommunication — CSO corrects with client; SL fixes technical root cause.
- Preference disputes with no SOW impact — CSO decides client-facing position; SL implements.
What to bring
- Link to signed SOW or change order.
- Current project plan (or SOW ↔ plan doc) and Linear snapshot (team, initiatives, projects, milestones).
- Written summary from CSO: business impact, ask, and what was already tried with SL.
- Written summary from SL: technical view, effort, and risks (can be async before a sync).
Outcomes
- Decision documented (approve plan, change scope, add milestone, pause work, etc.).
- Linear updated to match the decision.
- CSO communicates to client when the decision is client-visible.
KPI note
If org KPI is number of escalations, use this framework to distinguish healthy early escalation (prevents blowups) from chronic noise (fix standards or ownership).
Last updated: 2026-03-23