Technology Officer

About us.

We are The Very Group and we’re here to help families get more out of life. We know that our customers work hard for their families and have a lot to balance in their busy lives. That’s why we combine amazing brands and products with flexible payment options on  to help them say yes to the things they love. We’re just as passionate about helping our people get more out of life too;

building careers with real growth, a sense of purpose, belonging and wellbeing.

The Technology Officer will be a key support to the CIO taking responsibility for the Head’s of Technology across Architecture, all Engineering disciplines, Quality Assurance and Data across all brands and business units within The Very Group in the UK and Ireland.

Working as part of the CIO leadership, they provide strategic direction and leadership to ensure The Very Group’s technology estate meets the current and future needs of the business in line with the business strategy and direction set by the group board.

This role requires a forward-thinking and pro-active individual with excellent leadership skills and a strong technical background and understanding in Data, Architecture and Engineering who can foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, diversity, and continuous improvement across the whole Technology team.

Nature and Area of impact:

• Has responsibility to recommend and deliver the technology strategy and roadmap in support of the business strategy.
• Is responsible for all system development, maintenance, and support and associate Capex and Revex costs in line with annual Capex plan and business needs as agreed by the group board.

Leadership:

• Leads a team in excess of 200 people made up of Architects, Software Engineers, Platform Engineers, QA Engineers,, Data Engineers and associated managers.
• These team members will be a mix of permanent TVG colleagues as well as 3rd party Tech resource partners.
• Responsible for the technical relationship with all third-party technology providers and resource providers that fall within their domain.
• Acts as a bridge between technical teams and non-technical stakeholders, ensuring clear communication and alignment.
• Maintain relationships across the Exec, GLT, and SMT being recognised as a leader within the Tech function and point of contact.

Budget/Financial:

• Has shared responsibility within the Technology Leadership Team to ensure that the Technology department budget is managed effectively.
• Responsible for the cost of employment, cloud run costs, and license costs associated with the tech teams across the Technology, DCX, Retail, FS, Customer Care, and Logistics & Fulfilment business areas.
• Responsible for shaping and delivering multi £M roadmaps, projects and business/technology transformation.

Governance and

Risk Management:

• Ensure compliance with relevant regulations, standards, and policies.
• Proactively identify and mitigate technology-related risks, including cybersecurity threats.
• Establish and maintain robust processes for monitoring and maintaining performance, reliability, and technical currency across all areas that fall within their domain.

• In conjunction with the Head of Architecture, shape the technology architecture based on desired strategic business outcomes and operating models (as agreed by the group board)
• Ensure quality software is delivered through the implementation of design & change standards in engineering and test.
• Develop & maintain strategic technology roadmaps
• Provide technology advice & direction to wider Technology and business
• Manage Technology engineering third party suppliers & partner relationships
• Ensure the right infrastructure, systems and people are in place to support the strategy
• Drive the business to raise the gaze on external trends, including competitive challenges, technology advances and an evolving regulatory environment.
• Ensuring compliance with all data regulations including GDPR.

• Extensive experience of building, integrating, maintaining, and managing complex software architecture landscapes (both build and bought), across multi-cloud environments.
• A strong people leader who can galvanise a team…