Head of IT

The Opportunity

Our client is a well established service business operating across the UK. They deliver a hands on, operational service to their customers every day, and technology is what holds that operation together.

A well run, commercially minded group with a strong position in its market. This is the number one technology role in the business and a seat on the senior leadership team. You will own the strategy, the budget, the systems and the team.

It is a hands on role. The function is lean and you will be doing the work as well as directing it.

Why

The Role Exists

The business is investing in a major programme of work across its core business systems, including a full CRM replacement. This is not a refresh. It covers system selection, data migration, integration across the wider estate, cutover and the decommissioning of what is in place today. It will shape how the business sells, serves its customers and grows for the next decade.

They want someone to own that programme, not administer it.

What You'll Be Doing

Systems, architecture and delivery

Owning the portfolio of business systems across their full lifecycle, from selection and build through to replacement and decommissioning

Leading the core systems and CRM programme end to end, including data migration, parallel running, cutover and decommissioning of the legacy platform

Defining and maintaining the systems architecture, integrations, data flows and interface management

Making and justifying build versus buy decisions

Directing third party development partners against agreed technical standards and delivery commitments

Identifying and prioritising opportunities to automate and simplify how the business works

Strategy and commercial

Defining an IT strategy that supports the commercial strategy of the business

Owning the financial planning and reporting for all IT spend, capital and operational, including cloud consumption, licensing and support contracts

Preparing budgets, seeking approval and delivering projects within them

Negotiating and managing supplier agreements, and making the case for investment in terms of cost, risk and value

Keeping the leadership team informed on relevant technical advances and where they could take the business

Infrastructure and security

Accountable for the IT and telecommunications estate, hardware and software

Implementing and maintaining an effective information security framework, including threat assessment and periodic external evaluation

Owning security operations end to end, covering vulnerability management, patching, incident containment and post incident review

Directing the managed security provider

Monitoring, reporting and capacity management across key platforms

Team, suppliers and stakeholders

Line managing the IT team, setting objectives and supporting development

Balancing in house capability against outsourced delivery

Managing relationships with external systems providers and service level agreements

Supporting sales and account management colleagues with key customers and new prospects

Reporting on system performance to key customers

Risk, data and continuity

Acting as Data Protection Officer for the business

Owning data protection, privacy, security and retention policies

Defining and testing backup, recovery and disaster recovery processes

Owning the IT aspects of the risk register

About You

Proven experience running IT inside an operational service business, where technology supports the operation rather than being the product

Demonstrable delivery of a CRM or equivalent core system replacement at genuine scale, including data migration and legacy decommissioning. You know what goes wrong, because it has gone wrong for you

Still hands on. Real depth across a hybrid Microsoft estate, identity and endpoint management, public cloud and network security

Experience building and owning an IT budget covering both capital and recurring spend, and negotiating with suppliers

Experience leading a small technical team and deciding what is done in house and what is outsourced

Commercially minded, able to explain technical risk and investment to people who are not technical

Comfortable in front of customers, prospects and…