Vocative Consulting

IT Manager - Southampton (hybrid (50:50) - £75,000 p.a + company car or allowance Role Focus - IT Foundation, Enablement and Change This role is focused on getting the IT foundations aligned, stabilised, and ready to support a sustained programme of innovation and change across the organisation. It is less about setting strategy and more about making change possible, by ensuring the core technology estate, operating model, and team capability are fit for purpose. The role acts as an enabler for transformation, working closely with the Head of Innovation to shape how innovation can be delivered in practice. This role plays a critical part in turning strategic intent into something the business can actually execute and absorb. Responding to the day to day operational needs of a business is an integral part of how the team works, building close, supportive relationships with frontline teams on plants and sites, and approaching challenges collaboratively. The focus is on working together to keep systems safe, secure, and compliant, while making practical, well considered changes that support operational delivery. This naturally includes using safe, controlled IT environments to explore ideas and proof of concepts together, allowing learning, confidence, and trust to develop before changes are introduced into production. The role requires hands on experience across a predominantly Microsoft technology stack, spanning both legacy and modern platforms, within a currently hybrid environment. Success in this role depends heavily on relationship building across the organisation. The individual must be proactive, visible, and trusted by stakeholders, with a clear interest in understanding how different parts of the business operate and where technology can genuinely remove friction or enable improvement. From a leadership perspective, the role carries responsibility for supporting and developing the IT team. This includes addressing performance issues, navigating strong personalities, and being prepared to make difficult but necessary leadership decisions in the interests of the wider organisation. Overall, this is a delivery focused, people centred role that creates the conditions for innovation, by strengthening the foundations, supporting the team, and enabling change to happen at pace and with confidence. Key Requirements over next 12 Months Establish a visible and effective Service Desk function • Build service orientated mindset, trust amongst the team and end users • Build a service desk function and toolset that is easy to access, friendly to use, and well communicated across the business • Ensure clear onboarding, training, and ongoing support for users • Align processes with ITIL principles, focusing on consistency, accountability, and continual improvement • Create structure, direction, and focus within the IT team • Provide meaningful service metrics and reporting for the executive team • Put in place clear feedback loops so user experience directly informs service improvement Establish a visible and effective Project Management Capability • Bring a structured, pragmatic approach to delivering IT change in a live operational environment • Ideally hold a recognised project management qualification (Prince 2) • Build basic project delivery capability within the IT team, introducing consistent ways of planning, tracking, and delivering change • Apply project management principles proportionately, focused on clarity, ownership, and delivery rather than process for process sake • Demonstrate a commitment to ongoing professional development and encourage the same within the team Support and enable major business change programmes Actively support delivery across current transformation initiatives, including: • Cyber Safe and Cyber Essentials programmes • ERP and financial systems modernisation • Transport Management and Compliance systems • Increased and more effective adoption of Microsoft 365 platforms • Adoption of Azure-based services Ensure IT foundations remain stable, secure, and scalable while change is delivered Deliver a modern, cloud based telephony solution: • Lead the implementation of a new cloud phone system, such as Microsoft Teams Phone or an equivalent platform • Ensure the solution supports business operations, user adoption, and future flexibility • Manage transition from legacy telephony with minimal disruption to users Work closely with operational teams to ensure technology changes are practical, usable, and aligned to real world processes Strengthen IT foundations and ways of working • Improve service consistency, resilience, and security across the hybrid Microsoft environment • Support a collaborative, supportive IT culture that works closely with operational teams • Create space for safe experimentation where appropriate, including controlled proof of concept environments

Data and AI Lead - Hybrid role (nr Reading UK) - Permanent - £75-80K base An exciting opportunity with a SaaS vendor who are the market lead in their sector. They're building a greenfield new product alongside their existing product suite. Stage One is to surface the existing customer data they have and create commercial value from it; from there they plan to build AI and ML solutions to transform their customers' experience and value, and increase the speed and scope of the core product. In this newly created role, you'll be at the heart of that effort. You'll work with stakeholders to understand their business needs and propose solutions, and use your technical capability to put together proofs of concept and find the value in the data. From a technical point of view they're looking for Python, SQL, DataBricks/Snowflake - but tooling isn't really the issue at hand. Your ability to be a "translator" and convert commercial opportunity into data solution and vice versa that's the key. The role is based near Reading and you'll need to be in the office a day or two a week. It's a permanent opportunity paying around £75-80K base For more details please contact Justin Sleep with a copy of your resume.

.NET Developer Hybrid (occasional visits to Bristol) £50,000 Build powerful software. Shape modern web experiences. Grow your career. Are you a passionate .NET Developer ready to take the next step in your career? We re looking for a motivated, adaptable problem-solver who thrives on delivering high-quality solutions in a collaborative, forward-thinking environment. This is your opportunity to work with modern technologies, influence technical direction, and make a real impact, all while enjoying the flexibility of hybrid working. The Role You will design and develop robust, scalable applications using modern .NET technologies, while contributing to the creation of responsive, high-performing web interfaces. Working closely with cross-functional teams, you will play a key role in delivering high-quality software solutions and continuously improving development practices. This is a role for someone who enjoys ownership, values collaboration, and is comfortable working in a fast-paced environment with clear deadlines. Essential Experience Strong understanding of object-oriented programming principles Solid commercial experience with modern responsive web design Ability and willingness to learn new methodologies, technologies and development techniques Motivated, flexible and able to work effectively under pressure Comfortable working both independently and as part of a team or cross-team environment Tech Stack C# .NET Core / .NET Framework 4.8 Visual Studio HTML / CSS TypeScript Angular 2+ SQL Server Entity Framework Desirable Skills SQL Server design, implementation and optimisation AngularJS / jQuery CI/CD (TeamCity) NUnit / Unit Testing AWS Mentoring and supporting other team members What s On Offer Hybrid working with minimal time in the office Opportunity to work with modern technologies Collaborative and supportive team culture Clear opportunities for progression and technical development If you re a driven .NET Developer who enjoys solving complex problems and building high-quality software, we d love to hear from you.