G-TECH TALENT LIMITED
19/05/2026
Full time
Role: Head of IT Location: Derbyshire-based on a hybrid basis (primary site + travel to other UK locations) Direct Reports: Three capability leads + individual contributors (circa 18-20 people) Salary: £ + Various other benefits My client is a leading UK-based provider in its sector, operating a nationwide service network with a large field-based workforce and multiple operational sites. It forms part of a wider European group backed by private equity. The business delivers a high volume of customer jobs annually across multiple channels, including insurance, fleet, and private customers. The company is on a strong growth trajectory, with an ambitious commercial plan targeting significant revenue and profitability growth over the next several years. IT is a critical enabler of this strategy, particularly in improving operational efficiency, automating workflows, and supporting commercial delivery. The Role This is a newly created position to provide operational IT leadership across the UK business. The Head of IT will hold full accountability for the day-to-day running of the IT function, including infrastructure, applications, service desk, and security execution. The role reports to the IT Director, who retains overall strategic and group-level accountability. The IT function currently consists of approximately 20 people across development, infrastructure, support, and compliance. While technically capable, the team has operated with limited structure for a period of time. The successful candidate will assess capability, structure, and performance within the first 90 days and implement improvements as required. Key Responsibilities Own the day-to-day operation of the IT function across: Delivery & applications Infrastructure & security End-user support Establish and maintain a clear operating rhythm (weekly delivery cadence, monthly executive reporting, quarterly planning cycles) Own vendor and contract management, procurement coordination, and IT budget/cost control Maintain oversight of IT estate, including lifecycle and end-of-life planning Lead the people agenda: objectives, one-to-ones, development plans, and performance management Review and optimise development team structure, including allocation of technical authority and delivery ownership Work with delivery leadership to prioritise work based on business value Build and maintain asset and contract registers with forward visibility of renewals and risks Manage the interface with Group IT, ensuring alignment without dependency on external timelines Drive documentation and knowledge sharing to remove single points of failure Own the service desk function, including SLA definition, demand reduction, and onboarding/offboarding processes First 90 Days Complete a full audit of infrastructure, systems, and contracts Establish structured team management (objectives, one-to-ones, performance expectations) Assess and recommend optimal development team structure Evaluate all roles against the target operating model and identify gaps or development needs Initiate documentation and knowledge transfer across critical systems Implement a consistent delivery and reporting cadence with key stakeholders Person Specification Essential: Proven experience leading an IT function (approx. 15-25 people) across development, infrastructure, and support Strong people leadership and performance management capability Commercial mindset with the ability to link IT activity to business outcomes Experience managing vendors, contracts, and IT budgets Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, private equity-backed or high-change environment Sufficient technical depth to understand architecture without being hands-on in all areas Experience with cloud platforms (e.g. AWS and/or Azure) and legacy environments Desirable: Experience in a multi-site operational business (e.g. logistics, field service, distribution) Familiarity with ITIL / ITSM frameworks Experience managing organisational change or restructuring Awareness of information security standards (e.g. ISO 27001) and regulatory/compliance environments