Chief Technology Officer in England

We’re working with one of the UK's most critical organisations to appoint a new CTO who can lead their £1bn+ technology innovation investment over the next 5 years to deliver maximum value from innovative and emerging technologies. The organisation has a direct impact on every person in the UK. The core tech infrastructure is now in place; we now need an agile and ambitious CTO who is able to work with global leading vendors such as Google, Meta and Palo Alto to drive real-world innovation which will shape the future of how this organisation operates and impacts billions of people every day.

Due to the company size, a blue-chip CTO leading huge functions with vast technical debt may not work, instead we need someone from a fast-moving industry who has delivered real value through technology investment. Retail, energy retail, logistics, or PE backed organisations come to mind as transferrable.

The Role:

• Defining and executing a forward-looking technology & digital strategy aligned to business outcomes.
• Leading the strategy behind a £1bn+ investment programme — ensuring every £ delivers value.
• Driving adoption of emerging technologies (AI, data, IoT, automation) across hundreds of physical UK locations.
• Building and owning strategic partnerships (£xxm) with global technology leaders (e.g. Google, Meta, Palo Alto).
• Acting as an external-facing technology leader — travelling to and engaging with global partners to keep the organisation at the cutting edge.
• Turning innovation into tangible, measurable impact across operations and business performance.
• Leading high-performing technical teams and embedding a culture of innovation and accountability.
• Partnering with execs, board, regulators, and external partners to align technology with long-term growth.

Ideal Profile:

• A technology leader (CTO / Director of Technology & Strategy level) who is motivated by innovation and making key decisions which make a real-world impact.
• Background in a fast-paced, customer-focused company, able to detail how they have turned technology investment into business value.
• Comfortable operating as a visible, internal and external ambassador for technology.
• Credible at board level, but hands-on enough to drive change through a complex organisation.
• Ability to bring fresh thinking into a regulated, critical national environment.
• May currently be a CTO / Director of Technology & Strategy, or similar. We are not concerned about title, but we want to see someone who has reported into exec level and delivered business transforming technology impact in a fast moving, agile company.
• You can be based anywhere in the UK, as long as you are comfortable travelling to the Midlands and London when needed.

We are flexible on package, we expect the salary to be somewhere around £170k-£180k, with a bonus which brings this to c. £280k+. This search will move quickly as it is a critical hire with the investment ready to be utilised.