Chief Information Officer (CIO)

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We are looking for a new Chief Information Officer to join our successful, family owned-and-run retail business, Pavers. This role will be based at our head office in York but can include an element of home working, flexible hours, and/or working from our satellite offices if desired.

We would also consider interim applications for this role.

Many parts of our systems estate are aged, and we are in the exploratory phase of a full modernisation project designed to take advantage of the automation and simplification opportunities that now exist for modern retailers. A strategic and people-focused leader, experienced in high-growth environments, is required to drive these technological advancements. You will be expected to define a strategy, articulate a vision, and engage a rapidly expanding team of over 50 technical colleagues, including multiple development squads. We will give you the trust, autonomy, and investment to succeed. In return, we ask you to be friendly, work hard, and act with humility.

Whilst a retail business at our core, our systems are a key source of competitive advantage, and one we have, and are continuing, to heavily invest in. This key role is the most senior Information Officer in the business and is crucial in our future success. You will sit on the Senior Leadership Team and will be responsible for developing and maintaining a systems estate that delivers our organisational objectives, as well as helping to direct the wider business’ strategy. You will report directly to the ambitious Managing Director, a 3rd generation member of the family. You will have responsibility for a System team that includes IT Operations, Data, Software Development, and System Modernisation teams.

Pavers has been trading for over 50 years and is a highly profitable and fast-growing family business with a strong balance sheet and a turnover over £200m. We also own the Jones Bootmaker, Herring Shoes, and Padders / Van Dal footwear businesses, remain acquisitive, and employ over 1850 people. We were recently recognised as one of the Top 5 employers in Retail (Best Companies), are Carbon Neutral, have donated more than £2m to charity in the past 5 years, and are imminently undertaking a significant expansion and modernisation of our York head office.

Key responsibilities:

• Develop and lead our long-term technical strategy to help deliver our company goals
• Provide inspirational leadership, support, and guidance to the team, motivating them to hit delivery deadlines and communicating progress in the appropriate senior forums
• Improve departmental productivity through effective prioritisation, automation, and the use of LLMs
• Lead the Heads of Departments managing development, infrastructure, data management, and support teams
• Identify and define business improvement, cost-reduction, and growth opportunities through technical innovation
• Deliver business-wide technical improvements
• Set cost-conscious budgets, define objectives, monitor workflows, identify, and fill resource gaps, and implement and refine processes as required
• Establish and monitor key performance metrics
• Experience working as an IT Director / Head of IT (ideally with a matrix structure) at C-Suite/board level, with a history of delivering significant commercial competitive advantage
• Experience leading large, multi-team IT functions, ideally within an established business that has undertaken a modernisation programme
• A proven track record of motivating technical teams to deliver outperformance, including deploying productivity tools and automation
• Evidence of delivering business improvement through technical change and innovation
• Excellent team leadership capabilities and familiarity with the Agile development framework
• Positive, engaging, inclusive attitude and management style
• Significant experience working within a Retail and/or family business
• Ability to influence others and drive team development
• Gritty, resilient, candid, and operates with honesty, integrity, and a willingness to share learning and knowledge
• Champions personal and team development
• Adapts quickly to change and manages conflicting demands calmly under pressure
• Passion for footwear, a sense of humour, and a drive to get things done!

Technical awareness:

• Microsoft SQL
• JavaScript
• Windows Server
• VMWare
• IP Networking
• Shopify / eCommerce platforms
• Snowflake / Data warehousing
• Tableau
• Telephony

Salary: £Generous plus LTIP, annual profit-related bonus scheme, PMI cover, car allowance, death in service, plus:

• Generous Staff Discount
• Holiday Entitlement (Increases with service)
• Company Contribution Pension
• Access to RetailTRUST (Wellbeing Support)
• Access to RetailCURE (Financial Support)
• Access to the Pavers Foundation: an employee-led grant application and charitable giving scheme

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