Head of IT in England

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Site location flexible - ideally Westbury, Heathrow, Reading or Oxford

Competitive DOE

Hours 45 per week

Your Role

The Head of IT is responsible for leading the Company's IT strategy, systems support, infrastructure, and digital security. This role ensures that technology effectively supports business operations, drives/assists growth, and innovation while maintaining reliability, security, and cost efficiency. This role is critical to align systems, hardware and overall IT infrastructure with the day-to-day operational and back-office requirements of the business. You will lead the Service Delivery & Infrastructure Teams and be the conduit between them and senior internal and external stakeholders. You will need to understand business requirements across all key departments and maintain/improve an IT infrastructure to complement and facilitate ease of use and efficiency.

Day to day, you will be:

• Develop and execute the technology vision and strategy, aligning technology initiatives (including the emergence of AI) with business objectives and customer needs
• Lead, mentor and manage the IT Team to support the needs of the business
• Advise Senior Leadership on technology trends, risks, and opportunities, acting as a technical advisor to the Board
• Oversee design, implementation, and maintenance of IT systems, networks, servers, and cloud services
• Deep dive into current business capabilities, requirements and technology gaps, identifying appropriate solutions to improve business performance
• Lead the IT Team to scope, design and deliver appropriate change programmes within the organisation including identifying technology to aid productivity and efficiency benefits through smarter ways of working
• Manage software applications, integrations, and system upgrades and lead implementation projects where appropriate
• Ensure high availability, performance and scalability of systems
• Create IT project plans to ensure agile and continuous improvement for process and systems
• Protect Company data and systems - Implement, maintain and enforce IT Policies
• Establish, develop and enforce cybersecurity policies and best practices and define standards for data privacy, cybersecurity and risk management
• Ensure compliance with relevant regulations, standards and data protection laws. Use technology to manage business risk and uphold compliance
• Ensure efficient IT support and incident management processes
• Oversee recovery, backups, and business continuity planning
• Monitor system performance and resolve technical issues proactively
• Manage the IT budget
• Negotiate and manage contracts (including SLA's) with IT suppliers and service providers
• Optimise costs while maintaining service quality - Liaise with all sub-contractors/3rd party outsourced services to develop strategies for the optimisation of costs, resources and reporting across all IT platforms and systems
• Identify new technology opportunities to automate, streamline, and improve business processes
• Evaluate and adopt emerging technologies to ensure the business maintains a competitive advantage
• Lead digital transformation and system modernisation initiatives
• Become a knowledge resource for Kerridge/Autoline within the business
• Support business decision-making through meaningful MI reporting and analysis across all business streams and areas
• Ability to produce and manage a team that can produce MI reports, analyse trends, highlight opportunities, risks and developmental areas to better support internal stakeholders and management teams

This role will be a great fit for you if:

• Proven ability to lead, mentor and develop a high-performing IT team
• Ability to set a clear vision and create buy-in
• Takes accountability for systems, security, uptime, and team performance
• Calm, confident decision-maker, particularly when managing incidents or outages
• Comfortable defining long-term technology roadmaps and transformation strategies
• Able to balance innovation with practicality, risk, and budget constraints
• Strong communicator able to explain technical topics to non-technical audience
• Confident advising Senior Leadership and the Board, with credibility and authority
• Builds strong relationships across all departments
• Seeks opportunities to improve systems, processes, and efficiency
• Anticipates issues, risks and technology gaps before they become problems
• Experience in a senior IT leadership position
• Experience leading and developing IT teams
• Experience of IT infrastructure, cyber security and systems architecture
• Experience of managing large-scale IT change programmes
• Knowledge of cybersecurity frameworks, best practices and governance
• Experience designing, implementing and enforcing IT security policies
• Understanding of regulatory and statutory compliance (GDPR, ISO, FCA, etc.)
• Experience within the automotive, retail, logistics or multi-site environment
• Strong understanding of Kerridge / Autoline

Research shows that some people are less likely to apply for a role unless they meet 100% of the criteria. As long as you are experienced for the role, and hold the relevant and required qualifications, we encourage you to apply, even if you don't feel like you meet all our requirements. We want to know about your passions, achievements, learning and growth. If this role excites you, start a conversation with us!

Benefits for you

• An extra day off for your Birthday
• 23 days of annual leave per year PLUS Bank Holidays
• Four times death in service benefit.
• Internal Mentorship programme
• Working for WhatVan?'s 'Van Dealer of the Year 2026'.
• Working for Motor Trader's 'Employer of the Year'.
• Working for an official Great Place to Work™
• Working for a workplace which champions women.
• Awarded Armed Forces Covenant Silver Award (RLS)
• Working with our award-winning team - several of our team were recognised at the MT WIMT awards and we won silver at the internal communication and engagement awards for our new starter onboarding process.
• Auto-enrolment pension.
• Self-development journal
• Rygor Group Ranked 101 in SW Business Insider's Top 500 Companies
• Enhanced Maternity and Paternity pay policies and return to work post mat-leave policy.
• Access to our wellness programme and Employee Assistance Programmes, including WeCare from Canada Life (EAP and 24HR Online GP access and second Medical Opinion).
• Mental Health First Aiders.
• Reward and recognition programmes, including our annual Rygor Group Awards and opportunities to attend the Rygor Wembley box as a celebration of your hard work and dedication.
• Annual appraisals programme and progression opportunities.
• Manufacturer training and access to our in-house training.
• Long service recognition and annual leave increase after 5 years' service.
• Rygor Auto and Rygor Service Solutions are Maintenance Provision Rating Scheme (MPRS) accredited
• Branded uniform
• Charities of the Year programme, Army Sport sponsors and community engagement initiatives

Our Values & Behaviours

We're looking for incredible team members who share our values and can add to our culture. Values are shared beliefs that guide our decision-making, culture is how we function as a group and how we live our values as individuals.

• Rewarding I am grateful. I am courageous. I am curious.
• Reliable I am honest. I am attentive. I am trustworthy.
• Respectful I am inclusive. I am resilient. I am kind.

About Rygor Group

We are an award-winning, multi-franchise Dealer Group with branches across England, offering extensive coverage for customers throughout the M5, M4 and M42 corridors. Our business has gone from strength to strength in recent years, with significant investment in site renovations nationwide and exciting expansions, including the launch of a brand-new Mercedes-Benz Passenger Car Aftersales facility in 2024 and running four new vehicle maintenance units in 2025. Our commitment to excellence has earned us multiple industry and network awards, and in 2025, we were proud to be named Employer of the Year at the prestigious Motor Trader Awards. We also received the Silver award for our onboarding experience at the ICE awards, meaning that if you're considering a new career with Rygor, you can be confident you'll receive an award-winning induction and support from day one. We're officially a Great Place to Work™ (four years running) and our company culture truly reflects our core values: Rewarding, Reliable, and Respectful. Exceptional customer service is at the heart of what we do and so is creating an environment where our team can thrive.

Rygor Group comprises of a diverse collection of UK automotive businesses, with a primary focus on trucks, vans, coaches, passenger cars, armoured vehicles, body repairs and coachbuilding. Through the hard work of our team members, we have secured our position as one of the UK's top automotive Groups, with a turnover of circa £300m a year. Rygor Auto consists of three renowned brands: Mercedes-Benz, SAIC Maxus, Farizon and Higer Buses. We are home to the largest UK dealer group for Mercedes-Benz Commercial vehicles, and also offer passenger car aftersales at select locations. Rygor Plant is an official partner of Hyundai, Mecalac, and Dieci. We offer a diverse range of high-performance equipment designed to meet the demands of sectors including construction, agriculture, rail, roadworks, aggregates, and beyond. Rygor Service Solutions is our independent fleet workshop division, specialising in full management of commercial vehicle fleets within customers premises, or totally mobile servicing solutions. We look after some of the UK's largest fleets, including Tesco, Ocado, Bookers and Brakes and are committed to keeping them on the road, serving their customers. Rygor Land Systems supplies vehicles and systems for military, humanitarian and security operations. With a dedicated and focused team that can provide exacting customers with the support required to deliver the capability needed by operational staff located in the harshest environments around the world.

Hiring Process

We shortlist CVs through our ATS against the requirements of the role and desired skills and behaviours, so make sure your application is tailored to the role you are applying for. For help with your application visit Rygorcareers.co.uk - Rygor Careers Hub. We may conduct a first stage virtual interview with our hiring manager or a member of the team. If successful at first stage you will be invited to a second stage, in person interview. If your application is successful, we will send you a formal offer in writing. We wish you luck in your application.

DBS: Please be advised that all successful applicants to Rygor or any of our associated businesses, will be subject to satisfactory completion of a DBS check prior to joining the business.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB)

At Rygor, we are committed to fostering a workplace culture that champions diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. As an award-winning organisation, we are proud to be a community of professionals from a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We believe that individuality should be celebrated, and we strive to ensure that every team member feels valued, respected, and empowered. We welcome and support people of all ages, ethnicities, nationalities, religions or beliefs, gender identities, sexual orientations, disability statuses, caring responsibilities, and neurodiverse profiles. We actively promote an inclusive environment where you can bring your authentic self to work every day, because we know that when you thrive, so does our business.

Support

If you need to make reasonable adjustments to our process, please let us know so we can talk about how we can best support you and make the adjustments that may be needed.