Chief Technology Officer in Esher

Join The Jockey Club and play a pivotal role in shaping the future of one of Britain’s most iconic sporting institutions. This is a rare opportunity to lead technology transformation at the heart of a business that delivers world-class sporting occasions, entertainment, and customer experiences to millions of people every year. As a strategic technology leader, you will drive innovation, modernise our digital and operational capabilities, and ensure technology initiatives are fully aligned with commercial ambitions and customer experience goals.

From enhancing raceday experiences to enabling data-driven decision-making across the organisation, you will lead transformational change that supports growth, performance, and long-term success across The Jockey Club’s diverse portfolio. Leading a multi-disciplinary technology function, you will shape the future of our technology ecosystem, champion a culture of innovation and continuous improvement, and position technology as a key driver of organisational success.

We are looking for a visible, collaborative leader who thrives in a fast-paced, customer-focused environment and can inspire teams, influence stakeholders, and deliver meaningful business impact through technology.

About The Jockey Club

The Jockey Club stages thrilling sporting occasions and live events nationwide including The Grand National, The Cheltenham Festival & The Derby. Owning & operating 15 courses, millions of people every year enjoy the special experiences we offer through racing, music, food and entertainment on racedays and beyond. As the largest commercial group in British racing, we are guided by our mission to act for the long term good of the sport. Every penny we make goes back into racing to promote excellence within Britain’s second biggest spectator sport. Our people are what makes this possible. At The Jockey Club people are at the heart of what we do and drive our success. We are inclusive and actively seek to attract people with unique backgrounds and perspectives. Diverse, collaborative teams are pivotal to our success and support the potential and growth of all our people.

The Chief Technology Officer will:

• Develop and deliver a forward-thinking technology strategy that supports The Jockey Club’s long-term commercial ambitions, operational excellence, and customer experience goals.
• Shape the technology roadmap, modernise legacy systems, and identify opportunities to leverage emerging technologies including AI, cloud platforms, and data-led solutions.
• Champion innovation and continuous improvement across the organisation, identifying scalable technology solutions that enhance performance, engagement, resilience, and operational efficiency.
• Lead the evolution of The Jockey Club’s digital platforms and technology ecosystem, ensuring systems are secure, scalable, high-performing, and future-ready across customer, operational, and enterprise environments.
• Collaborate closely with digital, product, commercial, and operational teams to align technology delivery with customer expectations, business priorities, and raceday experiences across web, app, and operational platforms.
• Inspire, lead, and develop high-performing technology teams, fostering a culture built on collaboration, accountability, innovation, and technical excellence while attracting and retaining top talent.
• Oversee cybersecurity, resilience, data protection, and technology governance, ensuring robust risk management and secure operational practices are embedded across the organisation.
• Build strong strategic partnerships with technology providers, suppliers, and industry innovators to ensure The Jockey Club remains at the forefront of digital and operational advancement.
• Act as a key strategic advisor to senior stakeholders, communicating and championing the technology vision across the organisation and ensuring alignment between technology investment and wider business strategy.

About you

• Proven executive technology leadership experience within complex, fast-paced organisations, with a strong track record of delivering enterprise-wide digital transformation and business change initiatives.
• Strong technical background in Computer Science, Engineering, IT, or a related discipline, with expertise across modern platforms, infrastructure, cloud technologies, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies including AI.
• A commercially minded and strategic leader who can align technology investment, innovation, and operational delivery with broader business objectives and customer outcomes.
• Demonstrated success building, leading, and developing high-performing technology teams and creating cultures of collaboration, accountability, innovation, and continuous learning.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the credibility and presence to influence at Executive and Board level as well as across all areas of the business.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen, including experience managing technology budgets, investment decisions, business cases, supplier relationships, and strategic partnerships.
• Proven experience leading large-scale, complex, and multi-disciplinary technology programmes, with the ability to balance strategic vision and operational execution.
• A proactive, solutions-focused, and adaptable leader with strong decision-making capability and the ability to navigate complexity and change effectively.
• Passion for innovation, customer experience, and continuous improvement, with a desire to challenge convention and drive meaningful organisational impact through technology.
• A strong commitment to ethical leadership, data security, privacy, and compliance, including adherence to all Health & Safety regulations, safe working practices, company policies and procedures, HSMS requirements, management instructions, relevant risk assessments, and mandatory training requirements for the role.

What we offer in return

• All colleagues can go along to any of our race day or music events free of charge – along with 3 friends or family with our TeamPass Ticket scheme.
• An award-winning pension scheme provider with a generous employer contribution.
• A healthcare cash back plan enabling you to claim money back on health & wellbeing services.
• 25 days annual leave.
• Access to a suite of Learning & Development training resources from renowned providers.
• A whole host of other benefits including free eyecare vouchers, a ride to work cycle scheme & discounts across varying retailers & services.

If you think you have everything we’re looking for and more, then we’d love to hear from you. Don’t hang around, our closing date for this vacancy is 15th June but we reserve the right to bring this forward if we have many applications. This role may be subject to a criminal record check, standard or enhanced DBS check or BHA Suitability Check. By applying you confirm that you are happy for these checks to be carried out.