Head of IT Job at England,East Midlands,Derbyshire Full Time NEW

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 RoleThis 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 SpecificationEssential:
*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