Chief Technology Officer - Employee Benefits

Howden Group Services Limited; City Of London; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading global advisory firm is seeking a Chief Technology Officer to drive technology strategy and digital transformation. The role requires innovation leadership in Employee Benefits, focusing on building a robust technology infrastructure. Ideal candidates will have a proven track record in managing large software engineering projects and navigating regulatory environments, aimed at delivering measurable value. This position offers an opportunity for substantial impact within a growing organization.

Qualifications

• Proven background leading innovation in Employee Benefits & Pensions.
• Experience defining technology strategy in an EB/insurance setting.
• Capable of managing multi-million technology investments.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement technology strategy aligned with long-term objectives.
• Engage with business and Technology Executive teams for strategy contribution.
• Lead software development for client-facing platforms.

Skills

Innovation

Leadership

Technology Strategy

Software Engineering

Team Management

Regulatory Compliance

Job description

Chief Technology Officer - Employee Benefits page is loaded

Chief Technology Officer - Employee Benefits

Apply locations London time type Full time posted on Posted 29 Days Ago time left to apply End Date: September 1, 2025 (17 days left to apply) job requisition id R0013314

An opportunity for a commercial and entrepreneurial CTO to drive the growth of a leading Global Employee Benefits (EB) advisory and broking practice. The scope of this role includes the build out of the global EB footprint, where technology underpins our core consulting pillars; Risk advisory, retirement, employee benefits. As well as our consumer health and protection business. The Chief Technology Officer will combine their deep appreciation of Employee Benefits & Retirement markets with their considerable commercial leadership and technology engineering experience to foster innovation and realise significant business outcomes. This will be critical in helping to propel the success of Howden Group, currently a £3bn+ business set to more than triple in size by 2030.

Howden Employee Benefits is a leading UK health, employee benefits and pension advisory practice, with 2,600 colleagues in the UK, and is the core of the wider Global Employee Benefits Practice, providing services and support and across 38 other countries.

Whilst we have grown significantly both through organic growth and acquisitions over the last 8 years, we are now entering a truly transformative phase of growth, both in the UK and globally. With a clear strategic vision, we are set to treble our revenue and increase our margin by 2030, underpinned by innovation, operational excellence, and a commitment to delivering data-enabled, measurable value to our clients. As we scale both in the UK and internationally, we are seeking a forward-thinking CTO to lead our technology strategy, drive digital transformation, and help shape the future of employee benefits on a global stage.

Responsibilities:

• Define and implement a forward-thinking technology strategy aligned with the company’s long-term objectives in Employee Benefits & Retirement.
• Serve as a key member of both the EB business and Technology Executive teams, contributing to overall business strategy by engaging across the organisation with a specific brief to driving improved outcomes for EB.
• Take responsibility for all aspects of technology for the EB business:
  • Software engineering for all new & existing client facing and internal platforms
  • Ensure technology development backlogs are aligned to product roadmaps to help drive competitive advantage
  • Client support for all technology related products
  • Service level management for all technology services & infrastructure provided by Howden Group technology teams
• Work with the business COO to deploy leading AI capabilities to support agentic automation leading to significant client service improvements and cost savings
• Lead the production of business cases for new platform investment ensuring a comprehensive view of all costs, value creation potential and return on investment
• Embed leading product management, software development and agile delivery methods (including DevOps & continuous delivery) into the EB business
• Ensure a robust approach to testing to meet minimum quality assurance commitments
• Ensure all EB platforms are aligned to Group architecture standards and follow standard review process
• Represent EB business at client meetings and events as required
• Stay ahead of industry trends, regulatory requirements, and emerging technologies to maintain competitive positioning.
• Lead and mentor a diverse team of IT professionals to foster a culture of innovation and excellence.
• Promote collaboration between technical and non-technical teams, ensuring alignment on shared goals.
• Present metrics on a regular basis as part of ABR, QBR and MBR processes which demonstrate tangible progress being made in both delivery and product utilisation

Skills & Experience:

• A proven background leading innovation, modernisation and change within an EB & Pensions business where technology and innovation has been harnessed for commercial advantage.
• Proven experience working with business leaders to set and realise technology strategy in an EB / insurance setting
• Proven experience in navigating a global and not just a domestic / single practice business and the associated complexities
• Proven track record of leading large & complex software engineering delivery projects with diverse and distributed teams across internal and 3rd party providers
• Proven understanding of technology infrastructure & security to provide stewardship of services provided by Group technology
• Demonstrable experience of compiling, presenting and getting support for business cases for new products and services
• Deep experience working within a regulated environment, working to international regulatory reporting & compliance standards (FCA / SOX).
• Demonstrable capability successfully managing multi £m technology investments / programmes.

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define. At Howden, we value diversity – there is no one Howden type. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

• Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new

• We support each other in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges

• We are determined to make a positive difference at work and beyond

Reasonable adjustments

We're committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours* or hybrid working*.

If you're excited by this role but have some doubts about whether it’s the right fit for you, send us your application – if your profile fits the role’s criteria, we will be in touch to assist in helping to get you set up with any reasonable adjustments you may require.

*Not all positions can accommodate changes to working hours or locations. Reach out to your Recruitment Partner if you want to know more.