Deputy Director – Hosting & Cloud Infrastructure Services

UK Home Office; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Home Office Digital in the United Kingdom is seeking a Deputy Director – Hosting & Cloud Infrastructure Services to lead a national-scale hosting and cloud function. You will unite cloud and on-premises strategies, build capability, and create an outcome-focused culture across multi-cloud platforms used by the Home Office.

Leading about 100 people with a near £100 million annual budget, you will drive secure, resilient services and collaborate with senior partners.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement integrated on-premises and cloud infrastructure strategies aligned with Home Office priorities.
• Oversee the design, deployment and operation of secure, scalable and resilient public, private and hybrid cloud services.
• Define and build the new function, establish priorities and create a strong, inclusive, high-performing culture.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams spanning engineering, delivery, service management, cyber assurance, quality assurance, product and business management.
• Deliver complex technology programmes across multiple private and public cloud services while sustaining critical national infrastructure-level operations.
• Manage significant commercial agreements, including contracts valued above £100 million, and hold delivery partners and suppliers to account.
• Own financial and workforce planning, ensuring funding and resources match delivery commitments and provide value for money.
• Work across Home Office Digital portfolios to manage dependencies, agree timescales and cost estimates, and embed modern Agile and DevOps ways of working.
• Maintain strong governance, policies and documentation, and use emerging technology and industry practice to drive continuous improvement.

Job description

Deputy Director – Hosting & Cloud Infrastructure Services

Home Office Digital

SCS Pay Band 1 – up to £100k

Locations: Manchester, Glasgow, Sheffield, London or Croydon (hybrid working)

Please note: Appointment is subject to successful security clearance before commencement of role, with a willingness to undertake DV clearance once in post.

What if the technology you lead could help protect millions of people every day?

Home Office Digital designs, builds and runs the systems behind some of the UK’s most critical public services. We are looking for an exceptional senior technology leader to establish and lead our Hosting & Cloud Infrastructure Services organisation, uniting cloud and on-premises strategies to deliver secure, resilient and value-for-money platforms at national scale.

You will lead an organisation of around 100 people and oversee an annual budget of approximately £100 million. Your work will enable programmes, projects and platform users across the Home Office to deliver and operate mission critical services safely and effectively.

Why this role matters

Home Office Digital operates more than 600 systems supporting services used by millions of people. These include:

• 13 million Electronic Travel Authorisations issued since launch
• 3 million visa applications processed annually
• 130 million border checks completed each year
• 7 million passport applications handled annually
• 140 million police checks on people, vehicles and property

What you will do

This new role will shape a new strategic hosting platforms delivery organisation while maintaining high quality business-as-usual cloud infrastructure operations. You will align multiple platforms and providers, build capability and capacity and create an outcome focused culture that can deliver at pace in a complex, multi-cloud environment.

Key responsibilities

• Develop and implement integrated on-premises and cloud infrastructure strategies aligned with Home Office priorities.
• Oversee the design, deployment and operation of secure, scalable and resilient public, private and hybrid cloud services.
• Define and build the new function, establish priorities and create a strong, inclusive, high-performing culture.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams spanning engineering, delivery, service management, cyber assurance, quality assurance, product and business management.
• Deliver complex technology programmes across multiple private and public cloud services while sustaining critical national infrastructure-level operations.
• Manage significant commercial agreements, including contracts valued above £100 million, and hold delivery partners and suppliers to account.
• Own financial and workforce planning, ensuring funding and resources match delivery commitments and provide value for money.
• Work across Home Office Digital portfolios to manage dependencies, agree timescales and cost estimates, and embed modern Agile and DevOps ways of working.
• Maintain strong governance, policies and documentation, and use emerging technology and industry practice to drive continuous improvement.

About you

You will be an outcomes focused and credible senior leader who can motivate diverse teams, navigate competing priorities and build confidence across a complex stakeholder landscape. You will combine strategic judgement with extensive technical knowledge to lead an ambitious cloud delivery programme and ensure coherent, supportable services.

• Leading an organisation of comparable scale through a transition to a service led operating model, including the full lifecycle from legacy technology to stable operations.
• Delivering multiple complex, high value programmes in a relevant technology environment, using appropriate delivery frameworks and methods.
• Leading in a complex multi-cloud environment and managing competing priorities across public and private cloud services.
• Building effective partnerships with senior peers, stakeholders, suppliers and commercial partners across large organisations.
• Strong financial management of major programmes, including developing budgets and operating plans and securing senior support.
• Leading, coaching and developing high-performing, delivery-focused teams.
• Communicating a clear vision and securing support from varied technical and non-technical audiences.

What we offer

This is a rare opportunity to shape a major government technology function from the outset and lead work that is integral to UK safety. You will influence cloud and hosting strategy across one of government’s most complex digital estates, develop talented teams and deliver tangible outcomes for the public. The Home Office is committed to creating an inclusive workplace where people from all backgrounds can contribute and thrive.