Director of IT - Delivery Focus

Propel; Reading; On-site; GBP 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Propel is seeking a Director of IT with a delivery focus to own the transformation portfolio and lead the internal IT function. You will translate business priorities into system changes, integrations, automation and data flows while staying hands-on to unblock delivery and make critical decisions.

The role requires experience delivering multiple concurrent technology-enabled transformations, coordinating across functions, and managing vendors.

Qualifications

• Proven track record delivering multiple concurrent digital transformation projects.
• Experience coordinating across functions without direct line authority.
• Delivery of enterprise systems with integrations, automation and data flows.

Responsibilities

• Lead transformation and delivery from definition to BAU.
• Manage internal business systems (CRM, Finance, Telephony, etc.).
• Own project governance, planning, risks and dependencies.
• Coordinate core systems delivery with owners to translate requirements.
• Deliver cross-system integrations and automation initiatives.
• Lead external vendors and establish senior delivery contacts.
• Maintain reliable, secure and resilient IT infrastructure and services.
• Incorporate information security, data protection and risk from start.

Skills

Transformation delivery

Stakeholder management

Enterprise systems

API integrations

iPaaS

Cloud & security basics

Hands-on delivery

Vendor management

Tools

CRM platforms

Finance & HR systems

Telephony & reporting tools

Job description

This is technical role, you will own all internal systems and play a key role as they scale

The Role

We are looking for a Director of IT with a Delivery focus to lead the delivery of a growing internal transformation portfolio. This is a role for someone who can turn business priorities into successfully delivered change across business systems, integrations, automation, data flows and technology enabled process improvement.

This is first and foremost a transformation and delivery role. The successful candidate will also carry overall responsibility for the internal IT function, accountable for its reliability, security, resilience and effectiveness, while delegating routine operational activity and day to day team leadership within the IT team. Business functions retain ownership of their own processes and platform roadmaps. This role exists to coordinate the technology delivery that turns those priorities into real, adopted change.

Crucially, we want someone who leads from the front. This is not a role for a leader who only sets direction and steps back. The successful person will regularly be close to the detail, working directly with system owners, technical specialists and vendors to keep projects moving, unblock issues and make decisions when it matters. Strategic oversight matters, but so does a genuine willingness to roll sleeves up and stay hands on throughout delivery.

What You Will Bring

• A proven track record leading and delivering multiple concurrent technology enabled transformation, systems implementation or process change projects, from definition through to adoption and transition into business as usual support.
• Experience working across business functions and leading multidisciplinary contributors without relying solely on direct line management authority.
• Experience delivering change involving enterprise business systems such as CRM, finance, HR, telephony or reporting platforms, along with the integrations, automation and data flows that connect them.
• Experience managing external technology vendors and implementation partners, and holding them accountable for delivery.
• Experience taking overall accountability for an internal IT function or equivalent technology operations, including service delivery, infrastructure, security, suppliers and operational risk.
• A strong understanding of API integrations, middleware or iPaaS concepts, automation and system to system data flows.
• Enough grounding in cloud, infrastructure, identity, endpoint and security concepts to identify delivery dependencies, ask the right questions and bring in the right specialists.
• The ability to translate between business requirements and technical delivery teams without needing to be the engineer implementing every component, while still being comfortable getting into the detail when required.
• Confident senior stakeholder management, with the ability to explain delivery status, options, dependencies and risk in clear business language.
• A pragmatic, structured approach that balances pace, quality, security and organisational capacity.

A Note on Staying Hands On

This role is not purely strategic. While the Director will set direction, own governance and represent transformation at leadership level, they will also expect to be personally involved in the detail of delivery: working through blockers, reviewing plans, sitting in on key implementation decisions and stepping in where projects need direct leadership to keep moving.

People who see hands on delivery as beneath a director level role, or who prefer to operate purely through delegation, are unlikely to be the right fit. This suits someone who is energised by being close to the work, not just accountable for it.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead transformation and business process change projects from definition through implementation, adoption and transition into BAU support.
• Manage internal business systems (CRM, Finance, Telephony, etc.) and act as escalation point when issues arise
• Own project planning, governance, delivery reporting, dependencies, risks and decisions across assigned initiatives.
• Coordinate the delivery and evolution of core business systems, working with system owners to translate requirements into deliverable technology plans.
• Own delivery of cross system integration and automation initiatives, ensuring dependencies between systems and teams are understood and managed.
• Lead external technology vendors and implementation partners, acting as the senior delivery contact for assigned programmes.
• Hold overall responsibility for the internal IT function, ensuring infrastructure, end user technology and support services remain reliable, secure and resilient.
• Ensure transformation projects incorporate information security, data protection and risk requirements from the outset.