Head of Information Technology

OpenWorks Engineering Ltd; Prudhoe; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary from £80,000

Discretionary annual bonus up to 25%

Enhanced pension up to 8%

25 days holiday + buy up to 5 extra

Breakfast & Lunch on Us

Private healthcare & life assurance

Salary sacrifice for EV/cycle to work

Team socials & learning budget £250

Job summary

OpenWorks Engineering Ltd in the North East of England is seeking a Head of Information Technology to shape our technology strategy and lead the IT team across the UK and international operations. This role balances strategic thinking with hands-on delivery, focusing on data, automation and AI while ensuring secure, scalable infrastructure.

You'll work closely with the CIO and leadership team to align technology with business goals, manage budgets, and drive IT excellence across growth

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading an IT function.
• Ability to build relationships, set direction and drive accountability.
• Broad technical expertise across IT infrastructure, hardware, software platforms.
• Experience with security-conscious environments, ideally defence/engineering contexts.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the IT team with clear priorities, accountability and ownership.
• Balance day-to-day IT support with proactive improvement and longer-term technology development.
• Oversee key IT projects and external technology partners, ensuring effective delivery.
• Shape our technology strategy: work with the CIO to align IT with growth and direction.
• Partner with departments to identify technology priorities and deliver practical solutions.
• Ensure infrastructure, networks, systems and workplace tech are secure, reliable and scalable.
• Drive improvements across data, automation, integration and user experience.
• Oversee UK and international technology requirements and governance.

Skills

IT leadership

People management

Security mindset

AI adoption

Strategic planning

Job description

The Opportunity

We're looking for a Head of Information Technology who can shape the technology strategy of a rapidly growing defence engineering business - leading our IT team while driving secure, resilient and scalable technology across our UK and international operations. This is an opportunity for an experienced IT leader who enjoys being close to the business, making things happen and balancing strategic thinking with practical delivery. You'll have the scope to shape how we use technology, data, automation and AI as we continue to grow, while ensuring our infrastructure and security are ready for what comes next.

Who We Are

OpenWorks is a rapidly growing business operating globally with a passion for exceptional engineering and building on a legacy of defence innovation in the North East of England. Our products provide ultra-high performance, real-time detection, tracking, identification and targeting of dynamic aerial threats. They have been deployed internationally to protect high profile military and civilian assets, and contribute towards the defeat of nuisance, misguided and maliciously deployed drones during operations. We are very proud to have supported a wide range of law enforcement and military operators, protecting many of the most high profile sites and individuals around the world. The amazing things we do are only possible because of a dedicated and passionate team.

Security Vetting Information

OpenWorks Engineering operates within the defence sector. As part of our recruitment and onboarding processes, we collect information that may be required to support future security vetting and clearance requirements, should these become necessary during employment.

Why You'll Love Working With Us

Join a high-energy, collaborative team where great ideas thrive, challenges are embraced, and people genuinely love what they do.

Here's what our benefits have to offer:

• Rewarding Success - Competitive salary, starting from £80,000, plus a discretionary annual bonus of up to 25% of salary alongside a structured pay progression framework.
• Enhanced Pension - Up to 8% employer-matched contributions to help you plan for the future.
• More Time to Recharge - 25 days' holiday plus public holidays, long-service rewards, and the option to buy up to 5 extra days.
• Breakfast & Lunch on Us - Enjoy team breakfasts and freshly prepared lunches every day courtesy of Chef Mark and his team.
• Health & Wellbeing - Private healthcare and life assurance for added peace of mind.
• Sustainable Travel - Salary sacrifice schemes, including EV car and Cycle to Work options.
• Team Socials - Regular events, from quiz nights and football to board games and more.
• Learning & Growth - A culture that empowers you to challenge, grow and make an impact, plus a £250 annual learning budget to invest in the development that matters most to you.

What you'll be doing:

• Team Leadership - Lead and develop the IT team: Build a high-performing team with clear priorities, accountability and ownership.
• Manage delivery - Balance day-to-day IT support with proactive improvement and longer-term technology development.
• Lead technology change - Oversee key IT projects and external technology partners, ensuring effective delivery.
• IT Strategy - Shape our technology strategy: Work with the CIO and leadership team to ensure IT supports OWE's growth and future direction.
• Understand business needs - Partner with departments across the business to identify technology priorities and deliver practical solutions.
• Build for growth - Ensure our infrastructure, networks, systems and workplace technology are secure, reliable and scalable.
• Improve how we work - Drive improvements across systems integration, data, automation, collaboration and user experience.
• Support international growth - Oversee UK and US technology requirements, connectivity and country-specific considerations.
• Strengthen our security - Provide leadership and direction to the Security & Compliance function, ensuring security, resilience and compliance are embedded across IT and the wider business.
• Manage technology risk - Ensure security priorities align with our business objectives, risk appetite and future growth.
• Drive smarter technology - Oversee the selection, integration and development of business systems, ensuring they deliver genuine business value.
• Lead AI adoption - Identify practical opportunities to use AI, automation and data to improve efficiency and decision-making, with appropriate security and governance.
• Plan for the future - Manage IT budgets, resource planning and investment proposals, providing clear reporting and recommendations to the CIO and Board.

What we're looking for:

• Experienced IT leader - Significant experience leading an IT function and developing high-performing teams.
• People focused - Able to build strong relationships, set clear direction and create accountability across a team.
• Broad technical expertise - Strong experience across IT infrastructure, hardware, software systems and technology platforms.
• Security-conscious - Experience working in a regulated or security-focused environment, ideally within defence, aerospace or another complex engineering sector.
• Commercially minded - Able to understand business requirements and translate them into practical, scalable technology solutions.
• Growth experience - Experience scaling IT operations within a growing technology, engineering or similarly complex organisation.
• Future focused - Experience or strong interest in AI, automation, data integration and emerging technologies.
• Essential - Able to obtain Security Clearance

What Else Would Be Great

• Defence experience - Experience working within the defence industry or a similar security-focused environment.
• AI implementation - Experience developing or delivering an AI implementation strategy.
• Data integration - Demonstrable experience integrating data from separate systems into effective reporting and management tools.
• International IT - Experience managing IT across operational sites, including US requirements.
• Cyber security - Knowledge of defence cyber-security standards and experience handling classified information.
• Security clearance - Current UK Security Clearance

More about us:

• Vision - Help protect the territory and airspace of NATO countries and their allies.
• Mission - Be a world-leading provider of autonomous technology for Surveillance applications and Defence.
• Values Be a Good Egg: Earn respect, have mutual trust and be honest
  Do cool stuff: We develop cool tech with an awesome team, and we get stuff done
  Be empowered: We are autonomous, reliable and take personal responsibility
  We are one team: Look out for each other and the team
  Things go wrong: Fail fast, learn and move on
  Have fun: We're doing amazing things with passionate people
  We Get It Done: Focus on what matters and work with energy to bring ideas to life