Head of Technology Strategy & Strategic Partnerships

Home Limited; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Pets at Home is seeking a Head of Technology Strategy & Strategic Partnerships to shape tomorrow’s technology agenda and turn emerging trends into value for customers and the business. You will partner with executives to identify where AI, data and new platforms can drive growth across our retail and veterinary ecosystems.

You’ll lead horizon scanning, own the five-year technology strategy and build a compelling pipeline of opportunities with major partners like Microsoft and Salesforce.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of enterprise technology and AI.
• Experience linking technology to business strategy.
• Ability to translate complex tech into board-ready narratives.
• Credibility with senior executives and strategic partners.

Responsibilities

• Lead horizon scanning for technology trends and partnerships.
• Shape and refresh a five-year technology strategy and roadmap.
• Develop an actionable pipeline of tech opportunities with measurable value.
• Manage senior relationships with strategic partners like Microsoft and Salesforce.
• Create opportunities for pilots, experiments, and co-innovation.
• Present clear executive recommendations to drive investment decisions.

Skills

Enterprise technology

AI

Digital transformation

Data analytics

Emerging technologies

Job description

Head of Technology Strategy & Strategic Partnerships

(Permanent role, hybrid working with a weekly requirement to be out in our estate or with our strategic suppliers.)

Help us see what’s coming next and turn it into competitive advantage.

Retail never stands still, and neither can we. As customer expectations, technology and the competitive landscape continue to evolve, our ability to innovate, adapt and think differently is critical to staying relevant, creating competitive advantage and delivering exceptional outcomes for our customers.

At Pets at Home, technology is central to how we evolve our unique pet care ecosystem. We’re looking for a Head of Technology Strategy & Strategic Partnerships to spot what’s coming next and turn emerging technology into practical opportunities for our customers, colleagues, pets and the Pets Group; we want to understand not only what technology can do for us today, but what it could make possible tomorrow.

The opportunity

This isn’t a role focused on implementing yesterday’s technology roadmap. It’s about shaping tomorrow’s.

But spotting trends is only half the job. We need someone who can answer the more important questions:

What does this mean for Pets at Home?

Where could it create genuine customer or commercial value?

Where should we experiment, invest or partner?

And what should we be preparing for now?

You’ll look beyond our organisation, exploring emerging technologies and innovations across retail, veterinary, consumer and adjacent industries. You’ll understand how technologies such as AI, automation, data and new digital platforms could change the way businesses operate, how colleagues work and how customers interact with brands.

This is a future-facing role at the intersection of technology, strategy and commercial opportunity.

Working with our Development Director and senior technology leaders, you’ll help shape our rolling five-year technology strategy and give our Executive team and Board the insight to make confident decisions about where we explore, invest and lead.

What you’ll make happen

• Lead technology and AI horizon scanning, identifying trends, competitor activity and disruptive innovation.
• Shape and refresh our five-year technology strategy and roadmap.
• Build an actionable technology opportunity pipeline focused on measurable business value.
• Own senior relationships with strategic technology partners, including Microsoft, Salesforce and other key suppliers.
• Create opportunities for early access, pilots, experimentation, and co-innovation.
• Turn complex technology developments into compelling Executive and Board recommendations.

What we are looking for

First and foremost, you’ll be curious. Someone who naturally wants to know what’s changing, what’s coming and why it matters.

You’ll combine a strong understanding of enterprise technology, AI, digital transformation, data and emerging technologies with the commercial instinct to distinguish genuine opportunity from hype.

You don’t need to be the deepest technical specialist in the room. What matters is your ability to join the dots between technology and business strategy.

You’ll be comfortable moving between conversations with technology partners, engineers and digital specialists one moment, and turning those conversations into a compelling strategic narrative for senior executives or the Board the next.

….and the skills you’ll bring

• A strong understanding of enterprise technology, AI, digital transformation, data, and emerging technology.
• Commercial judgement and the ability to separate genuine opportunities from hype.
• Experience translating technology developments into practical business advantage.
• Credibility with senior executives, Board-level stakeholders, and major technology partners.
• Excellent communication and storytelling skills, with the curiosity to keep asking: “what’s next, and what does it mean for us?”

Ready to shape what’s next?

If you’re excited by the possibilities of AI and technology, commercially minded and brilliant at connecting emerging ideas with real business outcomes, we’d love to hear from you.

Come and help shape the next chapter of technology at Pets at Home.

Pets just see people. They aren’t biased and they don’t discriminate. We take our inspiration from pets, and we value and respect difference in all its forms. Our aim is to reflect the diversity of the communities we operate in, and every colleague can help us achieve this. We encourage our people to be themselves so even if your skills and experience don’t perfectly align, if you think you can make a unique contribution through your values and behaviours, we want to hear from you!