Strategy Lead

HelloKindred; England; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

HelloKindred, a specialist staffing partner for marketing, creative and technology roles, seeks a Strategy Lead. You will shape infrastructure strategy, govern cross-functional delivery, and partner with senior stakeholders to translate priorities into measurable transformation plans.

You will drive annual cycles, produce executive materials, and oversee investment planning, risk management, and workforce planning in a hybrid setup with regular leadership governance sessions.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading strategy, transformation, portfolio execution, or technology business management, preferably within technology infrastructure or a closely related technology function.
• Background in financial services or another highly regulated industry.

Responsibilities

• Lead the annual and multi-year strategy cycle for technology infrastructure, defining the vision, strategic priorities, and roadmaps.
• Translate Group Technology and business strategies into actionable infrastructure transformation initiatives.
• Produce high-quality executive materials, including strategy packs, decision papers, governance documents, and leadership presentations.
• Manage the leadership team's operating cadence, including weekly and monthly reviews, strategic deep-dives, and key governance forums.
• Track delivery of strategic priorities across the portfolio, identifying and managing dependencies, risks, bottlenecks, and decisions required to maintain delivery momentum and strategic alignment.
• Partner with Transformation and Change leadership and the COO to support investment planning, budget management, and spend transparency.
• Assess capacity and capability requirements and support workforce planning, resourcing decisions, and resource allocation trade-offs.
• Drive productivity improvements and simplification across processes, tooling, and organisational design.
• Build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders across technology leadership, CTO, COO, Procurement, and business CIO teams.
• Facilitate collaboration across organisational boundaries, incorporating diverse perspectives into decisions and building alignment without slowing delivery.
• Monitor portfolio performance, strategic outcomes, benefits realisation, and progress against agreed priorities.
• Apply commercial judgement and data-driven analysis to support prioritisation, investment decisions, risk management, and issue resolution.
• Align infrastructure initiatives with broader enterprise priorities, including resilience, modernisation, service quality, financial discipline, and risk management.
• Support senior leadership teams in maintaining accountability, resolving competing priorities, and focusing on outcomes that support colleagues and customers.

Skills

Strategy leadership

Portfolio execution

Executive stakeholder mgmt

Budget oversight

Workforce planning

Infrastructure modernization

Data-driven analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Financial discipline

Risk management

Job description

Who is HelloKindred?

HelloKindred are specialists in staffing marketing, creative and technology roles, offering a range of talent solutions that can be delivered on-site, remotely or hybrid.

Our vision is to make work accessible and people’s lives better.We do this by disrupting traditional employment barriers –connecting ambitious talent to flexible opportunities with trusted brands.

Anticipated Contract End Date/Length:6 months
Work Set Up: Hybrid (3 days per week in office, 2 days remote)

Our client in the Information Technology and Services industry is looking for a Strategy Lead to lead strategic planning and operational governance for an enterprise technology infrastructure leadership team. This role will shape and drive the infrastructure agenda across resilience, modernisation, service quality, financial discipline, and risk management, translating strategic priorities into actionable transformation plans and measurable outcomes.

The successful candidate will bring strong experience in strategy, transformation, portfolio execution, or technology business management, ideally within technology infrastructure and regulated environments. This individual will work closely with senior stakeholders to align priorities, accelerate decision-making, oversee portfolio delivery, and support investment and workforce planning across a complex enterprise organisation.

Responsibilities

• Lead the annual and multi-year strategy cycle for technology infrastructure, defining the vision, strategic priorities, and roadmaps.
• Translate Group Technology and business strategies into actionable infrastructure transformation initiatives.
• Produce high-quality executive materials, including strategy packs, decision papers, governance documents, and leadership presentations.
• Manage the leadership team's operating cadence, including weekly and monthly reviews, strategic deep-dives, and key governance forums.
• Track delivery of strategic priorities across the portfolio, identifying and managing dependencies, risks, bottlenecks, and decisions required to maintain delivery momentum and strategic alignment.
• Partner with Transformation and Change leadership and the Chief Operating Office (COO) to support investment planning, budget management, and spend transparency.
• Assess capacity and capability requirements and support workforce planning, resourcing decisions, and resource allocation trade-offs.
• Drive productivity improvements and simplification across processes, tooling, and organisational design.
• Build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders across technology leadership, the Chief Technology Office (CTO), the Chief Operating Office (COO), Procurement, and business CIO teams.
• Facilitate collaboration across organisational boundaries, incorporating diverse perspectives into decisions and building alignment without slowing delivery.
• Monitor portfolio performance, strategic outcomes, benefits realisation, and progress against agreed priorities.
• Apply commercial judgement and data-driven analysis to support prioritisation, investment decisions, risk management, and issue resolution.
• Align infrastructure initiatives with broader enterprise priorities, including resilience, modernisation, service quality, financial discipline, and risk management.
• Support senior leadership teams in maintaining accountability, resolving competing priorities, and focusing on outcomes that support colleagues and customers.

• Proven experience leading strategy, transformation, portfolio execution, or technology business management, preferably within technology infrastructure or a closely related technology function.
• Background in financial services or another highly regulated industry.
• Reasonable understanding of core technology infrastructure domains, including compute, storage, cloud, and hybrid operating models.
• Demonstrated ability to influence outcomes and drive execution within large, complex, matrixed organisations.
• Strong executive stakeholder management skills, with experience building relationships across senior leadership teams and cross-functional business and technology groups.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to develop concise executive narratives, strategy papers, governance materials, and leadership presentations.
• Strong analytical capabilities, including commercial judgement, data-driven prioritisation, benefits tracking, and risk and issue management.
• Experience supporting senior leadership teams with operating cadence, portfolio tracking, investment planning, budget oversight, and workforce planning.
• Ability to translate enterprise strategy into actionable transformation roadmaps, measurable outcomes, and delivery priorities.
• Proven capability in facilitating cross-functional collaboration, influencing decisions, managing dependencies, and resolving competing priorities.
• A strategic mindset with an interest in technology, innovation, infrastructure modernisation, and continuous improvement.
• Collaborative leadership skills, with the ability to value diverse perspectives and build alignment across organisational boundaries.
• Results-driven approach, with strong accountability and resilience when managing competing priorities and working under pressure.
• Commercially minded and customer-focused, with a commitment to continuous learning and professional development.

Candidates must be legally authorized to live and work in the country where the position is based, without requiring employer sponsorship.

HelloKindred is committed to fair, transparent, and inclusive hiring practices. We assess candidates based on skills, experience, and role-related requirements.

We appreciate your interest in this opportunity. While we review every application carefully, only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

HelloKindred is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.