IT Director

Virgin Active; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A well-known fitness organization in the UK is seeking a UK IT Director to oversee all technology operations. This role includes defining the IT strategy, leading cybersecurity efforts, and ensuring high-performing IT services across locations. The successful candidate should have extensive experience in IT leadership, cloud platforms, and vendor management. Benefits include discounts on services, healthcare, and a supportive work environment with a focus on employee wellbeing.

Benefits

25 days annual leave plus additional rewards

Private Dental and Healthcare Insurance

Discounts on Virgin services

Mental health counseling sessions

Complimentary Virgin Active membership

Qualifications

• 10-15 years' experience in IT, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role.
• Proven track record running secure, business-critical enterprise platforms.
• Strong experience in infrastructure, cloud, and cybersecurity.

Responsibilities

• Define and deliver the UK IT strategy.
• Lead end-to-end delivery of stable IT services.
• Manage the UK IT budget and procurement.

Skills

IT strategy

Cybersecurity

Vendor management

Service delivery

Leadership

Financial management

Stakeholder management

Tools

Cloud platforms

Digital systems

Job description

Virgin Active are committed to changing people's lives for the better through wellness. Our team are dedicated to delivering a unique leisure and relaxation experience throughout all our clubs. All our team members pride themselves on incorporating Virgin Active values and ensuring the highest Brand Standards into their work, so our members can experience the finest facilities and service. We take value in recruiting the very best team members who work behind the scenes to support our clubs in delivering a world class member experience. We are looking for a UK IT Director to join our IT Department As UK IT Director, you will be accountable for the reliability, security and performance of all core technology platforms supporting Virgin Active UK. Reporting to the Group CIO and working closely with the UK Country Director, you will lead local IT operations, cybersecurity, infrastructure, service delivery and vendor management, ensuring technology enables excellent member and employee experiences while aligning with global strategy.

Responsibilities

• Define and deliver the UK IT strategy, ensuring alignment with Group technology principles, security standards and long-term business goals.
• Lead the end-to-end delivery of stable, secure and high-performing IT services across clubs, HQ and support offices.
• Own the reliability, performance and continuous improvement of core platforms including Membership, Finance, HR, CRM, POS and digital systems.
• Drive technology modernisation, cloud adoption and infrastructure optimisation to improve resilience, scalability and agility.
• Embed a proactive cybersecurity and risk management culture, ensuring compliance with GDPR, local regulations and Group security policies.
• Lead local incident response, disaster recovery, business continuity planning and security awareness programmes.
• Support digital and in-club transformation initiatives, partnering with global Digital, Data and AI teams to deliver seamless member and employee experiences.
• Oversee IT service management, ensuring high availability, strong SLAs, rapid issue resolution and excellent frontline support.
• Manage the UK IT budget, forecasting, cost optimisation, procurement and contract negotiations.
• Lead and develop strategic vendor and partner relationships to ensure value, performance and innovation.
• Act as a trusted technology advisor to the UK Executive team and Country Director, translating technical performance into business impact and risk.
• Represent the UK in global technology forums, contributing to enterprise-wide strategy, standards and roadmaps.
• Build, inspire and develop a high-performing IT team, fostering a culture of accountability, inclusion, continuous improvement and operational excellence.
• 10-15 years' experience in IT, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role within complex, multi-site or international environments.
• Proven track record running secure, business-critical enterprise platforms and large-scale IT operations.
• Strong experience across infrastructure, cloud, cybersecurity, service management and digital transformation.
• Ability to operate strategically while remaining hands-on and delivery focused.
• Experience leading transformation within global frameworks while meeting local business needs.
• Strong financial and vendor management capability.
• Confident stakeholder manager, able to influence at Executive level and across global teams.
• A people-centric leader who builds inclusive, high-performing teams and a culture of accountability, learning and excellence.

• 25 days (excluding bank holidays) annual leave, plus a Celebration Day - and we want you take them
• Access to Scottish Widows Pension with us matching contributions up 5%.
• Complimentary Virgin Active membership for you and a buddy. You can also get free membership for your children too, ability to take advantage of our Club V.
• Private Dental and Healthcare Insurance - your physical health is important, and we want you to have the access to healthcare should you require it.
• Life Assurance 4x your salary - which we hope you will not need.
• We want you to love Virgin Active like we do, so you get discounts across Virgin active - everything from guest passes to 50% off PT sessions.
• You will join Virgin Family - where not only can you communicate with your colleagues across Virgin Group, but also many discounts (including Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Holidays and Virgin Media/O2)
• Maintaining a healthy diet while at work can be hard, so we offer all our team members 20% off food and drink at our KAUAI branches located in clubs.
• Managing finances can be difficult, so we offer access to Salary Finance. They can support you with loans and savings plans, as well as help you become a personal finance expert.
• Mental health is a cornerstone of wellbeing. Our BUPA employer assistance programme is there when you need a helping hand with 4 free counselling sessions.
• We know finding a new home to rent can be stressful. We partner with Dexters who offer complimentary corporate letting services - meaning no tenant charges.
• Access to ePoints, offering loads of online discounts to retailers.
• Always wanted to take that yoga course? Well VA offer discount on all their Academy courses, trained by the very best instructors.