Open roleExternal
Head of Technology
- trafford, england, United Kingdom
- Contract
Job Description
About Us
Club L London is the next-generation online fashion retailer for the forward-thinking woman. Conceptualised and crafted in-house and abroad, we specialise in accessible luxury and designs of unrivalled quality that flatter all figures.
From prom to occasion, maternity, bridal, and beyond, we deliver an elevated shopping experience that connects our global community of trend-setting consumers, influencers, and content creators with fresh collections dropping weekly.
Key Responsibilities
Technology Leadership & Strategy
- Translate the CTO's technology strategy into an executable roadmap, and own its delivery across development, IT, and integration.
- Lead and develop the technology function - set direction, standards, and priorities across multiple teams and disciplines.
- Own the technology budget, forecasting, and cost efficiency, and report on performance to the CTO and wider leadership.
- Act as the senior escalation point for delivery, incidents, and operational risk across the estate.
Software Development
- Own the software development function, with the Software Development Manager and engineering team reporting into you.
- Set engineering direction and standards, ensuring reliable, scalable, well-architected software across e-commerce platforms, internal tools, and data systems.
- Ensure the team delivers to roadmap, balancing new development, BAU, and technical debt.
- Champion engineering best practice - code quality, testing, CI/CD, security, and modern development workflows.
Project & Programme Management
- Own the technology delivery portfolio - prioritisation, planning, resourcing, and reporting across all active workstreams.
- Lead major change programmes end-to-end (e.g. platform migrations, ERP and WMS implementations, systems replacements) with clear governance, milestones, and risk management.
- Establish and run a consistent, pragmatic delivery framework across the function.
- Manage cross-team dependencies, timelines, and stakeholder expectations, and keep programmes on scope, on time, and on budget.
IT & Infrastructure
- Own IT and infrastructure across the business - cloud platforms, identity, networking, endpoints, collaboration tooling, and the supporting service desk.
- Ensure the estate is secure, resilient, and well-governed, working closely with security and SOC partners on monitoring, incident response, and compliance.
- Drive reliability and availability across critical systems, including e-commerce, data, and warehouse/fulfilment IT.
- Own business continuity, disaster recovery, and IT risk management for the technology estate.
Systems Integration & Architecture
- Own the integration landscape connecting e-commerce platforms, PIM, ERP, marketing, data, and fulfilment/WMS systems.
- Set integration and architecture standards, ensuring data flows are robust, observable, well-documented, and resilient as the business scales.
- Lead the design and delivery of new integrations and the rationalisation of existing ones.
- Ensure the right data reaches the right systems - operational, analytical, and customer-facing - reliably and at scale.
People Leadership
- Lead, coach, and develop managers and their teams across development, IT, and delivery.
- Own resourcing, capacity planning, and hiring across the function, building a high-performing, collaborative culture.
- Set clear objectives, run performance and development cycles, and grow the next layer of technical leadership.
Vendor, Cost & Stakeholder Management
- Own key vendor and supplier relationships, including contract negotiation, SLAs, and the technology SaaS estate, driving value and consolidation.
- Work closely with e-commerce, operations, data, finance, and the wider business to align technology delivery with commercial priorities.
- Communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical audiences, from engineers to the executive team.
More About You
- 10+ years in technology, with several years in senior leadership managing multiple teams or disciplines (development, IT, and/or delivery).
- Proven experience managing managers and leading multi-disciplinary technology functions, ideally within retail, e-commerce, or high-traffic digital environments.
- Strong technical foundation - credible across software engineering, IT/infrastructure, and systems integration, even where no longer hands-on day-to-day.
- Track record of delivering major technology programmes end-to-end (platform, ERP, WMS, or comparable), on scope, time, and budget.
- Solid understanding of modern software delivery (APIs, cloud, serverless, CI/CD) and data platforms.
- Experience owning IT operations, security posture, and infrastructure at scale.
- Commercially astute - comfortable owning budgets, vendor negotiations, and cost efficiency.
- Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills across technical and executive audiences.
Nice To Have
- Experience across multi-brand, multi-market, or multi-entity technology estates.
- Familiarity with the Shopify (Plus) ecosystem and modern e-commerce architecture.
- Experience with the GCP ecosystem (BigQuery and related services) and modern data platforms.
- Experience with ERP (e.g. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central) and warehouse/fulfilment (WMS, AutoStore) technology.
- Experience working with managed security / SOC providers and modern identity and endpoint tooling.
- Exposure to Node.js, React, and serverless architectures.
- Relevant leadership, delivery, or architecture certifications.
What's on offer?
- Annual bonus scheme
- Bi-Annual Dress Allowance
- 25 days of annual leave (plus bank holidays)
- Extra day off for your birthday
- Flexible working hours around core hours of 10-4
- Early Finish Fridays
- Cycle to work scheme
- 40% staff discount across Club L and Lavish Alice products
- Healthcare Cashplan
- Free onsite gym
- Enhanced pension contribution
- Enhanced maternity and sick pay
- Free snacks, drinks & treats
- Social events