Director of Architecture and Technology Operations

Salary: Competitive with an excellent benefits package

Location: Hybrid – based at the White City Professional Services Hub, with travel to other Imperial College London campuses.

About the role:

Imperial College London is seeking an exceptional technology leader to join our ICT division as Director of Architecture and Technology Operations. This is a pivotal role that combines strategic vision with operational excellence, ensuring our technology landscape is future-ready, resilient, and aligned with Imperial’s ambitious Digital Plan.

You will lead the development of our enterprise architecture and technology operations capabilities, driving innovation while maintaining robust governance and operational standards. This role offers the opportunity to shape the digital foundations of one of the world’s leading universities, influencing technology decisions that impact research, education, and operations globally.

What you would be doing:

• Shape the Future: Define and deliver the enterprise technology strategy and architectural vision for Imperial.
• Lead and Inspire: Manage a team of senior technical leaders, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning.
• Drive Operational Excellence: Oversee ICT operations, including product operations, governance, and performance monitoring.
• Collaborate Across the College: Partner with ICT leadership and stakeholders to align technology initiatives with institutional priorities.
• Ensure Compliance and Governance: Chair the Technology Design Authority and maintain IT governance frameworks, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.
• Champion Innovation: Evaluate emerging technologies and lead transformation initiatives to deliver measurable value.
• Manage Resources: Oversee significant budgets, ensuring cost optimisation while enabling digital transformation.

What we are looking for:

• Proven Leadership: Significant experience in senior IT leadership roles, with responsibility for architecture, infrastructure, and delivery.
• Strategic Vision: Expertise in enterprise architecture frameworks and technology road mapping.
• Technical Depth: Strong knowledge of cloud platforms, infrastructure as code, automation tooling, and data/AI technologies.
• Operational Expertise: Experience in governance, risk management, and implementing modern delivery practices (e.g., DevOps, Agile).
• Influential Communicator: Excellent stakeholder engagement skills and the ability to explain complex technical concepts clearly.
• Financial Acumen: Experience managing large budgets and driving cost optimisation.

What we can offer you:

• The opportunity to continue your career at a world-leading institution and be part of our mission to use science for humanity.

• Benefit from a sector-leading salary and remuneration package (including 41 days’ annual leave and generous pension schemes).
• Access to a range of workplace benefits including a flexible working policy from day one, generous family leave packages, on-site leisure facilities and cycle-to-work scheme.
• Interest-free season ticket loan schemes for travel.
• Be part of a diverse, inclusive and collaborative work culture with various staff networks and resources to support your personal and professional wellbeing.

About Imperial

Welcome to Imperial, a global top ten university where scientific imagination leads to world-changing impact.

Join us and be part of something bigger. From global health to climate change, AI to business leadership, we navigate some of the world’s toughest challenges. Whatever your role, your contribution will have a lasting impact.

As a member of our vibrant community of 22,000 students and 8,000 staff, you’ll collaborate with passionate minds across nine London campuses and a global network.

This is your chance to help shape the future. We hope you’ll join us at Imperial.

Our culture

We work towards equality of opportunity, eliminating discrimination and creating an inclusive working environment. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, communities and industries, and are committed to employing a team that has diverse skills, experiences and abilities. You can read more about our commitment on our webpages.

Our values are at the heart of everything we do and everyone in our community is expected to demonstrate respect, collaboration, excellence, integrity and innovation.