Job purpose 

This role will lead all aspects of Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) strategy and operations. They will create a clear vision, aligning the roadmap for digital, data and technology with business goals and user needs, overseeing their team to deliver critical digital transformation projects, cybersecurity and compliance, and supporting systems and infrastructure which enable staff and member services, including: 

• Provide strategic leadership and management of the College DDaT service, ensuring continuous improvement and delivery of excellent service through effective strategy, planning and roadmap creation in accordance with industry best practices, and the needs of the College and its stakeholders.  
• Provide leadership and management of the Colleges digital transformation and business change function, communicating the vision to stakeholders whilst inspiring teams to deliver against clear objectives and priorities and delivering measurable innovation, improvements, efficiencies, new capabilities, and new or improved outcomes and value for the College and its stakeholders. 
• Develop and lead the College’s data strategy, transforming data into a strategic asset that drives insight-led decision making and measurable outcomes. Embed a data-driven culture across the organisation while building internal capabilities to own, govern, and continuously enhance data quality and systems 
• Lead the development and maintenance of a culture of professional excellence, user-centred design, and customer service, continually embracing new and improved working methods, sharing knowledge, skills, and experience, and supporting professional development within teams and across the College  

Specific duties and responsibilities 

Strategy & Leadership 

• Lead the development and delivery of a multi-year DDaT strategy and roadmap  which enables the wider organisational delivery of the College’s strategy. 
• Act as a strong advocate and champion to influence stakeholders and motivate teams in the transformational nature of DDaT and the outcomes that can be achieved.  
• Research, evaluate and design technology and data operating models that achieve outcomes in the most sustainable, effective and cost-efficient way. Develop, inspire and lead, by example, the team in a culture of continuous improvement and high performance 
• Participate and play a positive and engaged role in the wider College Senior Leadership Team (SLT), actively contributing to the overall College strategy development process. 
• Maintain links with external peers and engage with networks to identify opportunities to implement, improvements in best practice within DDaT. 

People and Management 

• Lead, recruit, engage, develop, and motivate the team, setting appropriate goals and conducting performance reviews in line with College policies and procedures. 
• Manage teams to understand priorities, assess risks, timing and budgets and to deliver against the roadmap, with appropriate processes, plans and measurements in place 
• Periodically review the structure and capabilities of the team and make proposals for changes where necessary. 
• Ensure a comprehensive programme of staff development is in place, including self-development, which supports all relevant organisational needs. 

Customer Service 

• Provide professional advice and guidance to the College Executive, Boards and Committees, managers, staff, and volunteers.  
• Develop, engage and lead, by example, the team in a culture of customer service.
• Engage and maintain good relations with SLT colleagues across the College and encourage the team to do likewise with appropriate colleagues in their areas of responsibility. 

Operations & Service Delivery 

• Align the service objectives  to the College’s overall strategy, and ensure that the objectives set are achievable within agreed timescales and budgets. 
• Maintain resilient digital infrastructure and delivery platforms that achieve the necessary performance and availability, including out-of-hours support and security operations that are essential to maintain agreed levels of IT service. 
• Ensure that the development or procurement of applications is managed to College standards set and agreed, whether applications are developed in-house or provided by a third party. 
• Lead in managing supplier and contractor relationships, consulting with stakeholders to ensure there is an evidence-based understanding of their performance and achievement to agreed KPIs and provide measurable value-for-money. 
• Ensure that all projects, services and systems have key performance metrics in place, review and analyse these regularly to ensure that levels are met.  

Finance 

• Manage the preparation and adherence to the annual and multi-year DDaT budgets, and all new proposals that will require resources (financial or otherwise). Ensure that, if approved, there are appropriate monitoring procedures in place to ensure visibility, control, and value recognition of individual initiatives. 
• Work with leaders across the College to identify opportunities to maximise value from operational budgets, supporting DDaT resource use optimisation. 

Governance, Risk & Compliance 

• Ensure the College’s technology infrastructure is resilient, compliant and secure, through appropriate IT governance and security frameworks and accreditations. In particular, lead a culture of cyber awareness. 
• Develop, measure and monitor a schedule of ongoing DDaT risks. Identify and implement mitigating actions. Escalate any high and critical risks to the CFO for potential inclusion in the Corporate Risk Register. 
• Develop and maintain effective communications with Board & Committees, and other stakeholders.  
• Ensure systems and digital processes compliance with the College’s legal responsibilities with regards to software licensing, copyright, data protection, data, and hardware disposal 
• Work with the PMO team to develop and implement effective procurement policies. 

Other 

• Any other duties as are within the scope, spirit and purpose of the job, the title of the post and its grading as may be assigned by the CFO. 
• A flexible approach to work including occasional out of hours work. 
• The post-holder is expected to represent the College in a professional manner and ensure their own continuing professional development 

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Education, qualifications and experience 

• A relevant degree or significant senior technology leadership experience, reporting to Executive or Board level . 
• Experience achieving an organisation’s strategic goals by delivering DDaT functions including some or all of the following: management of infrastructure, systems, platforms, products, processes, info security, organisation transformation, digital content, digital skills, data governance and business insights. 
• Experience in leading multi-disciplined high performing digital data and technology teams 
• Experience of managing capital and revenue budgets for a DDaT function. 
• Experience of managing priorities across a portfolio of projects within technology and business transformation programmes, with successful delivery of benefits and value to stakeholders. 
• Understanding of how AI, or other emerging technologies can be used to improve efficiency, enhance member/user experience or provide revenue opportunities to the organisation. 
• Knowledge of project management, product management, user centred design and change management methodologies. 
• Knowledge of governance, risk management and data protection. 
• Knowledge of applying best practice methodologies to technology service delivery eg ITIL or similar. 
• Experience of security management and applying security standards, e.g., Cyber Essentials, throughout an organisation. 
• Experience in a not-for-profit organisation (desirable). 
• Experience in a professional membership organisation (desirable). 

Competencies 

• A leader with a strategic orientation and an ability to see the big picture . 
• A collaborative leader who can contribute at all levels of the organisation, with excellent influencing and negotiation skills. 
• A self-starter who has initiative and drive to deliver results and make a difference. 
• An articulate communicator who takes the time to listen, understand, and communicate and challenge constructively, and is able to present complex data simply and provide focused feedback in a clear manner. 
• A problem-solver with commercial acumen, intellectual curiosity and a desire to find better ways of achieving our goals. 
• A truth-teller who acts with courage, integrity and authenticity. 
• An inclusive team player who treats everyone with respect. 

This job description will be subject to review in the light of changing circumstances and may include other duties and responsibilities as may be determined. It is not intended to be rigid or inflexible but should be regarded as providing guidelines within which the individual works.