Head of Technology Strategy and Operating Model

Overview

As Head of Technology Strategy & Operating Model, I drive the definition, socialisation & implementation of an overarching technology strategy, and the associated core end-to-end technology operating model. My team and I work across a broad set of senior stakeholders within Technology and the broader business to ensure a strategic balance between centralised governance and decentralised strategy development and execution. Beyond shaping compelling content for diverse audiences, I focus on driving measurable improvements in Technology's overall effectiveness, ensuring our strategy and operating model deliver tangible business value.

Technology Strategy:

• Lead the development of the Technology Strategy framework, collaborating with the extended leadership team to ensure a federated approach, with strategic topics owned by the most relevant teams.
• Partner with Business Strategy & Planning to align and evolve the Technology Strategy alongside the business strategy, ensuring both iterate cohesively.
• Drive the ongoing creation and maintenance of strategic content, ensuring alignment with the agreed framework and balancing centrally versus locally-owned strategy.
• Foster relationships across teams to embed strategic guidance into processes, decisions, and communications, ensuring the strategy's relevance is understood.

Operating Model:

• Define and maintain a high-level framework for how Technology describes and understands its end-to-end ways of working, ensuring alignment with our Technology Strategy. Emphasise aspects expected to be consistent across Technology teams, including mandatory elements and established 'best practices.'
• Lead the continuous development and refinement of the operating model to meet evolving organisational needs, fostering adaptability and scalability as the business grows and transforms.
• Manage materials, education, and governance using a federated approach, balancing centrally defined elements, contributions from other teams, and local flexibility, ensuring the model remains relevant and impactful.
• Lead overarching operating model related initiatives, including those related to improving colleague & stakeholder understanding, as well as significant change activity

Leadership:

• Lead the two cross-cutting practices of Technology Strategy and OpModel, ensuring their operations and development drive maximum transformational impact
• Align practices with adjacent functions, both within Directorate (e.g. Enterprise Architecture, Change & Comms) and beyond (e.g. Portfolio, Service Management, etc.)
• Continuously track and review value delivered by the practices, and ensure priorities, investments & activities are optimised based on business needs & expected benefits

Operational skills relevant for this job

• Strong relationship-building skills, with the ability to collaborate and influence effectively across functions and locations.
• Exceptional communication skills, capable of simplifying complex concepts for diverse audiences.
• Adaptability and agility to switch seamlessly between contexts, reflecting the breadth of Technology's strategy and operating model.
• Proficiency in adopting a coaching and consultative approach to support teams and stakeholders.
• Critical thinking skills to challenge ideas constructively and appropriately.
• Strategic vision and the ability to maintain a big-picture perspective while understanding organisational priorities.
• Value-driven leadership with a focus on delivering impactful outcomes through scalable partnership and practice models.
• Deep interest and expertise in current and emerging Technology strategies, operating models, and related frameworks.

Experience relevant for this job

• Extensive experience in owning, driving, and delivering Technology Strategy through its full lifecycle, including the development and leadership of strategic plans over 3–5-year timescales.
• Experience in defining Technology operating models and successfully delivering operating model transformation, working across a broad range of colleagues, across many countries and cultures
• Proven expertise in leveraging quantitative and qualitative data to design, implement,…