South West London | Hybrid
We're supporting a growing and highly successful organisation seeking an experienced IT Systems Lead to shape and drive its technology, security, systems, and operational roadmap.
Reporting directly to the CTO, this is a broad and influential role with responsibility for IT strategy, cybersecurity, governance, business systems, vendor management, and digital transformation across the organisation.
This role will suit someone who thrives in a fast-paced, commercially driven environment. The business operates at the heart of a project and event-led organisation where priorities shift quickly, deadlines are non-negotiable, and technology plays a critical role in enabling successful delivery. We're particularly interested in candidates who have worked within events, media, sports, venues, hospitality, agencies, or similarly dynamic businesses rather than highly structured enterprise or software development environments.
Importantly, this is a hands-on technology leadership role, not a large-team management position. Whilst you'll own the technology strategy and roadmap, you'll have only one direct report and will remain closely involved in systems, security, vendor management, governance, and technology delivery. Candidates seeking a role focused primarily on managing large teams are unlikely to find this opportunity the right fit.
Key Responsibilities
- Define and deliver the organisation's IT strategy and roadmap
- Lead business-wide systems improvement and digital transformation initiatives
- Own SaaS strategy, governance, application architecture, and technology standards
- Define and oversee identity and access management frameworks including SSO, MFA, RBAC, and conditional access
- Establish and maintain information security policies, governance, and risk management processes
- Lead Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO 27001 certification programmes
- Own IT business continuity, disaster recovery planning, and security incident response frameworks
- Manage technology budgets, software licensing, procurement, and vendor strategy
- Define standards for monitoring, service management, and operational resilience
- Develop the organisation's approach to AI governance, adoption, and risk management
- Partner with senior stakeholders to improve operational efficiency through technology
You'll combine strong technical credibility with strategic thinking and commercial awareness. The business also operates in a fast-paced, event-led environment, so we're particularly interested in candidates from events, sports, media, venues, hospitality, or similarly dynamic organisations.
We're particularly interested in candidates with experience in:
- IT leadership within cloud-first organisations
- SaaS ecosystems and business systems ownership
- Information security, governance, and compliance
- ISO 27001 and/or Cyber Essentials environments
- Identity and Access Management (IAM), SSO, MFA, and RBAC
- Vendor management, budgeting, and procurement
- Digital transformation and systems implementation
- Business continuity and disaster recovery planning
- Fast-paced operational businesses where priorities evolve quickly
Get in touch for further details
