Head of Tech Operations

Technology. Award-winning customer service. Bleeding-edge data ability.

Simply Business is a new type of insurance company, using all of the above  to create the best possible insurance experience for small businesses and self-employed people.

We love working here, and have even taken the number one spot in the  Sunday Times Best Company To Work For 2015 and 16 lists; we’ve stopped entering now to focus on a few bigger projects, but you get the idea.

It’s a great place towork.

There are currently over 500,000 active Simply Business insurance policies in the UK alone. And we have offices in London, Northampton and Boston,USA.

Talking of offices, ours are bright, airy and geared up for really smart  working. We’re flexible, with plenty of remote workers coming in and out,  and we believe work and life should be hand in hand, rather than a juggling  act. So no need to worry about school pick-ups, or a horrible commute.

Our people are our most important asset, so we focus on building a working  life that helps us thrive, not stick. Join us and you’ll be part of our journey  to creating something even better, for our customers and ourselves.

We need a Head of Tech Operations to join us in London.

The Head of Tech Operations role is a crucial one for the successful operation of the Technology Department. Reporting into the UK CTO, you’ll play a central role in delivering technology changes.

With senior leadership experience from a programme management or PMO background, you’ll have a proven track record working in an Agile and transparent way. You’ll also be highly organised and comfortable with broad ranging responsibilities, and genuine enthusiasm for managing a team.

About the role:

You’ll lead a growing team, delivering a wide range of operational services to the technology function across three essential pillars:

Delivery health 

- establishing product team delivery tracking, communicating information, and challenging product team delivery 

- establishing and tracking supplier management processes

Team health 

- supporting the mentoring, coaching, learning, and development needs of the team 

- leading on department recruitment activities, ensuring the quality of our processes and candidate experience 

- providing a consistent link with HR

Department administration 

- supporting Heads of Department to complete financial processes, such as budgeting, Invoicing, and expenses 

- coordinating a range of department events and meetups 

What we are looking for:

• a positive, ‘can do’ attitude with a strong work ethic – you’ll be energetic, ambitious, and approachable
• someone with excellent stakeholder skills who’s comfortable operating at the highest levels in a business
• a proven background in IT delivery or planning roles
• someone who’s highly organised and plan orientated
• a flexible team player who has the ability to work in a dynamic environment
• creative thinker with a broad understanding of the needs of technologists and senior leadership
• excellent relationship management and interpersonal skills that enable you to work with multiple stakeholders at varying levels, internal teams, agencies, and partners
• impeccable organisation and attention to detail
• a passion for great customer experience and the customer perception of Simply Business
• the ability to manage budgets, budgeting processes, and budget reporting
• strong interpersonal, communication, and influencing skills 

We want to meet you.

At Simply Business, we pride ourselves on having a diverse workforce. Unfortunately, research has shown that some candidates, particularly women and people from other underrepresented groups, are put off applying for a job if they don’t fit every single one of the criteria.

But hiring at Simply Business isn’t a box ticking exercise – we’re much more interested in meeting people who’re excited to work with us. So if this job appeals to you and you think you’d be a good fit, send us your CV. With any luck we’ll be seeing you at interview soon.

What are the benefits?

There’s all the serious (but important) stuff we call ‘core benefits’. On top of that, you can pick and choose from the more exciting options we offer – whether it’s a full gym membership or gym subsidy, comprehensive private health cover, extra holiday, or a National Trust pass. 

The ‘core’ stuff

Some of these will kick in once you’re confirmed in post, but here’s the summary:

• a salary that reflects your experience, our pay policy and the market we’re in from your first day, generous annual leave

• life assurance (financial cover for your family, should the worst happen)

• a cash plan to reimburse your everyday medical expenses

• an extra day off if you get married or move house

• an automatic enrollment pension (employer-matched at 5%) 

The fun stuff

Passed probation? Time to pick and mix from things like:

• a full gym membership

• private medical insurance

• extra days annual leave

• shopping vouchers

• dental insurance

• travel insurance

But there’s so much more to Simply Business than insurance and memberships. We also commit to flexible working options, smart working (our offices are kitted out for you to work when and how you choose), cycle to work, eye test vouchers, and season ticket loan schemes, and we have a handy online form to put in any training or conference requests.

Best of all, though, are the groups, clubs, and adventures that come with the Simply Business territory. Forget a simple Give As You Earn scheme (although we’ve got that too) – we trek the Sahara for charity, take you on weekends away, throw epic summer parties, and meet up for book groups, public speaking coaching, yoga, manicures, beer brewing, and lots, lots more.

Our values

Everything we do comes down to these five values – empowerment, authenticity, simplicity, learning and pioneering.

In practice, these will mean something unique to every  person at Simply Business, but if you’re considering working here, give them some thought. They’re at the heart of our story.

Empowerment

We believe in our people and the positive impact they can have so we enable everyone to stretchthemselves

Authenticity

We celebrate diversity, avoid jargon and genuinely care about helping small businesses thrive

Simplicity

We attempt to simplify complex solutions to save our customerstime andeffort

Learning

We’re never done learning about new possibilities and act to explore them

Pioneering

We’re obsessed with finding new ways to create even better  experiences