- Company Name
- Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
- Job Title
- Director of Digital and Technology
- Job Description
-
About The Borough
Joining us, you get to work for not just one high performing London Borough, but two.
Kingston and Sutton councils have a number of shared services serving both authorities, with some teams and roles more focussed on one council than the other, but the majority are shared across both, meaning you get multiple opportunities to learn from a wider pool of activities and two different political bodies.
We work flexibly in both Kingston and Sutton offices, and support working at home or flexible working patterns that enable you to tailor your working and personal life. We provide the equipment and tools to enable you to work flexibly, and in return ask you to use that flexibility to be creative and ambitious in the services we deliver.
There are some really exciting things happening in both boroughs. In Sutton, we are developing the London Cancer Hub, a world leading cancer research and treatment hub that will bring together professionals from across different sectors to identify and test new treatments and therapies. Over in Kingston, we are undertaking the largest housing regeneration programme ever delivered in the borough, building new energy efficient housing that will transform some of our oldest Council owned housing. Both boroughs have publicly committed to doing what they can to tackle the climate emergency and are investing in new technologies and societal change that will help bring carbon emissions down and improve our climate impact.
You should choose Kingston and Sutton if you are looking for an opportunity that will challenge you to deliver more, support you to achieve personal ambitions, and expect you to put borough residents at the heart of what you do.
Kingston is a beautiful Royal borough with a historic setting on the banks of the Thames with excellent schools and a bustling retail centre, all surrounded by open green spaces such as Richmond Park and Bushey Park, former recreation grounds for Tudor Kings and Queens. The Council is controlled by a Liberal Democrat Administration and has a council plan “Greener, Fairer, Safer, Together”, that sets out a vision to be a vibrant, diverse and inclusive borough where residents are active, empowered, engaged and able to remain independent and resilient. The Council engages with residents through a number of forums and events through the year, and like Sutton plays a leading role in developing the South West Region of London.
Sutton is a well connected attractive part of London that has a reputation for excellent schools, green and leafy open spaces, and a history that drives a thriving heritage and culture offer through our museums and libraries. The Council is controlled by a long established Liberal Democrat Administration and has high ambitions set out in its corporate plan “Ambitious for Sutton”, that will ensure Sutton remains a great place to live, work and raise a family. The Council plays a leading role in a number of local partnerships and places great emphasis on engaging effectively with its residents, listening to local voices and making their message heard across London Government.
About The Role And Our Ideal Candidate
As Director of Digital and Technology of our inter-Borough shared service, you will be responsible for shaping and delivering digital transformation for Kingston and Sutton. This role will require an individual who can build relationships and develop and deliver complex digital change projects across services and alongside senior leaders in the organisations. You will be expected to provide inspirational leadership to those for whom you are directly responsible as well as to wider stakeholders through your influence and leadership impact. Innovation, creativity and collaboration are key to driving the transformation required, discovering the art of the possible by pushing at boundaries and overcoming barriers, whilst managing risk so there is responsibility and accountability at all levels across both organisations.
As an experienced digital and technology leader, you will drive delivery and digital adoption, and oversee key technological advancements to cement our future, including AI, cybersecurity, data strategy, and business system renewals. With a new strategic focus on data and AI, including the recruitment of a new Head of Data and the implementation of a new data strategy, you will play a key role in maximising the impact of these initiatives. Additionally, you will provide strong management oversight of your team, ensuring a well managed and responsive technology function, not only for efficiency, but to deliver advancements in service delivery to our residents. Artificial Intelligence and data analysis will be central to this role, particularly in transforming how the councils use data to improve services for our residents.
This role offers a high profile opportunity to drive change with the passionate support of both councils, and the chance to build on and invest in our digital capability. You will have the opportunity to network externally and build upon our existing London-leading work, in particular relating to automation and IOT, to cement our position as a key member of the London Office of Technology and Innovation.
To succeed in this role, you will be a visionary leader with a strong track record in digital and IT transformation within a complex organisation. You will have:
Significant experience in leading IT and digital strategies at a senior level, preferably within the public sector.
A deep understanding of emerging digital technologies, AI, and data strategy, and their application in local government services.
Strong leadership and people management skills, with the ability to inspire and develop high-performing teams.
Proven ability to push AI and data capability while maintaining strong relationships across both councils and external partners such as LOTI and GDS.
Experience consolidating IT estates, managing legacy tech migration, and driving innovation and creativity in service delivery.
Experience in improving portfolio management, pipelining, and delivery, ensuring digital initiatives align with council priorities.
Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills, fostering trust and confidence at a senior level, and the ability to operate externally as a high profile representative of our organisation.
A strategic mindset focused on balancing the needs of both councils while driving efficiency and delivering measurable outcomes as part of a digital and technology transformation.
Proven ability to drive delivery, capacity, and capability within teams while leading large-scale transformation initiatives.
About Us
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and London Borough of Sutton offer thriving places to live, work, study and visit. Our communities are a vibrant cross-section of society and, for the most part, are thriving. But like all communities, we have those who require a larger range of services in orde...
Kingston Upon Hull, United Kingdom
Hybrid
18-03-2025
