Director of IT

Tower Hamlets is delivering one of the most ambitious change agendas in local government with technology at the centre of it.

Our borough is the fastest growing and most densely populated local authority in the UK. We deliver the third largest economic output in the country with areas such as Canary Wharf while our borough borders The City, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the River Thames.

We have more than 320,000 residents to serve in one of the capital’s smallest geographic boundaries, and millions of visitors come to our borough from across the world.

We sit on the doorstep of Tech City, host technology events such as South By South West, and our average age is the youngest in London at just 30 years old.

As our Director of IT, you will drive innovation, enable transformation, and deliver secure, modern digital services that support high performance across the entire organisation of over 7,000 staff.

You will lead a critical function within the Resources Directorate – one that underpins frontline delivery, supports complex statutory services, and powers the systems behind one of London’s most dynamic boroughs.

The role includes:

• providing strategic leadership to our IT service and lead its transformation into a more agile, customer-focused, and insight-led function.
• overseeing all core areas of IT including enterprise architecture, business applications, IT transformation delivery, service management, cyber and information security.
• ensuring services provided by IT are secure, resilient, and continuously improved. This includes our ITIL-based Application Management Service which supports more than 100 business-critical systems and platforms, delivering essential technical support and lifecycle management.
• working closely with Members, Corporate Directors and Heads of Service, to help shape and deliver a new council-wide Target Operating Model (TOM) that ensures sustainable improvement, cultural change and service excellence.

About you

We’re looking for a senior leader who brings not only strong technical and commercial acumen, but also the energy and vision to lead IT as a strategic enabler of change and digital innovation.

You should have a strong track record in cyber security, IT transformation, enterprise architecture, service delivery, and business applications – setting a clear direction and building a culture of continuous improvement.

You will need to have demonstrable evidence of leading and delivering similar services to a very high standard within a large, complex organisation. This includes the ability to lead organisational and service change at a corporate level in a challenging environment.

We are looking for an individual who will inspire trust and respect with everyone they work with. Someone who possesses a successful track record of building relationships with stakeholders, achieving constructive outcomes and also has experience in using strategic and service planning target setting and performance management.

Financial and commercial awareness, highly effective budgeting and financial management skills are essential. As one of the most visited places in the UK, there are significant opportunities to generate much needed income.

You will be politically sensitive and have a strong belief in the value of local democracy and accountability. You will also have a strong commitment to our values, behaviours and equal opportunity policy, and be ready to demonstrate personal leadership on the importance of diversity.

Our council is a beacon for diversity and inclusion. We want a borough where everyone feels valued and included, and we want a council that collaborates to deliver excellence.

That’s why we look for people with our TOWER values of Together, Open, Willing, Excellent and Respectful.

• Technical interviews: Conducted during week commencing 28 July or week commencing 4 August 2025
• Final interview date: Tuesday 16 September 2025

Contact

To apply please visit Penna jobs listing.

For a confidential conversation about the roles, please contact our retained consultants at Penna:

• Julie Towers
  Tel: 07764 791 736
  Email: julie.towers@penna.com
  
  
• Rachael Morris
  Tel: 07840 711 217
  Email: rachael.morris@penna.com