Head of IT

Head of IT | AI First business Salary: Up to £100,000 The Opportunity We're partnering with a rapidly growing AI technology business looking for a hands-on technical leader to take ownership of its internal IT function. This is an opportunity to build and scale an AI-first IT environment within an ambitious, engineering-led organisation. With approximately 60 employees and significant growth ambitions, the business is looking for someone who can combine strategic IT ownership with deep technical expertise, automation and a genuine passion for emerging technologies. This isn't a traditional Head of IT position. We're looking for someone who enjoys building, solving problems and getting hands-on with technology rather than managing large teams or established support functions. The Role You'll take ownership of the organisation's internal IT infrastructure, identity management, SaaS ecosystem and workplace technology, ensuring the environment is scalable, efficient and increasingly automated. You'll also play an important customer-facing role, helping enterprise clients overcome technical challenges when deploying and adopting AI solutions. Key responsibilities include: - Own, develop and scale the internal IT function, establishing best practices, processes and technology standards. - Manage and optimise Microsoft 365, Entra ID, identity and access management, SaaS applications and endpoint infrastructure. - Design and implement automation using scripting, APIs and AI technologies to reduce manual processes. - Identify opportunities to embed AI into internal IT operations and wider business workflows. - Build scalable infrastructure and systems that support a growing, engineering-led organisation. - Evaluate and implement third-party technologies, balancing build-versus-buy decisions. - Work directly with enterprise customer IT teams to troubleshoot identity, access, security, integration and infrastructure challenges. - Champion technology adoption, operational efficiency and continuous improvement across the business. About You We're looking for someone who combines strong technical engineering capabilities with experience owning or developing an IT function. You'll ideally bring: - IT ownership: Experience building, owning or significantly scaling an internal IT function, ideally within a start-up, scale-up or technology-led business. - Microsoft infrastructure: Strong hands-on experience across Microsoft 365, Entra ID, identity management, endpoint management and SaaS administration. - AI & automation: Demonstrable experience building automation solutions using scripting, APIs, AI tools or workflow automation platforms. - Scalability: Experience designing and implementing infrastructure, processes and systems to support business growth. - Customer engagement: Confidence working directly with enterprise IT stakeholders to resolve complex technical challenges. - Engineering mindset: A pragmatic, solutions-focused approach with an understanding of modern software engineering environments. - Commercial awareness: The ability to make sensible build-versus-buy decisions and introduce appropriate governance without unnecessary complexity. Experience across both enterprise and start-up environments would be particularly valuable. What Makes This Opportunity Different? This is an opportunity to rethink how an internal IT function operates in an AI-first business. Rather than inheriting a large team and maintaining legacy processes, you'll have the autonomy to establish the foundations, implement technology and introduce automation that genuinely improves how the organisation works. You'll operate at the intersection of IT infrastructure, AI, automation and enterprise technology, combining strategic ownership with hands-on engineering. We're particularly interested in people who measure their success by the problems they've solved, the processes they've automated and the improvements they've delivered. Interested? If you're a hands-on Head of IT, IT Infrastructure Lead or Principal Engineer looking for an opportunity to own and build a modern, AI-driven IT function, we'd love to hear from you. Apply now or get in touch for a confidential conversation.