Your role at a glance

The Chief Operating Officer, Group Technology will undertake three key functions, firstly overseeing the operational performance and value delivery of the Group Technology function, leading governance, commercial and financial oversight, risk management, planning and performance management. Secondly, the Chief Operating Officer will lead the transformation of the Group Technology function, delivering its vision, planned outcomes and business plan. Finally, the Chief Operating Officer will support the Group CTO in the development of the company's overall Technology strategy and outcomes.
The post holder will also lead on specific initiatives as required, for example cost optimisation, disposals or acquisitions and major new supplier changes.
The post holder will be the formal deputy to the Group CTO and will represent Group Technology in terms of decision making and attendance at formal Boards, as required.

What you'll be doing

The role has several principal accountabilities including but not limited to:
Relationships

• Establish highly effective, aligned, and collaborative relationships with key stakeholders and business partners across all business divisions, geographies, and functional teams across the Group.

Finance & Planning

• Lead the delivery of value by Group Technology, ensuring affordability and efficiency. Manage cost management and budgeting of Group Technology across business divisions and ongoing cost optimisation activities.
• Manage the annual financial planning and budgeting process and work with cost centre owners to ensure delivery to the annual budget of c£90m run an c£40m change.
• Create and manage a multi-year financial plan, driving improvements to value and affordability
• Lead the development of the Group Technology annual business plan, developing a plan and portfolio that supports the needs of business divisions and the Group.
• Provide transparency and insight of financial costs and their relationship to services and performance, ensuring that the Group cost recharge methodology is sound.
• Ensure that the appropriate Finance MI, process, and systems are in place to provide support to Group Technology so that customers are treated fairly in line with Legal & General's Customer Experience and TCF policy.

Performance

• Oversee the delivery of objectives, across Group Technology, including KPIs, OKRs and SLAs and ensure a regime of performance management, continuous improvement, and delivery excellence.
• Oversee the Group Technology Portfolio of change and delivery to time, cost, and quality. Oversee the performance of PMO processes.

Risk & Governance

• Manage the risk and controls environment for group technology, ensuring a strong controls-based performance and culture, with effective management of risk.
• Support the Group CTO regulatory obligations and controls.
• Own the Group-wide IT controls framework and undertake line 1.5 assurance of the performance of the control environment and compliance regime, across all group entities.

Transformation & People (Group Technology)

• Create and deliver the transformation roadmap needed to evolve Group Technology to meet new and emerging business needs.
• Own the Group Technology Operating Model and steer its transformation and implementation, modernising the model and underlying processes for changing needs.
• Own the Group Technology Service Catalogue and steer its transformation and implementation, modernising the model for changing customer needs.
• Working with Group HR, co-ordinate the development and execution of the Group Technology people plan - including talent development, engagement, inclusion, and diversity.
• To take the lead in all matters regarding the management of employees, ensuring that management discretion is used in a consistent manner and that the area follows the Group's policies and procedures including the Partnership Agreement to maximise business performance.

Organisational Leadership & Strategy (Group Wide)

• Facilitate the group wide Technology Leadership Team framework and work with all business divisions to develop and support a holistic overarching Technology strategy for the Group, working with IT Directors, Board Advisors and COOs/CEOs to ensure coherence of direction and exploitation of business needs and opportunities.
• Agree and co-ordinate the implementation of a set / portfolio of shared technology outcomes for the group
• Lead Group Technology's contribution to key strategic initiatives across the Group
• Foster and accelerate innovation across Group and its partners, promoting methods such as Alphas, Hackathons, User research, building a pipeline of trials, research, and experiments.
• Review all investment cases for Technology and ensure appropriate alignment and business value realisation is in place.

Strategic Supplier Management

• Collaboratively working with the Group Chief Procurement Officer establish the Technology Sourcing Strategy.
• Ensure group technology compliance with Group Procurement and Outsourcing Policy.
• Own and manage the performance and relationship development of strategic technology and outsourced partners, increasing joint value. Establish and execute on joint plans with each strategic partner to increase value.

What we're looking for

Qualifications:

• No specific qualifications required, although ideally Information Technology, Commercial, Finance or Strategy-based qualifications would be beneficial.

Knowledge:

• Experience of working in a regulated environment.
• Significant knowledge of leading IT management activities and an IT function in a large complex Group organisation, ideally with experience of optimising IT costs and increasing value.
• Knowledge of IT supplier management best practice, methods and approaches.
• Knowledge of strategic planning and portfolio management.
• Excellent awareness of people and organisational design.

Experience:

• Significant experience of IT Management and managing an IT function, either as a Head of IT / IT Director / CIO or as a senior Commercial / Finance Leader in IT.
• Experience of leading within a large complex global organisation and working collaboratively with other peers.

Skills:

• Demonstrable leadership ability; sound business judgement.
• Strategic thinking and planning.
• Financial skills, ideally with significant budget management experience.
• Supplier relationship management and shaping commercial arrangements at executive level.
• Strong communication and relationship building skills.
• People management.
• Collaborative, inclusive, and engaging style.
• Ability to influence as well as exert authority.
• Ability to learn and quickly interpret/apply.
• Ability to deliver under pressure, manage complex situations and provide informed responses in short timeframes.

Benefits

When you commit to Legal & General, we'll commit to you too. That means we'll recognise and reward your hard work, your performance and your contribution.
If you join us, you'll get access to some great benefits, including private medical insurance, 30 days holiday (excluding bank holidays), a generous pension scheme, life assurance, and Income Protection. You'll receive a car allowance of 12% of your annual salary, and you can participate in our electric car scheme, which offers employees the option to hire a brand new electric car through tax efficient salary sacrifice. We're also proud to offer competitive family leave.
You'll have the opportunity to participate in our annual, performance-related bonus plan and valuable share schemes. And then there are the many discounts we offer that you can take advantage of - both for our own products and at a range of high street stores and online offerings.