Deputy Head of SaaS

Job Description

Commercial Solutions Business

c£75-80,000 plus package

An outstanding and unique opportunity to join an exciting commercial solutions business; a newly created role within a highly entrepreneurial business in response to unexpectedly high growth and transformation.

Still a small, agile, entrepreneurial business with turnover approaching £10m, they serve an enviable list of blue-chip clients offering range of technology-led blended commercial solutions.

The organic growth of the core consultancy business has been complemented with their pioneering software solutions products, offering both SaaS (Software as a Service) and MCS (Managed Commercial Services). This part of the business is experiencing high growth and set to become a substantial part of the group moving forward.

Their proprietary product is a modular SaaS platform that helps utility businesses, Tier 1 companies & contractors manage contracts, streamline operations, and make confident decisions. Hosted in secure Microsoft Azure UK data centres, accredited to ISO27001 and Cyber Essentials, it has become a trusted system-of-record for some of the UK’s largest infrastructure players.

Financially extremely robust they sit with zero debt and possess a scalable business model that will maintain and increase their current highly profitable position.

The shareholder/directors are populated with a wealth of industry experience, all with outstanding track records in building, growing & selling businesses in this space.

Given the growth of the SaaS and software solutions business, they now seek an experienced and motivated Deputy Head of Service (SaaS), someone equally fluent in systems architecture, software development, and client engagement.

As Deputy Head of Service (SaaS), you’ll sit at the heart of this exciting, growing SaaS and Managed Commercial Services business, responsible for ensuring the platform and its supporting systems remain secure, robust, and continually evolving.

While managing infrastructure is a key aspect, this is not simply an Azure management role. You’ll play a leading part in the development and continuous improvement of the proprietary SaaS platform, guiding both infrastructure and application teams to deliver functional enhancements, integrations, and performance improvements.

You’ll lead, collaborate and work closely with software developers, hands-on where necessary, performing code reviews, shaping development standards, and steering system architecture decisions that directly support customer success. Working with clients and internal teams, you’ll ensure that system enhancements and deployments align precisely with customer needs, improving reliability and deepening adoption.

This is a leadership role with both strategic and hands-on responsibility. You will ensure resilience across the full software and infrastructure estate, maintain consistent delivery of the work and asset management platform, and provide bandwidth for the Operations Director to focus on further growth The appointee will manage technical teams, guide clients through implementation and onboarding, and safeguard compliance, security, and software quality.

The role is limitless. There will be a substantial operational and commercial interaction with the business as part of the management team; the appointee will be able to make as much of the role as they desire.

Key Responsibilities

Software Delivery & Systems Development

• Maintain the delivery road map for the proprietary work and asset management platform, and manage resources across implementation, strategic development and bug fixes.
• Maintain clear documentation and process maps of system architecture for future scalability.
• Perform code reviews with the development team to ensure that software is delivered in line with the company’s objectives and standards.
• Maintain clear system documentation and architecture diagrams to support ongoing product evolution and customer adoption.

Team & Performance Management

• Lead and develop a small technical team across both infrastructure and software disciplines.
• Promote collaboration, continuous improvement, and delivery discipline within the technical function.

Stakeholder & Client Engagement

• Build strong, enduring relationships with clients and stakeholders to ensure seamless adoption of systems, identification of enhancement opportunities and help secure current and future project pipelines.
• Provide technical insight in client meetings, tenders, and commercial opportunities, removing infrastructure-based barriers to growth.

Risk Management & Business Continuity

• Ensure systems can be promptly and effectively restored in the event of a security breach or infiltration.

Governance, Compliance & Data Security

• Work with the Operations Director to maintain and update all cybersecurity accreditations including ISO27001, Cyber Essentials, and Cyber Essentials Plus.
• Embed security and compliance practices into software and systems design.

Role Specific Competencies

Planning and Organising

• Plans activities and projects well in advance and takes account of possible changing circumstances.
• Sets clearly defined objectives.
• Monitors performance against deadlines and milestones.

Entrepreneurial & Commercial Thinking

• Keeps up to date with competitor information and market trends.
• Identifies business opportunities for the organisation.
• Demonstrates financial awareness and thinks in terms of profit, loss and added value.

Deciding and Initiating Action

• Takes responsibility for actions, projects and people.
• Takes initiative, acts with confidence and works under own direction.
• Makes prompt, clear decisions which may involve tough choices or considered risks.

Applying expertise and technology

• Applies specialist and detailed technical expertise.
• Keeps up to date with technology and identifies trends that may present opportunities.
• Develops job knowledge and expertise through continual professional development.

Candidate profile and chemistry fit is equally critical for this pivotal role. Working within a fast-paced, innovative, entrepreneurial environment, attitude is as important as aptitude. The person is everything. The Deputy Head of Service (SaaS) will be instrumental in setting the tone, energy and culture for the Software business.….and in turn, key in orchestrating its success. The gravity of success is all about having the right attitude, underpinned with demonstrable experience.

Suitable candidates will already be high achieving, experienced software/infrastructure leaders with a track record of personal success and success in leading technical teams. They will possess a strong ethos in objective delivery, workflow planning, project management customer engagement and a background in creating a culture of success. They will ideally have come from either the utility-related sector, or another regulated sector, but more importantly will have the ability to excel in such an environment.

Skills and requirements

• Strong background in software delivery lifecycle management (Agile, DevOps etc.).
• Demonstrable experience managing technical teams and delivering complex digital solutions at scale.
• Excellent client and stakeholder management skills, including commercial awareness and bid/tender support.
• Strong data literacy: able to interpret and present KPIs and system metrics to support business decisions.

Experience

Essential

• Technical understanding of system architecture, with a strong grasp of understanding how systems are structured, maintained and scaled.
• Experience managing client relationships, gathering feedback and translating needs into technical solutions.

Desirable

• Degree / Diploma / Other in IT, Computer Science, Engineering, Business or related field.
• Experience embedding SaaS platforms within Infrastructure or construction services sector.
• Certification in Information Security (e.g. CISSP, CISM)
• Certification in Project Management (e.g. Prince2, PMP) or Agile methodologies.

This career defining role is not simply about keeping the lights on, it’s about building, developing, and evolving the systems that power the business and its clients. A role for someone who thinks like an engineer, acts like a leader, and engages like a partner.