Head of Data Engineering – Product & Plan for Better

In Sainsbury’s Tech, we power the UK’s number 1 multi-channel, multi-brand retailer. Our engineering teams are made up of inspired and multidisciplined individuals who are empowered to solve hard problems in ways our customers love and serve the needs of our business.

The Head of Engineering is a critical leadership role, inspiring a team of experienced and talented Engineers (including Staff Engineers) and Delivery Managers. Alongside the SHoE the HoE is one of the main drivers of the tech vision; overseeing the development and delivery of the technology roadmap based on the adopted strategies and visions.  The technology roadmap will typically be split into outcomes, that require the HoE to coordinate multiple Engineering Managers /engineers into coherent engineering squads.

The role demands a highly analytical approach and being able to work highly effective in a matrix environment; the HoE will typically coordinate the matrix. The HoE is tasked with overseeing the engineering and delivery as well as the day-to-day activities in such a way that ensures that we continue to provide a high level of service to our customers/consumers.

Ultimately, the HoE is impactful in developing the culture and engineering capabilities in the domain to continue to deliver value.

What You'll do People Leadership:

Provide inspiring, motivational leadership at scale and create the environment for individuals to succeed Lead the evolution of our teams and stakeholders to ever more agile ways of working, supporting cultural change, removing wasteful activity and continually finding ways to improve outcomes and value. Foster a culture of innovation and high technical standards, whether your team is developing software, or integrating and deploying bought-in solutions Build a strong pipeline of talent and stretching succession plans which attract, reward and develop our best colleagues, conscious of when to recruit and when to leverage third parties Work in partnership with Director of Product to identify areas to improve the customer experience with the solutions built both internally and externally Promote adherence to organisational software standards and ensure key control compliance

Strategy and Roadmaps:

Own and Develop the engineering NorthStar for Product & Plan for Better Own the Integration design document, and System architecture document Understand the scope and existing roadmap impact based on the technology blueprint (although this is subject to constant change) for [Big Transformation Programme] Accountable for advancing the function and continuous improvement across all practices in the domain

Engagement and Communication:  

Communicate clearly and convincingly with technology, business and product leaders, ensuring that they are appropriately engaged in all parts of the product lifecycle, from vision and strategy to operation and decommissioning Become known for your close understanding of your domain, proactive identification of unique technology-enabled opportunities, efficiencies, delivery excellence and clarity of communication.

Develop and maintain friction-less lines of communication between your team and others within Sainsbury’s Tech with whom collaboration is required. Support Sainsbury’s senior leadership in shaping and iterating our transformation agenda, bringing clarity to areas of uncertainty and understanding our desired customer experience

Delivery:

Ensuring the formation of and support for diverse technology teams, ensuring delivery and pace.

Ensure the team and its leaders stay abreast of technology developments to ascertain their potential for integration into your area of remit or across the wider domains and Sainsbury’s Tech organisation. Understand technology so that you can compellingly explain, communicate any trade-offs and risks. Understand technical decisions and their risk or reward to delivery and the wider organisation.

Ensure that all new and enhanced products and platforms are released into service visibly and seamlessly, in line with overall business change plans and expectations Own the full lifecycle of products in your area, including supporting live service and resolving issues to meet or exceed targets Act as Manager on Escalation across the wider tech enterprise as required as part of a pool with other SHOE and DoE’s

Governance, planning, financial and supplier management:

Assure operational plans for all products are in place including for key business events e.g. Black Friday, Christmas and Easter Shape and grow constructive exec relationships with senior leadership from key partners and collaborate with Supplier Management and Procurement to drive value from contracts, renewals and renegotiations Lead ‘Requests for Proposal’, procurement and vendor selection processes Manage the budget, risk and assurance of your portfolio, through consistent and effective processes, partnering with key stakeholders in Audit, InfoSec and other business teams

Who you are

Instinctive understanding of how technology can benefit retail with a focus on delivering customer value and business outcomes at pace Good background in building and leading delivery teams of circa 50 and above in a fast-paced, real-time environment in which IT and business success are inextricably linked.

How to influence strategy, plans and actions across multiple stakeholder groups within and outside Sainsbury’s Tech As a technologist and leader, operates from the front and ‘walk the talk’, leading teams in adoption of business advantageous technologies as well as ensuring proper, scalable solutions – and as a visionary evangelists and technology strategists, fostering a culture of customer-centricity and professionalism Creating highly effective external partnerships and driving the delivery of our third-parties in line with Sainsbury’s priorities, measures and values Optimisation of team structure, ways of working, capability and culture to ensure delivery in as effective and efficient a way as possible Sound judgement to make sometimes difficult and complex decisions at pace. You should be comfortable dealing with ambiguous situations and help drive toward clarity Pragmatism, and intellectual flexibility to propose and gather support around the right solution for each problem A passion for technology and experience in leading, motivating and directing software/technology engineering professionals and other technology teams.  To continue to be relevant and up to date in the changing technology landscape Servant leadership, helping your teams to perform at their best by ensuring that the business outcomes are clearly understood, allowing the teams to define how we deliver those outcomes within the set guidelines. You should support your teams by unblocking issues and offering strategic advice and guidance, and by balancing delegation and accountability Results orientation, with a bias for action that is deeply informed by evidence and data-based decision-making. You will need to embed evidence-based decision-making practice throughout your team.

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