Chief Information Technology Architect

Lingley Mere, Warrington (Hybrid – 3 days per week onsite) 37 hours per week | Permanent | Full-time Competitive salary + £5k cash car allowance + up to 20% bonus + 21% pension contribution

Shape the future of technology at United Utilities

United Utilities is on a mission to deliver great water for a stronger, greener and healthier North West. As a FTSE 100 organisation with bold ambitions, we’re transforming the way we use technology to serve our customers, protect the environment and support our communities.

This is a rare opportunity to take on one of the most influential technology leadership roles in the region setting the direction for our enterprise wide technology strategy and shaping the digital future of a business that millions of people rely on every day.

United Utilities is on a mission to deliver great water for a stronger, greener and healthier North West. As a FTSE 100 organisation with bold ambitions, we’re transforming the way we use technology to serve our customers, protect the environment and support our communities.

This is a rare opportunity to take on one of the most influential technology leadership roles in the region setting the direction for our enterprise wide technology strategy and shaping the digital future of a business that millions of people rely on every day.

As our Chief Information Technology Architect, you’ll be the strategic force behind our enterprise and information technology roadmap. You’ll define the vision, set the standards and ensure that every part of our technology landscape across data, platforms, people and processes aligns to our business strategy and delivers meaningful outcomes for our customers and colleagues.

This is a role for a visionary thinker, a collaborative leader and a trusted adviser who can bring clarity, structure and innovation to a complex, evolving technology estate.

Setting the strategic direction

• Define, document and own the overarching enterprise/information technology strategy for the whole organisation
• Ensure the strategy integrates seamlessly across all technology domains—Technology, Data, People and Process
• Establish the design principles and standards that guide all technology roadmaps, investment decisions and solution designs

Driving architectural excellence

• Lead the development of enterprise-wide architectural principles, including Design-to-Operate and User Experience standards
• Identify the level of technology disruption needed to accelerate maturity and modernisation
• Build the component parts of the technology strategy cloud, platforms, networks and more ensuring they remain customer-aligned

Leading engagement and influence

• Act as the primary point of engagement across the business, ensuring technology strategy is understood, applied and embedded
• Work in tandem with senior technology leaders to ensure the strategy remains fit-for-purpose and future-ready
• Build strong relationships with vendors, research bodies and industry partners to bring emerging technologies into UU in a pragmatic, value-driven way

Ensuring governance, security and sustainability

• Uphold information security by translating policies into architectural principles and embedding them into roadmaps
• Set the principles for technology lifecycle management replace, enhance, retire, manage
• Build processes to identify and reduce technical debt, ensuring agility and resilience for the future

Leading people and culture

• Lead and develop a team of architects and analysts across permanent, agency and supplier resources
• Drive a service-focused culture within the architecture discipline
• Ensure Health, Safety and Wellbeing principles are embedded in all activities

What you’ll bring

• Proven experience in senior technology leadership roles, guiding technical experts and ensuring compliance with regulatory and legal standards
• Deep understanding of enterprise/information technology trends, disruptive technologies and global strategies
• Experience working with technologies in physical, industrial or field-service environments
• Strong strategic thinker able to articulate vision, direction and outcomes clearly
• Degree-level education, ideally with a post-degree professional qualification or equivalent experience
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, able to translate complex information into clear, actionable insight
• Commercial acumen gained through designing, procuring or delivering major technology contracts
• Understanding of the UK water industry’s regulatory model
• A natural innovator with the ability to envision the future and bring others with you
• Exceptional customer-centric mindset, ensuring customer needs remain at the heart of the technology strategy

You’ll be stepping into a role with real influence, visibility and purpose—supported by a benefits package that recognises your impact:

• A pivotal leadership role in a FTSE 100 organisation committed to sustainability and innovation
• £5k cash car allowance
• Up to 20% performance-related bonus
• Competitive salary and 21% combined pension contribution
• Hybrid working to support balance and wellbeing
• The opportunity to shape the future of technology across a major UK utility
• A collaborative, inclusive culture where your expertise and ideas are valued