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Chief Technology Officer

Chief Technology Officer

OFGEM
remoteHybrid
ExpiresExpires: Expiring in 1 month
IT
Flexible
£81,000 - £117,800 per year

Job summary

Across government, digital and technology transformation is no longer simply an enabling function; it is central to how public bodies deliver better services, protect resilience, support policy outcomes and respond to the growing expectations of citizens, businesses and colleagues. Ofgem has a vital role in the UK’s energy system, protecting consumers and helping to enable a more secure, fair and sustainable energy future. As the organisation continues to evolve, technology will be critical to how Ofgem modernises its services, strengthens its platforms and supports wider government priorities.

Ofgem is on an exciting transformational journey. Within Digital, Data and Security Services, we are strengthening the foundations of our technology estate, building greater internal capability, and creating the platforms, services and governance needed to support a modern regulator. With a largely Microsoft and Azure-based environment, significant use of Salesforce, and major business transformation underway through the deployment of Workday, this is an opportunity to join Ofgem at a pivotal moment and help shape the next stage of its digital and technology maturity.

As Chief Technology Officer, you will play a central role in leading Ofgem’s technology and platform agenda. You will have responsibility for platform engineering, systems engineering, networks, firewalls, and architecture at all levels, ensuring that foundational technology supports the organisation’s regulatory and delivery services. You will also lead the technical direction for major platform transformation, including Workday, which will replace existing finance and HR systems, while continuing to develop the organisation’s use of Salesforce and CRM capability.

This is a core CTO role with real breadth, complexity and influence. You will inherit a team that needs clear leadership, renewed confidence and stronger capability. The successful candidate will need to re-engage the team, hold people to account, improve ways of working and empower colleagues to deliver without always needing direct intervention. The role will require someone who can dip into detail where necessary, but who knows how to step back, create structure and enable the team to stand on its own.

Job description

You will be responsible for:

  • Leading Ofgem’s core technology and platform agenda, including platform engineering, systems engineering, networks, firewalls, architecture, and the technology foundations that support regulatory and delivery services.
  • Providing technical leadership for major transformation programmes, including the deployment of Workday across finance and HR, while supporting the continued development of Salesforce and improved CRM capability.
  • Building and developing the technology team by improving capability, cultucoordination,ce, processes and accountability within a team that has been through significant change.
  • Leading the Technical Design Authority and setting architectural standards, ensuring Ofgem’s technology blueprint and roadmap are fit for the future and that cloud capability is used more effectively.
  • Managing demand, prioritisation and stakeholder expectations, recognising that the team cannot deliver everything and will need efficient,ernance, sequencing, and influence across the business.
  • Controlling the spread of shadow IT by workintelligent,ctively with stakeholders, negotiating effectively, improving confidence in central technology, and preventing further uncontrolled technology adoption.
  • Working across government, including with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, GDS, cross-government CTO groups, and the Pipeline Assurance Group, ensuring Ofgem remains connected to wider government technology direction.
  • Managing suppliers and systems integrators effectively, bringing clarity, coordination, and commercial grip in a small but complex organisation.
  • Looking ahead over the next three to five years, considering how emerging technology, including AI, can support more effective, efficient, and resilient services across Ofgem.

We are looking for a credible, emotionally intelligent, and delivery-focused technology leader who can operate with trust, judgement, and influence. You may have built your career through business architecture, enterprise architecture, solutions architecture, or broader technology leadership, but you will bring strong Microsoft experience, an understanding of complex platform environments and the ability to lead through ambiguity.

Government or wider public sector experience would be beneficial, but what matters most is your ability to lead people through change, influence senior stakeholders, build capability, and create confidence in technology as a strategic enabler. This is an opportunity to play a significant role in Ofgem’s transformation, shaping the technology foundations of a critical government organisation at a time when its work has never been more important.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

  • Demonstrate a track record of thought leadership in emerging technologies — such as AI, data platforms, cybersecurity, or cloud-native solutions (Lead Criteria).
  • Demonstrate leading the professionalisation of technology teams by developing processes, embedding modern ways of working, to ensure an organisation has the specialist frameworks and skills it needs (Lead Criteria).
  • Demonstrate leading the evolution and delivery of the existing comprehensive technology strategy and roadmap that aligns with an organisations short term needs and long-term aspirations, including influencing the business towards common corporate platforms.
  • Strong ability to influence non-technical stakeholders: ability to translate technology strategy for non-technical business leaders, and gain buy-in.
  • Cross government engagement includes representing Ofgem in government CTO/technology forums.
  • Demonstrate making technology decisions that balance cost, functionality, and capability, guiding funding decisions and ensuring investments deliver long-term value.
  • Demonstrate identifying emerging trends in technology, data, and cybersecurity, and evaluate their relevance and potential impact on an organisation and guide informed decision-making across technical and non-technical stakeholders.
  • Provide strong commercial and supplier management across system integrators including Salesforce delivery partners and smaller specialist suppliers.
  • Previous Microsoft/Azure environment experience.

Desirable Criteria

  • Demonstrate leading complex technology transformation initiatives.
  • Government or wider PS experience would be helpful. This can be either through a role in Gov/PS, or by working closely with the sector.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

  • Leadership
  • Communicating and Influencing
  • Managing a Quality Service
  • Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

  • You will be asked to conduct a presentation during your interview. Details of the presentation will be included in the invitation to interview.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £81,000, OFGEM contributes £23,465 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).Ofgem can offer you a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which includes; SCS1 holiday entitlement; Excellent training and development opportunities; The opportunity to join the generous Civil Service pension which also includes a valuable range of benefits; hybrid working (currently 1 day a week in the office but this is kept under review), flexible working hours and family friendly policies. Plus, lots of other benefits including clean and bright offices based centrally, engaged networks and teams and an opportunity to contribute to our ambitious and important targets of establishing a Net Zero energy system by 2050. This exciting blend of professional challenge and personal reward identifies career opportunities at Ofgem as something to get excited about.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

As part of your application, you will be asked to upload a 2-page copy of your CV and provide a 1250 word ‘personal statement’ evidencing how you meet the essential and desirable skills and capabilities listed in the role profile. Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your supporting statement, how you meet each of the criteria listed in the role profile. In the event of receiving a large number of applications, an initial sift may take place on just the lead criteria indicated in the essential criteria.

The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected, you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found by [https://www.cifas.org.uk/fpn].

At Ofgem, we expect our staff to carry out their roles with honesty, fairness and openness. They should follow the Civil Service code and be free from any influence or bias. We are committed to making sure interests are recognised, declared and managed appropriately so that we can fulfil our duties as an energy regulator. Our Conflicts of Interest policy outlines the types of interests Ofgem staff must declare before onboarding, and the rules they must follow throughout employment so that we can clearly demonstrate that our decisions are not influenced by private interests.



Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

  • UK nationals
  • nationals of the Republic of Ireland
  • nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
  • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
  • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
  • individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
  • Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

Recruitment team

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel there has been a breach of these Recruitment Principles.

In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly via recruitment@ofgem.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission, please visit their website.

Follow link to apply

ofgem-cto@global-resourcing.com

Attachments

DDSS Candidate Pack, CTO Opens in new window (pdf, 1312kB)DDSS Role Profile, CTO Opens in new window (pdf, 147kB)

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Salary range

  • £81,000 - £117,800 per year