Head of IT
Carnall Farrar
Head of IT
Carnall Farrar
Carnall Farrar · London, United Kingdom · Full-time · Posted 2026-11-02
Workplace: on_site
Department: Corporate
About us
We are a leading consultancy with a purpose to make an enduring impact on health and healthcare. We work with leaders and frontline teams to improve health, transform healthcare, drive adoption of innovation and create value through investment.
Our consultancy serves the entire healthcare sector, from payors and providers of care, to life science companies, health tech and sector suppliers and health investors. We provide end-to-end services, from strategy through implementation, accelerated by data, digital and AI.
We shape opinion through evidence-based thought leadership on key issues affecting health. With unmatched ability to access and use health data, our consultants are a driving force for delivering positive and meaningful change.
Our strategic intent
We are focused on building the leading consulting company dedicated to health. We serve the entire healthcare sector, including healthcare systems (providers, payors and regulators), life sciences (pharmaceuticals, biotech, devices and diagnostics), health technology, health investors, and the wider supplier landscape.
We provide end-to-end services, from strategy through implementation, supporting organisations to improve population health and healthcare outcomes. Our work spans strategy and transformation, finance and performance improvement, and delivery accelerated by data, digital and AI. We help clients understand their ambitions, identify opportunities to create value, apply innovation in practice, and deliver sustainable, measurable change.
Our consulting is accelerated by data. With an unmatched ability to access and use health data, we are recognised for our expertise in its safe and responsible application, improving health and healthcare delivery, supporting adoption of innovation, generating evidence, and informing decision-making. Our engineering and data science capabilities underpin our consulting and are also deployed directly with clients, often as part of multidisciplinary teams.
We are building a community of expert consultants who want to operate at the leading edge of the profession and who share a passion for health. Through structured career development from Analyst to Partner, underpinned by apprenticeship, mentorship and formal training, we are cultivating the leaders of the future and supporting individuals to develop distinctive expertise that creates value for our clients.
Role summary
Reporting directly to the Chief Operating and Commercial Officer (COCO), this role holds end-to-end ownership of CF’s internal technology, with the authority to define our tech stack, set security standards, control software and IT spend, and hold suppliers to account. It operates across all of CF’s geographies, currently the UK, Ireland and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), with further geographies anticipated as the company grows.
This is a role for someone who is both strategic and hands-on. You will set the technology direction and also build the automations, integrations and internal tooling that make CF more efficient. You will manage our outsourced IT support, with the potential to build a small internal capability over time as we bring more work in-house.
It is a rare opportunity to define an organisation’s technology from the ground up, in a firm where data, digital and AI are central to how we serve and innovate with our clients.
Responsibilities
The role’s responsibilities are organised into the following key areas:
Technology strategy and planning
Own CF’s internal technology strategy, assessing the technology needs of the business across all geographies to enhance effectiveness and efficiency and create an excellent working environment for our people
Build and maintain a clear, complete view of CF’s tech stack: what we use, who owns it, what it costs, where it duplicates, and where it should be rationalised or replaced
Vet and approve new tools and software, acting as the internal decision-maker on technology choices and preventing uncontrolled adoption and duplicate spend
Keep abreast of developments in workplace technology and assess the adaptations CF should be making
Collaborate in the business planning process, setting and managing IT budgets each year, taking account of corporate strategy, business goals, the needs of staff, licences, software, security and audit requirements
Define and serve as business owner of our suite of internal productivity tools
Set annual goals and quarterly OKRs for internal technology, with clear measures of service quality, security and value for money
Information security, resilience and assurance
Own IT security for CF, moving us from a reactive to a proactive position: multi-factor authentication, patching, endpoint protection, access reviews, joiner-mover-leaver controls and identity and password management
Own the security roadmap and the risk decisions within it
Own backup and disaster recovery arrangements, ensuring they are documented, tested and understood, not assumed
Own the company contingency plan and cybersecurity policy, and coordinate CF’s technical response in the event of an incident, providing operational leadership alongside the COCO
Review security reports from our IT provider and act on issues with urgency, escalating appropriately
Own the ISO audit process for CF, ensuring we continue to meet the requirements of ISO 27001 and other relevant standards, that our accreditations are maintained, and that evidence and documentation are audit-ready
Lead security awareness and good practice across CF, so that our people understand their part in keeping client and company information safe
Identify and obtain accreditations that would further strengthen CF’s operations and our reputation with clients and employees
Managing outsourced IT support and suppliers
Own the relationship with CF’s outsourced IT support provider, setting the scope of service, agreeing service levels and holding them to account on responsiveness and quality
Review IT service support requirements, procure and manage contracts for support, ensuring high standards for employees and excellent value for money for the company
Act as the internal technical counterpart to our provider, taking on the complex work that sits beyond straightforward user support, and judging what should be outsourced and what should be brought in-house over time
Manage relationships with technology suppliers and licence providers, negotiating value for money and maintaining a clear record of contracts, renewals and ownership
Manage phone and network provider contracts and costs, adjusting arrangements for specific business needs
Systems, automation and AI enablement
Own the administration and configuration of CF’s internal platforms and productivity tools, including Microsoft 365, Teams and SharePoint
Own oversight of SharePoint, including its structure, permissions and continuous improvement, so that information is easy to find, properly governed and meets the confidentiality and information governance standards we work to, collaborating with the Operations and People teams on the content held within it
Identify and build automations and integrations that remove manual effort across corporate functions, acting as CF’s internal systems engineer
Ensure our core business systems work well together and work with the data operations team to ensure that the data flowing between them is reliable
Be an expert, discerning user of AI tools and help colleagues use them well, with clear judgement about where AI adds value and where it does not
Ensure AI and other tools are deployed securely and in line with our information governance obligations
Work in close partnership with the Data Operations team, who own data analytics, data science, engineering and product development, Databricks, and data protection, maintaining clear boundaries and strong collaboration between internal technology and client-facing data capability
End-user technology and equipment
Establish effective management of CF’s equipment, ensuring the timely issuance of equipment to new joiners and the return of equipment from leavers, and maintaining an accurate inventory
Purchase all IT equipment, working with our Apple Account Manager to secure the most cost-effective plans and to remediate any issues that arise
Manage the resale or donation of used equipment to employees leaving the business or to not-for-profit organisations
Support effective remote working across internet accessibility, technology and equipment, and maintain the technology elements of CF’s home working offer
Keep abreast of the environments our client delivery teams work in and make sure the technology supports them wherever they are based
Ensure that our pool of trusted associates have secure and reliable equipment and systems and access
Stakeholder engagement and communication
Serve as the point of contact for the Leadership Team on all internal technology matters, translating technical issues into plain language and clear choices
Use corporate systems and forums to engage with all staff on how well our technology works, and proactively communicate planned changes and any disruption they may cause
Gather and act on feedback, making sure people understand the relationship between what they raise and what changes
Collaborate with teams across the business, including the Operations, People, Finance, Data Operations and CEO’s office teams
Mandatory
Typically at least 8 years experience in senior technology roles
Strong working knowledge of Microsoft 365 administration, including identity and access management, device management, and SharePoint structure and permissions
Demonstrable, hands-on ownership of information security
Experience of owning or leading an information security or quality accreditation process, such as ISO 27001, including preparing for and running audits
Ability to build automation and integrations, using scripting, workflow or low-code tools and APIs
A confident, fluent user of AI tools, with sound judgement about where they add value and where they do not
Ability to explain technical issues in plain language and to influence senior, non-technical stakeholders
Excellent organisation and prioritisation skills, comfortable working autonomously as the only internal technology specialist and balancing competing demands
Strong problem solving skills and the ability to learn new things quickly
Desirable
Experience with genuine end-to-end ownership of an organisation’s internal IT
Experience of Apple and macOS device management
Experience managing outsourced IT providers
Experience setting and controlling IT budgets, procuring technology and negotiating contracts
Knowledge of Cyber Essentials, ISO 14001 or other standards relevant to a professional services firm
Experience of SharePoint information architecture, or of knowledge and information management more broadly
Experience operating across international geographies
Experience within a professional services or consultancy environment
Flexible working
This role can work from home one day per week as standard. Office hours are flexible within our core hours of 10am–4pm.
Our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion
We are committed to building an inclusive and supportive culture where diversity thrives, and all our people can excel. We only recruit, promote and reward our people based on their skills and contribution, without regard to gender, race, disability, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or other characteristics.
We are Disability Confident Accredited, and we want you to feel comfortable and able to perform at your best in the recruitment process, if you require any reasonable adjustments for any part of the recruitment process, please let us know.
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