Head of Technology & Digital Delivery

THE·TEAM is proud to provide representation and marketing services to talent, brands and properties across 28 countries and more than 70 cities worldwide. Our live group specializes in delivering branding and signage, custom fabrication, live event production and experiential operations across sports, music, entertainment and culture. Working with the world’s most iconic properties and brands, we elevate live events to make them unforgettable.

Shaped by our belief in the unifying power of sports, music and entertainment, THE·TEAM leads with intelligence, ideas and influence. For more information, please visit the.team.

Location - Orpington, UK, with hybrid flexibility and Worldwide travel

LIVE·TEAM delivers branding, signage, fabrication, live event production and experiential services across sports, music, entertainment and culture. Technology helps us deliver better work for clients, support our people and build a stronger, more competitive business.

We are looking for a technology leader with strong commercial awareness who understands software delivery and emerging technology, but starts with the needs of the business. You will lead our Digital Products and Technology function, working closely with Client Services, Operations, Production, Creative and other teams. You will understand their pressures, challenge established practices where there is a better way and help colleagues adopt change with confidence.

Our function brings together Quest, our business-critical management information system and its Workday integration; an established 3D spatial capture and LiDAR team; and a digital content and LED team. You do not need to be the technical expert in every area. You do need the judgement to lead different specialists, connect their work to business priorities and improve what they deliver for our clients.

Above all, we want someone who will strengthen a technology function that colleagues trust, value and want to work with, while helping LIVE·TEAM innovate, grow and stay competitive.

WHAT YOU WILL LEAD:

1. Quest development team

Quest is LIVE·TEAM’s internally developed management information (MI) system, underpinning our day-to-day operation and integrating with Workday. The MVP is defined and development is underway with an external partner and internal colleagues, targeting early January 2027. Depending on recruitment timing, the programme may be moving into rollout, training and ongoing development. The AVP will need to take ownership of the programme at whichever stage it has reached, rather than restart work already agreed.

• Own technical delivery of Quest, including sprint progress, engineering quality, testing, integrations, dependencies, release readiness, supplier performance and ongoing support.

• Agree product priorities and roadmap decisions with business owners. They help determine what matters most; you are accountable for planning and delivering the technical work, explaining risks, costs and trade-offs clearly.

• Bring end-to-end software delivery knowledge, from requirements, user journeys and backlog management through development, quality assurance, user acceptance testing, release, adoption and ongoing improvement.

• Manage the external development partner and internal teams effectively, challenging estimates and decisions where needed without taking over the work of specialist developers.

• After MVP, work with business leaders to deliver new modules and improvements that make company-wide working practices better, differentiate LIVE·TEAM, improve efficiency and create new revenue opportunities.

• Oversee the transition from development into rollout, user training, adoption and ongoing enhancement as the programme progresses. Keep Quest secure, reliable and well supported, with clear ownership of data, integrations and documentation.

2. AI, automation and future business capability

AI and automation will change how we work and what clients expect from us. We need a leader who can spot useful opportunities, work closely with colleagues to define the problem properly, and move quickly from an idea to a dependable tool that can be used by our teams or clients. Just as importantly, they must help LIVE·TEAM prepare for changes ahead without chasing technology for its own sake.

• Build an AI and automation roadmap tied to commercial goals, client delivery, operational capacity, quality and competitiveness.

• Work directly with Client Services, Operations, Production, Creative, Studio, Finance and other teams. Listen carefully, understand the business objective, test assumptions and challenge the brief constructively until there is a shared, clear definition of the problem and what success looks like.

• Rapidly prototype AI-enabled software and operational tools using appropriate development and AI platforms. Be capable of hands-on experimentation, then lead the work through testing, refinement and delivery of a secure, reliable, client-ready or business-ready solution, built via internal development team or if required with a development partner.

• Explore and implement improvements in artworking and artwork adaptation, image creation, asset handling, approvals, reporting, information retrieval and repetitive administrative work.

• Look beyond cost savings. Work with business leaders to understand how AI may change our services, delivery model and client expectations, and where we should invest or build new capabilities to protect and grow our position.

• Test prototypes with the people who will use them, refine them against real workflows and take viable solutions through to supported production use. Establish ownership, training, maintenance and measures of value; stop initiatives that do not deliver.

• Manage risks around intellectual property, client confidentiality, data protection, security, accuracy and human oversight.

• Keep colleagues informed about useful developments in plain language, and work with THE.TEAM Central IT on AI, security, policy and scale.

3. Working with our people and delivering change

LIVE·TEAM is a fast-moving, client-led business. Deadlines, production peaks and client commitments cannot simply be moved to suit a technology timetable. Our technology team must work within that cadence, while maintaining appropriate standards for quality, security and reliability.

• Be visible and approachable. Listen to the people doing the work before recommending changes, and explain technical choices without jargon.

• Plan development, releases, testing and training with business leads to minimise disruption and avoid unnecessary administration.

• Bring colleagues into the design, testing and rollout of solutions. Provide practical, inclusive support for people with different levels of technical confidence so nobody is left behind.

• Challenge inefficient practices with evidence, empathy and persistence. Sometimes the business will need encouragement to adopt a better approach; change should be agreed and supported, not imposed.

• Build a responsive, accountable technology team that people across LIVE·TEAM find easy to work with. Measure success through adoption, service and business results, not just completed technical milestones.

4. Representing LIVE·TEAM across THE·TEAM

LIVE·TEAM operates within the wider THE·TEAM group, which provides centralised IT services, technology infrastructure, security standards and group-wide policies. The AVP will work closely with THE·TEAM's central IT function to ensure LIVE·TEAM benefits from shared technology, expertise and governance, while representing and protecting the specific operational, commercial and client requirements of our business. This includes ensuring LIVE·TEAM is actively involved in relevant technology decisions and that any adoption of group-wide systems, platforms or policies is considered in consultation with our business leaders, with a clear understanding of the practical impact on our teams and how we deliver for clients.

• Stay close to wider THE·TEAM technology plans and ensure LIVE·TEAM has a meaningful voice early in relevant discussions and decisions.

• Represent our operational, creative, client and commercial requirements, including dependencies around QUEST and other systems.

• Assess proposed group platforms and standards with LIVE·TEAM business leads before adoption, considering fit, integration, cost, disruption, security and long-term value.

• Work constructively with wider group colleagues, sharing good ideas and avoiding duplication while protecting the needs of our business.

• Introduce agreed group solutions through proper consultation, clear ownership, communication, testing and support.

5. Leading specialist teams and delivery partners

• Lead internal specialists and external partners with clear priorities, realistic budgets, accountability and an approachable service culture.

• Lead and support the established 3D spatial capture and LiDAR team, helping it improve its capabilities, connect more closely with operational and client-facing teams, and develop spatial capture into a stronger offering for LIVE·TEAM clients. Specialist depth is not required, but commercial knowledge and the ability to guide the team are essential.

• Work with Client Services and commercial leads to identify where spatial capture can improve existing projects, create new services and generate revenue, while ensuring the team has the capacity, skills and support to deliver consistently.

• Oversee governance, information security, data quality, integrations, resilience, supplier relationships and value for money, drawing on specialist expertise as needed.

• Give senior leaders clear, candid updates on progress, investment, outcomes, risks and decisions required.

WHAT YOU WILL BRING:

Essential experience and approach

• Senior experience leading business-facing technology, digital product or software delivery in an operationally complex organisation.

• Strong understanding of the full software development lifecycle, agile delivery, product roadmaps, integrations, testing, releases and ongoing development of business-critical systems after launch.

• Experience managing external software development partners alongside internal teams, with a clear grasp of scope, delivery quality, commercial terms and accountability.

• Practical experience of AI-enabled software prototyping and automation, with the ability to turn a clear business brief into a working proof of concept and guide it through to a reliable operational product, using internal teams or partners as appropriate.

• Enough hands-on software development or engineering experience to assess technical feasibility, build or adapt prototypes, challenge implementation choices and work credibly with developers. Deep expertise in every technology used by LIVE·TEAM is not expected.

• A track record of turning business needs into solutions that people use and that deliver measurable results.

• An approachable, curious and commercially aware leadership style. You can challenge technical specialists and hold them accountable, while being equally comfortable with project managers, artworkers, operations teams and client services colleagues.

• Clear communication, empathy and sound judgement, with the ability to balance urgent client delivery and longer-term development.

Desirable experience

• Workday integration, APIs and enterprise data flows.

• Spatial capture, LiDAR, 3D workflows, digital content, LED or creative production automation, including experience developing specialist technical services for clients.

• Live events, experiential marketing, production or another deadline-driven, client-facing industry.

• Representing an operating business within a wider group technology structure.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE:

• Quest progresses from its current development stage through MVP, rollout, training and adoption, then into a dependable, business-led roadmap of valuable enhancements, with the transition managed according to the programme’s actual progress.

• Colleagues experience a technology team that understands their operational cadence and helps them adopt better ways of working.

• AI and automation move from well-defined business briefs through rapid prototypes to dependable tools, producing measurable improvements in efficiency, quality, client service, competitiveness or revenue potential.

• The spatial capture team strengthens its offering to clients and contributes to business growth, supported by clear commercial priorities and effective operational delivery.

• Internal teams and external suppliers deliver together with transparent progress and clear technical accountability.

• LIVE·TEAM is represented in wider THE·TEAM decisions, with new platforms introduced through informed consultation.

Travel to other LIVE·TEAM locations worldwide will be required.

THE·TEAM does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, age, national origin, marital status, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other reason prohibited by law in provision of employment opportunities and benefits.