Summary

As a Senior Head of Engineering at M&S, you’ll be joining a well‑loved historic brand that’s transforming into a digital‑first, engineering‑led organisation. You’ll set the vision and strategic priorities for solutions that serve millions of loyal customers and thousands of colleagues, with engineering excellence as a key differentiator in our transformation journey.

What You’ll Do

• Accountable for delivery of strategic vision, direction, OKRs and priorities of the software engineering discipline to meet the needs of internal and external customers and colleagues
• Own the long‑term technical strategy of software engineering in Product Portfolios, including technology selection alongside architecture, building, support and updates aligned with M&S business objectives
• Own and deliver initiatives to advance M&S Software Engineering by challenging the status quo
• Lead Product Portfolios of senior engineers and engineering managers to build and maintain high‑quality, reliable software (leading very large teams, sometimes numbering in the hundreds)
• Lead development of strategic vision and roadmaps for Engineering within a Tribe and represent these roadmaps through cross‑Tribe alignment sessions to identify dependencies early and work towards an aligned strategy across D&T
• Design, develop and deliver frameworks governing technology standards and design principles for all customer and colleague‑facing M&S products
• Evaluate and recommend new technologies, tools and platforms to improve engineering process and software quality
• Build and maintain high‑performing teams through hiring, training, mentoring, talent management and performance management
• Make appropriate decisions on partner versus internal capability use to maintain efficient team size
• Monitor progress and take corrective action when required

Who You Are

• A strong track record of people‑leadership skills, with experience leading and managing teams of people demonstrating strong communication skills, coaching and development of others. Passionate about our customers and colleagues, with the ability to lead for the M&S behaviours and organisational culture.
• Ability to demonstrate strong coding ability in modern programming languages
• Demonstrable ability to discuss and reason about modern and legacy languages and frameworks
• Broad knowledge of current and emerging technologies
• Extensive experience with Scrum Agile Software Delivery framework, including Continuous Integration, Delivery and Deployment
• Excellent knowledge of modern working practices, including security, delivery procedures and governance
• Commercially aware with ability to balance customer solutions with business needs
• Experience in user‑centred software delivery, working with researchers, designers and users directly
• Proven track record leading large teams in varying locations with a mixed ratio of permanent/temporary employees and contractors in high‑profile, high‑volume software systems.
• Strong experience of setting development strategy at a senior level.
• Ability to influence people at senior levels across technical and non‑technical domains.

What’s In It For You

• 20% colleague discount on all M&S products and many third‑party brands for you and someone in your household, available once you’ve completed your probation
• Competitive holiday allowance with the option to buy more
• Discretionary bonus schemes linked to your performance and ours
• Strong pension and life assurance to help plan for the future
• Tailored induction and training to support your development from day one
• Exclusive perks and savings through our M&S Choices portal
• Market‑leading family policies, including parental, adoption and neonatal leave
• 24/7 wellbeing support, including virtual GP access and mental health services
• One paid volunteer day a year to support a cause that matters to you