Lead engineer jobs in Birmingham

WHO WE ARE

We're FIRST UK, an EdTech charity making STEM more diverse – using robots, industry mentors, and epic competitions to drive a skills-equipped, workforce-ready talent pipeline.

It’s an exciting time to join the charity as we move from start-up to scaling mode with a brand new strategy backed by government investment alongside some of the world’s leading tech-enabled businesses, including Arm, Bloomberg, Qualcomm, and many more.

As BBC Broadcaster Spencer Kelly summarised.

“It’s easy to see why competitions like this really do help students develop the skills they’re going to need for the rest of their lives. Honestly, I wish I had something like this when I was at school.”

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

A programme manager with a flair for engaging people. Someone who can help grow the UK’s most ambitious student robotics movement through:

• Outreach - increasing uptake amongst schools and youth groups
• Support - ensuring a high-quality experience for partcipants and teachers
• Events – supporting delivery of epic robotics tournaments
• Volunteering - recruiting, upskilling and stewarding event staff and mentors
• Partnerships – fostering a local community of STEM champions and partners

You’re an all-rounder, motivated by working with young people, educators, and industry to engineer better futures. Reporting to our Head of Delivery (that’s Vicky on our website), you’ll be instrumental in scaling our impact regionally. 

WHAT YOU'LL GET

Responsibility. Ownership. Sense of purpose. You’ll be working in a small (9 merry folk), dynamic organisation which is agile and collaborative. We have a strong value proposition and refreshing brand. Our case for support is built on three decades of evidence. Well before pandemics, we were working flexibly and remotely – it’s embedded in our culture.

• £32,000 - £39,000 per annum dependent upon experience
• 25 days holiday, plus 8 bank holidays, and a Christmas gift
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
• Super-flexible, hybrid role with lots of responsibility

I like the sound of this. Is there more I need to know?

Yep - check out the full role profile on our website.

What's the process?

• Submit CV and optional cover letter
• Answer three simple screening questions
• Role closes 23:59 on Sun 28 Jun

Hybrid or home working with an expectation to be in the London office occasionally

Temporary – 6 months FTC

Full time but open to conversations around flexible working or part time

Context and Background

The NSPCC’s mission is to end cruelty to children. Today, the NSPCC lobbies government on child welfare issues, leads national campaigns and offers front line service support for thousands of vulnerable children. We do this directly and through schools, local safeguarding children’s boards and others, offering support, advice and training.  Since 2006, we have run Childline, the telephone helpline and counselling service.

Beyond our front-line support services, campaigns and consulting provisions, we carry out a comprehensive programme of groundbreaking research.  With a core staff and thousands of nationwide volunteers, the NSPCC remains a central organisation in the fabric of British society, with the welfare, protection and prosperity of children at the centre of everything we do.

The Supporter Data Operations team is part of the Fundraising Operations team in the Engagement & Fundraising Directorate.

The team is responsible for donation processing, data processing, data quality, and user training and support. The team are also involved in delivery of our ongoing Supporter Centricity project, focussing on delivering Salesforce to maximise engagement as part of the wider programme.

The Associate Head of Supporter Data Operations leads and manages a varied team who work with stakeholders across Engagement and Fundraising, Technology, and Finance. The postholder is responsible for c20 office based and remote staff.

Job purpose 

· Strategic Development: Lead on recommendations to evolve teams, responsibilities and ways of working post Salesforce go live, ensuring that the NSPCC and our supporters benefit from the new technology.

· Team Leadership: Empower and enable the Supporter Data Operations team; foster collaboration and a culture of high performance and accountability. Support and upskill the team to evolve through change.

· Business Product Ownership: Own the vision and roadmap for the Salesforce platform for Engagement and Fundraising, ensuring it helps us to put supporters and audiences at the centre of the way we work whilst meeting organisational needs. Prioritise the backlog, balancing project and “BAU” development, working closely with business and technical stakeholders.

Key relationships - Internal

· Reporting to the Head of Fundraising Operations

· Line manages Managers within Supporter Data Operations

· The Supporter Centricity Technology project team who are leading on the replacement of supporter data systems

· Maintain a close connection with Tech teams, including working closely with the Associate Head of Data Engineering

· Senior Business Stakeholders across the Income Generation Directorate and more widely.

Key relationships - External

• Technology and infrastructure vendors and partners 

Main duties and responsibilities

· Provide effective line management and leadership within the Supporter Data Operations team. Ensure all team members are supported and empowered to deliver high quality work. Ensure that high performance is recognised, achievements are celebrated, and low performance is addressed and rectified.

· Identify opportunities to build new skills in the team on Salesforce, prioritising individual and team development.

· Evolve team structures as needed in line with Salesforce platform development, ensuring that the team has clarity of expectations and responsibilities. Identify opportunities to refine and strengthen how the team works in line with organisational priorities.

· Manage the Supporter Data Operations team budget, ensuring good value for money and maintain relationships with suppliers.

· Act as interim business product owner for the Salesforce platform, prioritising the backlog against business need and setting up ways of working for the long-term operational management of the platform.

Responsibilities for all Staff within the Engagement and Fundraising Directorate

· To actively participate in regular team meetings and department meetings, contributing to discussions and decisions which will be beneficial to the NSPCC’s development of fundraising activities. 

· To behave at all times in a manner consistent with the NSPCC’s Values. 

· To ensure data used in relevant systems is current, accurate and reliable. 

· To maintain an awareness of own and others’ Health and Safety and comply with the NSPCC’s Health and Safety policy and procedures. 

•A commitment to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people

Person specification

· Proven experience in leading operational data teams, setting strategic direction, and with the ability to inspire and motivate them.

· Experience of effectively leading a team through a technology change programme, ensuring they are upskilled and providing technical support where required.

· Experience with and strong understanding of current and emerging platform technologies (for example, Salesforce CRM and data cloud platforms).

· Excellent understanding of data management principles, including data governance, quality and security.

· Experience in leading on the delivery of a large complex portfolio of work, working with stakeholders to agree and prioritise work, driving delivery, and implementing strategies to reduce unplanned work.  

· Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

· An outcome-oriented individual who is focussed on solving problems and driving the team forward.

Safer Recruitment

As an organisation, we are committed to creating and fostering a culture that promotes safeguarding and the welfare of all children and adults at risk.

Our safer recruitment practices support this by ensuring that there is a consistent and thorough process of obtaining, collating, analysing and evaluating information from and about candidates to ensure that all persons appointed are suitable to work with our children and adults.

The recruitment and selection of our people will be conducted in a professional, timely and responsive manner and in compliance with current employment legislation, and relevant safeguarding legislation and statutory guidance.

Our principles:

• Always seek to recruit the best candidate for the role based on merit including their skills, experience, motivation and competencies. Our robust recruitment and selection process should ensure the identification of the person best suited to the role and the organisation.

• Committed to diversity and equality of opportunity and will interview all applicants (internal and external) who self-declare at application as having a disability and who meet the minimum requirements in the person specification of the vacancy they are applying for.

• We will make reasonable adjustments at all stages of the recruitment process in order to enable successful candidates who declare disabilities to start working or volunteering their time with us.

• Any current member of staff or volunteer who wishes to apply for vacancies and is suitably qualified will be considered and addressed fairly and objectively based on their merit.

• As an organisation committed to safeguarding, we will ensure all under 18’s joining the organisation will have ongoing risk assessments to ensure their role and activities are safe and appropriate.

• All documentation relating to candidates will be treated confidentially in accordance with the GDPR legislation.

This is an exciting new opportunity to shape the future of technology and digital capability across five South West charities. We are seeking an exceptional Regional Chief Technology Officer who is motivated by both challenge and purpose; someone who can harness technology to make a tangible difference to how our faith-based charities support church communities.

Working across Bath & Wells, Bristol, Exeter, Salisbury and Truro, this role offers a rare platform to influence at scale. The successful candidate will lead a region-wide programme of digital transformation and process optimisation, helping modernise systems, strengthen cyber resilience and unlock efficiencies that release resources for mission and ministry.

This is not technology for its own sake. We are looking for someone who combines strategic insight with practical delivery; a leader who can translate complex technical possibilities into real-world improvements for staff, clergy and volunteers. You will play a key role in shaping the responsible adoption of emerging technologies, including AI, while ensuring strong governance, security and compliance.

Please note that, whilst the role will be primarily home-based, the post-holder will be required to travel regularly across the Southwest region, with an onsite presence in each organisation at least once per month.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership:

• Develop, articulate, and implement a shared digital transformation and technology strategy that is directly aligned with the overarching mission and strategic goals of the five dioceses.
• Act as the principal technology advisor to the Diocesan Secretaries and their senior leadership teams.

Process Mapping & Optimisation:

• Lead a comprehensive, collaborative review of key administrative and operational processes within the Diocesan Boards of Finance (DBFs) and in parishes where appropriate.
• Use process mapping techniques to identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and areas for improvement, and then design and implement optimised workflows.

AI & Responsible Innovation:

• Actively research, evaluate, pilot, and implement appropriate AI and automation tools to enhance efficiency, support fundraising, and improve service delivery.
• Ensure all innovation is undertaken responsibly, ethically, and with a clear focus on tangible benefits.

Stakeholder Management & Engagement:

• Build and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders across all five dioceses, including clergy, staff, and volunteers.
• Foster a culture of digital literacy and champion the benefits of change in a clear, accessible, and empathetic manner.

Project & Change Management:

• Oversee the full lifecycle of technology and process improvement projects, from initial conception and business case development through to delivery, user training, and final handover.
• Employ robust project management methodologies to ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget.

Qualifications, Training & Experience:

• Proven and extensive senior technology leadership experience (e.g., CTO, Head of IT, Director of Digital Transformation) with clear evidence of strategic impact.
• Relevant degree (or equivalent) in a technology-related discipline, with appropriate professional certifications in technology, architecture, project or change management, and membership of a relevant professional body.
• Strong track record in business process mapping, analysis and re-engineering delivering measurable efficiency gains.
• Practical experience evaluating, procuring and implementing modern technology solutions, including cloud platforms (e.g., Microsoft 365), CRM systems and data analytics tools.
• Experience in the charity, non-profit or similarly complex, values-driven sector is highly desirable. Demonstrable experience of, or well-informed and practical interest in, the responsible and ethical application of AI and automation in an organisational context.
• Significant experience in technology strategy, budget management, vendor negotiation and delivery of complex, multi-stakeholder programmes.

Competencies & Behavioural requirements:

• Exceptional communicator and translator: Able to convey complex technical concepts in clear, accessible language and influence a wide range of non-technical stakeholders with confidence.
• Strategic yet pragmatic thinker: Sees the big picture and aligns technology with organisational priorities, while remaining hands-on and focused on practical, value adding solutions.
• Collaborative and emotionally intelligent leader: Builds trust and consensus across diverse stakeholders and cultures, leading change with empathy, credibility and sensitivity.
• Resilient and delivery-focused: Proactive and self-motivated, with the drive and discipline to deliver complex, multi-year programmes and achieve measurable outcomes.
• Culturally astute and values-aware: Demonstrates understanding of, and respect for, the Church of England’s context, governance and ethos, navigating the environment with diplomacy and good judgement.

Our benefits include:

• Generous company pension
• A comprehensive health & wellbeing programme, inlcuding an Employee Assistance Programme 
• Paid volunteering & study leave allowace
• Company events
• Home working