Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

Chief Technology Officer

About Sero:

Sero was founded to make a connection between homes and energy, and to use technology to make both these easier and smarter together. We do this to save our customers money and to save time for them, but we also do it to save our planet.

To tackle the Climate Emergency, we provide clever energy services that automatically reduce the carbon footprint of the homes we run. We are striving to become a thought leader in the world of energy technology savings and collaborate with home builders and landlords to help them understand what to do with their buildings to achieve zero carbon.

Your contribution will be key to the team's success as we work together to drive forward energy efficiency and NetZero initiatives. We’re looking for someone who shares our passion for creating sustainable solutions and is eager to make a meaningful impact in this growing and dynamic field.

How you will help:

We're seeking a passionate Chief Technology Officer dedicated to developing innovative solutions to help homes reach Net Zero, reduce emissions, and address fuel poverty. We provide an Energy Services platform for Social Housing providers, empowering them to deliver, finance, and upgrade homes with renewable energy and energy-efficient measures. We’re building technology that builds high confidence in project outcomes, collects data from homes to drive an excellent customer experience and unlocks the full value of renewable energy.

We’re looking for visionary leadership to Sero’s technology team, driving innovation, strategic planning, and alignment of technology initiatives with Sero’s key objectives. This role is essential to positioning Sero at the forefront of technology in Net Zero tech for good space, leading our tech strategy, and ensuring effective collaboration across teams to meet and exceed business objectives.

What we’ll be asking you to do:

In our Technology team, we're a GCP-first group with limited AWS usage. Our Software teams work in a DevOps full-stack model, using primarily TypeScript, Node.js, React.js and NestJS. Our data teams use Python, SQL, BigQuery with other supporting GCP services. We also have a firmware element to our team supporting our bespoke IoT technology solution. Our infrastructure is managed through IaC.

Within this role we are seeking someone who can support and deliver the following:

Technology Strategy and Vision

• Develop and oversee a comprehensive technology strategy in alignment with Sero’s overall business objectives.
• Lead strategic initiatives to adopt new technologies that improve customer experience, operational efficiency, and business scalability.
• Act as the primary technology advocate within the executive team, influencing company-wide strategic planning.
• Represent Sero in the wider technology community as a brand ambassador and advocate for Sero with key stakeholders and industry players.

Team Leadership and Development

• Directly manage the Technology team, ensuring alignment with technology strategy and organisational goals.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive environment where technology leaders can thrive and continuously develop.
• Establish career progression paths and oversee succession planning for critical technology roles.

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with function and collective leads on product strategy, go-to-market planning, and cross-functional initiatives.
• Partner with marketing, operations, and other departments to drive integrated solutions advancement across Sero.

Innovation and Quality Standards

• Set standards for technology processes and quality, including software engineering, DevOps, IT security, and architectural practices.
• Oversee the implementation of best practices for software development, testing and support.
• Ensure a continuous improvement culture and maintain high standards in IT risk management, architecture, and supplier relationship management.

Resource and Budget Management

• Own the technology budget, optimizing cost-efficiency without compromising on quality or innovation.
• Oversee the allocation of resources to support technology initiatives, capacity planning, and recruiting needs.

Governance and Compliance

• Establish and enforce governance policies within technology operations, ensuring compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements.
• Define and implement IT supplier due diligence and processes, including asset and service management.
• Create the frameworks, Policies, processes and procedures needed to protect our intellectual property and mitigate technology related business risks.

GDPR Policy Development and Enforcement

• Collaborate with the Data Protection Officer (DPO) or legal team (if applicable) to develop, enforce, and periodically review GDPR policies and procedures.
• Ensure that all technology-related policies reflect GDPR requirements, especially regarding data minimization, purpose limitation, and data accuracy.

Data Security and Risk Management

• Oversee the implementation of security measures (such as data encryption, pseudonymization, and access controls) to protect personal data against unauthorized access, loss, or breaches.
• Manage IT risk assessments related to GDPR, identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities that could lead to non-compliance or data breaches.

Technology Stack Selection and Integration

• Select and implement a technology stack that supports both current and future business needs, including infrastructure, platforms, and software solutions.
• Ensure all IT systems are integrated effectively, supporting seamless operations and reducing duplication or gaps in functionality.

Performance Management

• Support and monitor team OKRs, ensuring consistent progress and addressing performance issues proactively.
• Lead a high-performance culture, promoting accountability and transparent communication.

More Information:

Diversity: We actively look to reflect the variety of our world and welcome the widest diversity of applicants. If you require any adjustments to the application or interview process, please do get in touch!

Permanent: We're a growing SME and see this role as a permanent member of our growing team. We’ve got lots of plans up our sleeves for exciting new things!

Working Hours: We consider full-time to be 37.5 hours per week – between Monday and Friday. How that breaks into a working pattern is up to you, as long as you’re meeting the needs of the role.

We'd like some of your working hours to be coordinated with other team members and external stakeholders to ensure we're being efficient and communicating effectively, this could be part-time or compressed hours. We think work should fit your lifestyle, so we welcome you to work when you can be most efficient.

Location: We have an office based in Cardiff and we provide our Sero team the option to work flexibly, depending on role and responsibility. While we are fully set up for virtual work and support you in which works best for your work life balance we would expect to see you in the office for a minimum of two days per week.

Perks:

• You’ll start with 27 days of annual leave to use as you wish, plus 8 bank holidays. After 3 years of service, your annual leave will increase to 28 days. Additionally, after 5 years of service, you’ll be eligible for a paid 4-week sabbatical as a thank-you.
• Private free healthcare with Bupa, with the option to add your family at our reduced rate.
• Salary sacrifice Pension with Royal London – for a 3% contribution from you, you will receive 6% from Sero.
• Income Protection for peace of mind - 75% of your salary for up to 5 years in cases of long-term sickness.
• Share Option Scheme: after 12 months of being with Sero, you will be granted an Option over a set amount of shares based on your salary and level in the business at the time of grant.
• Help@Hand Employee Assistance Programme which includes 25/7 access to a GP, mental health, financial and legal support.
• Our offices are in the City Centre (less than 10 mins from Cardiff train station) or if you prefer to drive, we have discounted NCP rates available.
• Generous family-friendly policies.
• Dog friendly.
• Bike2Work scheme: purchase a bike for up to £1500 through a salary sacrifice scheme.
• Volunteering: 8 hours for yourself, 8 hours to use as a team.
• Our office is always fully stocked with all the usual refreshments, tea, coffee, a variety of milks and a healthy fruit bowl.
• FOR Cardiff membership; access to exclusive discounts from Cardiff businesses, a wide range of local events and low membership rates for NCP parking.
• Training and development support for everyone through our LMS and 10% protected professional development time each week.

And… working with us, you’ll be helping towards saving the planet.

Interested? Ready to make a change?

Are you ready to ‘be the change?’ If you think we’re a match, please get in touch.

We’d like a C.V. accompanied with a covering letter that tells us why you’d be a perfect fit for Sero.