Director - Deployed Engineering & Advisory (Head of Tech Services)

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Director - Deployed Engineering & Advisory (Head of Tech Services)

Department: Tech Services

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: Bristol, UK

Reporting To: Ellie Steers

Description

We're building the next UK-headquartered engineering powerhouse.

At Rowden, we design and integrate advanced systems that sense, connect, and protect data in challenging environments where quick decisions are vital. Our solutions use intelligent automation to enhance speed and efficiency and are built to be reliable and straightforward for critical operations in remote or high-pressure settings.

Headquartered in Bristol (UK), we combine modern engineering methods with cutting-edge commercial technology to create adaptable, mission-critical systems. We focus on solving the tough challenges that others overlook, ensuring our customers can operate effectively in an ever-changing world.

Rowden's Tech Services Business Unit

This arm of our business provides government customers with the expertise they need to deliver against critical operational requirements. Our team of forward deployed specialists collaborate directly with customers on-site, tackling their most complex technology and engineering challenges. The team is hands-on, thrives in fast-paced environments, and is dedicated to delivering value to the end user.

We're not interested in superficial growth in this (or any!) part of the business, we look for opportunities where we know we can add real value, and we ensure the right people are in place to deliver immediate impact. We also seek to drive long-term, sustainable results for our customers, embedding capability so the benefits of our support are not lost when our engagement ends.

Seeking a leader to drive intentional growth while preserving what sets us apart - excellence in delivery and meaningful impact for customers

As Director - Embedded Engineering & Advisory (Head of Tech Services), you'll take on a holistic leadership role in this part of the business, ensuring we meet our objectives of delivering valuable support to critical technology transformation projects for our customers. To succeed, you'll need a strong grasp of engineering and technology, with the ability to provide technical support and scrutiny, engage effectively with technical teams, understand customer challenges and drive high-quality solutions. This role is suited to an all-round business builder who can bridge the gap between technical execution and commercial success, taking total ownership for the growth and impact of the business.

The role will involve:

• Sales - Collaborating with the sales team to identify and develop new opportunities, ensuring that new opportunities are aligned to our scope and will deliver real value. As opportunities develop, you'll be accountable for mobilising against them, ensuring the shortest possible time to impact.
• Delivery - Overseeing the execution of technical services engagements, ensuring assignments are delivered on time, within scope, and to the highest quality. You'll establish best practices, embed governance structures, monitor performance, and intervene if necessary to maintain customer satisfaction.
• Talent Management - Leading and developing the Tech Services team, ensuring we attract, retain, and develop top engineering, technology, and project delivery talent. You'll ensure we have a pipeline of great employees, contractors, and partner organisations to enable us to provide the customer with the right knowledge, skills and experience to deliver against their goals.
• Coordination - Communicating clearly and driving alignment through multiple project teams, functional teams, and business and customer stakeholders, enabling the Tech Services team to deliver at pace. It's a complex stakeholder environment, with a rapid cycle of decision-making, which requires strong leadership to keep everyone on the same page.
• Integration- Ensuring the Tech Services business stays connected to the wider business. You'll leverage expertise from across the company to strengthen Tech Services' capability (for example, bringing specialist engineering expertise where required). You'll also ensure technical knowledge flows both ways - where appropriate sharing insights from frontline service delivery to improve the delivery of engineering services across our wider customer base (whilst abiding by contractual confidentiality requirements).

If you thrive in a commercially focused role, have a strong track record in growing a services-type business, and want to shape the future of a high-impact, forward deployed team, this is the role for you.

Candidates must be willing to obtain a UKNSV security clearance with SC being essential, and DV clearance desirable. More information about security clearance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetti...

While the role will be primarily Bristol-based, there will be an expectation to travel semi-regularly to customer sites and other locations (Midlands and London), as required.

Key areas of responsibility

As Director - Embedded Engineering & Advisory (Head of Tech Services) at Rowden, you will:

• Define and drive the sales strategy for Tech Services, working closely with the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) to align long-term vision, objectives, opportunity prioritisation and resource requirements.
• Grow revenue by expanding the Tech Services customer base and strengthening relationships with existing clients.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with customers, partners, and stakeholders to understand their needs and key drivers.
• Oversee project delivery, ensuring high-quality execution, customer satisfaction and alignment with scope, time, cost and quality expectations.
• Develop and manage a flexible resourcing model to rapidly deploy highly skilled personnel, including driving hiring campaigns for new members of the team.
• Act as the senior escalation point for project stakeholders, providing guidance and ensuring smooth resolution of issues.
• Proactively manage risks and opportunities, maintaining strong reporting and open communication with project delivery teams.
• Ensure quality assurance, bringing in necessary Suitably Qualified and Experienced Personnel (SQEP) to assist you where required.

N.b. We value flexibility in our team and expect everyone to contribute beyond their core role when needed. This could mean supporting the mobilisation of major projects, driving strategic initiatives, or acting as a sounding board for other members of the Senior Management Team. We work as a team and rely on each other to help the business succeed.

Key skills, experience and behaviours

This role requires a leader with experience in delivering technical services within government or defence sectors, ideally with a deep understanding of customer needs and the delivery environment:

• Proven experience in leading and scaling technology services teams, ideally within a government or defence context.
• Strong leadership and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to guide project teams, influence key decision-makers and build trusted relationships across government and industry.
• Experience fostering a strong team dynamic, particularly for forward-deployed roles, ensuring individuals feel connected, supported, and able to deliver effectively in customer environments.
• Strong commercial acumen with a track record of achieving revenue targets and business growth.
• Ability to build and manage a highly skilled, flexible workforce, ensuring the right expertise is in place to meet evolving customer needs.
• Measured and decisive approach, skilled at assessing risks, balancing competing priorities, and making informed decisions in complex environments.

About you:

You are a strategic thinker with the ability to execute at pace. You understand both the technical and commercial aspects of service delivery and are motivated by the opportunity to solve real-world challenges for government customers:

• You have a deep understanding of the defence, national security, or government technology landscape.
• You are comfortable working in ambiguity and thrive in a fast-paced, mission-focused environment.
• You have a solid foundation in engineering principles, ideally with experience in software-centric systems, communication systems, or distributed computing.
• You are a strong communicator, able to engage stakeholders at all levels.
• You have a passion for building high-performing teams and developing talent.
• You are driven by impact and the opportunity to make a tangible difference to national security.

Working at Rowden

We are committed to building a flexible, inclusive, and enabling company. Our aim is to create a diverse team of talented people with unique skills, experience, and backgrounds, so please apply and come as you are!

We also recognise the importance of flexible working and support this wherever we can. We typically operate a flexible, hybrid-working model, with an average 3 days in the office each week (dependent on the role). We welcome the opportunity to discuss flexibility, part-time working requirements and/or workplace adjustments with all our applicants.

Rowden is a Disability Confident Committed company, and we actively encourage people with disabilities and health conditions to apply for our roles. Please let us know your requirements early on so that we can make sure you have everything you need up front to help make the recruitment process and experience as easy as possible.

Finally, if you feel that you don't meet all the criteria included above but have transferable skills and relevant experience, we'd still love to hear from you!