Head of IT Solution Architecture & Business Intelligence

NATS
Whiteley
1 day ago
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Head of IT Solution Architecture & Business Intelligence

Join to apply for the Head of IT Solution Architecture & Business Intelligence role at NATS.


Closing Date: 23/01/2026


Job Purpose/Overview

As part of the Information Solutions senior leadership team, this role is accountable for the leadership of the Service Design & Business Intelligence teams responsible for the solution architectures for all aspects of IT solutions and services (including but not limited to, end‑user services, infrastructure, ERP, applications and business intelligence). The role accountability also encompasses how the solutions and services are built and tested across their lifecycle, and for the change and run of the business intelligence platform.
A key part of the role is to support the programme team, ensuring that the portfolio of IT projects is being delivered in the most efficient and effective manner.


Other Duties Include

  • A through‑life obligation for the cost, quality and completeness of all service designs (the design envelopes) for the IT services and solutions; covering technology, process, people and data aspects (including the design of support services, associated service levels and disaster recovery/business continuity). This also includes accountability for managed service designs – by providing the appropriate oversight, advice and guidance to suppliers.
  • All service design related governance processes (both the design of the processes and the execution/adherence to these). Including logging and socialising key service design decisions with appropriate reasons captured for future reference and review.
  • Balancing design decisions between functional, service quality and service management requirements.
  • Ensuring security within designs across all IS services to ensure unauthorised access to NATS’ systems and information is prevented.
  • Ownership of the Test Approach ensuring it is used within IS and across suppliers for the implementation of IS projects to meet the standards defined within it.

People Leadership and Development

  • Leading the Service Design & BI function and associated processes, ensuring it is setup effectively, interacts with other teams and continuously improves.
  • Leading, mentoring and developing team members.

Supplier Management

  • Taking responsibility for the assurance of supplier designs and engaging closely with them throughout procurement and build phases.
  • Engage with suppliers to identify potential areas for future development.

Essential Skills and Experience

  • An accomplished, respected leader with well‑developed communication, influencing and negotiation skills gained in a complex organisation undergoing significant transformation.
  • Strong and credible people leadership (line management), including the ability to bring people together across different areas and motivate them to deliver common aims and targets.
  • Strong, credible impact, with a demonstrated capability to resolve conflict; build, maintain and utilise relationships with key internal and external stakeholders to achieve optimum business goals.
  • Good honours degree in a numerate subject (which could be scientific, technical or business oriented) or equivalent of knowledge acquired through experience, other qualifications and training/development.
  • Significant experience of leading the design of business IT services underpinned by the service management model and principles.
  • Recognised as a thought leader with good technical knowledge and experience covering but not limited to cloud, Paas, SaaS, IaaS, infrastructure, networks, applications and business intelligence technologies. Including a good working knowledge of the Microsoft technology stack.

Behaviours

  • Makes sound commercial/strategic decisions that affect long‑term delivery, taking account of risk effect.
  • Creates a credible vision for area/business and communicates it with clarity and purpose.
  • Manages personal impact to successfully initiate change, introduce new ideas and influence others.

Generic requirements

  • Leads a sub‑unit or core discipline, recommending strategy for their sphere of influence, aligned to overall company strategy.
  • Directs strategic planning in the pursuit of an effective delivery of core objectives.
  • Leads outcome‑based engagement with their high performing teams delivering towards the overall functional and business area plan and is accountable for the effective delivery of that plan, to time, cost & quality.

Additional Vacancy Information

We are proud to offer a fantastic total reward package to help you thrive both personally and professionally – for more information on what NATS can offer you please visit – Why NATS?
We have adopted agile working to provide greater flexibility and increased choice over working arrangements, with the opportunity for this role to work in our modern office facilities as well as remotely. We also welcome discussions on flexible and part‑time working arrangements. Find out more here.
If you share our passion to advance aviation and keep the skies safe – we would like to hear from you whatever your age, sex, race, faith, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, visible or invisible disability. Individuals that bring different perspectives, skills, life experiences and backgrounds help us be at the forefront of our industry.


Seniority level

  • Executive

Employment type

  • Full‑time

Job function

  • Design, Art/Creative, and Information Technology

Industries

  • Airlines and Aviation


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