Happy new year, all! I hope everyone had a brilliant break. I’m very excited to kick off the year with our weekly update. This is the first of 52 editions as we track the market over the year ahead.
The first full week of 2026 saw elevated hiring activity, with a clear skew toward permanent appointments. The role mix was broadly distributed across sectors, with no single domain dominating. Agency involvement remained high, though direct recruitment was visible in education, healthcare, housing, and utilities.
📊 Volume & Mix
64 roles total this week
Permanent: ~52
Interim: ~12
Channel: Agency roles accounted for approximately 70% of the total, with direct hires concentrated in public sector bodies, housing associations, and healthcare organisations.
Week-on-week comparison unavailable (first update of 2026).
💡 Key Trends This Week
IT Director and Head of IT roles were the most frequently recurring titles, appearing across financial services, manufacturing, biotech, healthcare, and regulated sectors. Several were described as hands-on or operational in nature.
Housing associations posted multiple senior technology roles including Director of IT, Director of Digital & Technology, and Head of Digital Transformation, indicating ongoing investment in digital capability within this subsector.
Data leadership roles were present but limited in number, with Head of Data positions in legal services and charity sectors, and IT & Data combined roles in FMCG and charity contexts.
ERP and programme delivery appeared in interim capacity primarily, with three ERP-focused roles (Workday, Oracle, Dynamics 365) and several general Programme Director positions across e-commerce, telecoms, and professional services.
Charity and third sector organisations accounted for a noticeable cluster of senior appointments, including Director of Digital and Data, Director of DDaT, Head of Digital, Data and Technology, and Head of IT & Data roles.
📅 Month-on-Month (rolling view)
January 2026: 64 roles; permanent hiring dominant; IT Director and Head of IT most common titles; housing and charity sectors notably active.
Role
Type
Employment
Sector
Location
Link
CDTO
Agency
Permanent
Insurance (Private Equity)
London
Transformation Director
Agency
Interim
Consumer (Investor Backed)
UK
Head of Programmes and Projects
Regulator of Social Housing
Permanent
Public Sector
Leeds / Manchester
CTO
Agency
Permanent
Private Equity
London
Head of Transformation
Agency
Permanent
Public Sector
Midlands
ICT Senior Manager: Enterprise Architecture
3C Shared Services
Permanent
Public Sector
Cambridgeshire
ICT Senior Manager: Change Delivery
3C Shared Services
Permanent
Public Sector
Cambridgeshire
ICT Senior Manager: Customer Experience
3C Shared Services
Permanent
Public Sector
Cambridgeshire
Director of Infrastructure Operations
Agency
Permanent
Midlands
Director of Infrastructure + Cyber
NICE
Permanent
Public Sector
Manchester
Head of IT & Data Management
Agency
Permanent
FMCG
Midlands
Head of Architecture
Agency
Permanent
Charity
London
Head of IT Solutions & Data
Panda
Permanent
Utilities
Manchester
CTO
Intercity
Permanent
IT
Birmingham
Director of Digital and Data
Shaw Trust
Permanent
Charity
UK
Director of Digital Transformation
Agency
Interim
Healthcare
London
Director General for Technology, Digital
HSC
Permanent
Healthcare
UK
Director of Finance & IT
Agency
Permanent
Charity
Kent
ERP Transformation Director
Agency
Interim
Professional Services
UK
ERP Programme Director (Workday or Oracle)
Agency
Interim
London
Director of DDaT
Agency
Permanent
Charity
London
Director of Digital & Technology
Agency
Permanent
Housing Association
Midlands
Director of Information Security
Agency
Interim
UK
Programme Director
Agency
Permanent
UK
CTOO
Agency
Permanent
UK
Director of IT Operations
Agency
Permanent
Private Sector
North
Chief Technology & Data Officer
Agency
Permanent
Insurance
London
Director of Technology
Agency
Permanent
Insurance
London
Portfolio Programme Director
Agency
Interim
Telecommunications
London
Head of Digital Transformation
Incommunities
Permanent
Housing Association
Leeds
Director of Project & Programme
Agency
Permanent
Healthcare
London
Head of IT & Data
Buttle
Permanent
Charity
London
IT Directors
Agency
Interim
Private Equity
London
Head of IT & Systems
Agency
Permanent
Midlands
Programme Director
Agency
Interim
E-commerce
London
IT Director
Agency
Permanent
Manufacturing
Midlands
Head of IT
Agency
Permanent
Supply Chain & Logistics
UK
Head of Cyber Security
Agency
Permanent
NHS
Oxford
Head of Data
Agency
Permanent
Legal
London
Group CTO
Agency
Permanent
Healthcare
UK
Technology Director
Agency
Permanent
Manufacturing
London
Director of IT
FCHA
Permanent
Housing Association
Cardiff
Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O Delivery Director
Agency
Permanent
Big 4
London
Enterprise Transformation Director
Agency
Interim
London
Chief Transformation Officer
Agency
Interim
Financial Services
London
Head of Tech
Agency
Permanent
Scotland
Head of Digital, Data and Technology
Agency
Interim
Charity
Bristol
Head of DevOps & DataOps
Agency
Permanent
Higher Education
Midlands
Head of Technology Enterprise Services
Greggs
Permanent
Retail
Newcastle
Head of IT
Agency
Permanent
Regulated Sector
London
ERP Programme Director
Agency
Interim
Private / Carve-Out
London
IT Director
Agency
Permanent
Financial Services
London
IT Director
Agency
Permanent
BioTech
London
IT Director / Head of Tech
Agency
Permanent
FinTech Start Up
London
Senior IT Manager - Cloud Infrastructure, Networks & Security
Agency
Permanent
Healthcare
London
Head of Business Systems
Agency
Permanent
Higher Education
London
Head of Digital Transformation
Agency
Permanent
UK
FP&A Interim
Agency
Interim
FTSE
UK
Director of Digital Engagement
Agency
Interim
London
CIO
RiverStone
Permanent
Insurance
Manchester
Director of MIS
York College
Permanent
Education
Yorkshire
Head of Data
Agency
Permanent
Legal
London