Engineering & Innovation Manager

Phoenix enables digital transformation across the UK public sector, empowering organisations to innovate with cloud and hybrid infrastructures, data, AI, security and collaboration technologies. We are now hiring an Engineering & Innovation Manager to lead our Engineering & Innovation team. This role will focus on shaping and delivering AI, automation and software engineering initiatives that create measurable value for both the business and our customers. You will sit across strategy, delivery and people leadership, owning a portfolio of initiatives spanning automation, innovation and product development. This is a hands‑on leadership role, requiring the ability to guide technical direction while remaining close to delivery, working with internal teams, stakeholders and customers across regulated environments including public sector, healthcare, defence and education. What will you be doing? Define and evolve the strategy for AI, automation and software engineering, aligning with business objectives and customer needs. Translate business challenges into a clear technical roadmap and prioritised portfolio of initiatives. Identify and assess emerging technologies, including AI and automation solutions within the Microsoft and Azure ecosystem. Drive internal transformation by automating manual processes and enabling data‑driven decision making. Support the adoption of AI and automation in a secure and responsible way, ensuring alignment with compliance and governance requirements. Act as a senior technical voice, supporting communication between engineering teams and the wider business. Build business cases for new initiatives and contribute to securing stakeholder and leadership buy‑in. Present updates and progress to senior stakeholders, including contribution to regular reviews. Build and maintain relationships with internal teams, customers, partners and suppliers. Lead, mentor and develop a multidisciplinary engineering team, supporting performance and growth. Support recruitment and onboarding activity as the team expands. Promote a collaborative team culture with a focus on quality, delivery and continuous improvement. Support resource planning and workload management across multiple initiatives. Remain hands‑on where needed, contributing to solution design and supporting delivery. Support the definition of technical architecture and best practices across the portfolio. Maintain engineering standards across quality, testing, security and delivery processes. Support resolution of complex technical challenges where required. Manage and maintain the engineering roadmap across projects and initiatives. Support agile delivery across multiple workstreams, including planning and prioritisation. Contribute to the development and improvement of delivery processes, standards and documentation. Support reporting on delivery metrics, progress and outcomes. Support the development of internal solutions into commercially viable products. Contribute to proposals, go‑to‑market activity and overall service development. Help define and measure the value of innovation and automation initiatives. What are we looking for? Strong technical leadership experience, with the ability to balance strategy and delivery. Good understanding of the Microsoft and Azure ecosystem, including AI, automation and software development. Experience contributing to solution architecture and designing scalable, secure solutions. Awareness of AI and automation technologies and how they can be applied in a business context. Experience managing and developing technical teams. Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, including engagement with senior audiences. Commercial awareness and interest in how technology can create business value. Experience working in agile delivery environments across multiple workstreams. Understanding of regulated environments and associated security and compliance requirements. Practical and solution‑focused approach, with the ability to adapt to changing priorities. Experience & Qualifications Experience leading engineering or technical teams within Microsoft or Azure‑focused environments. Experience delivering AI, automation or software solutions end to end. Strong hands‑on technical background with the ability to remain involved in delivery. Experience working within IT services or similar environments desirable. Experience working with public sector or regulated customers beneficial. Exposure to agile delivery methods and tools such as Azure DevOps. Microsoft Azure certifications desirable but not essential. Eligibility for UK security clearance desirable. Practical stuff Where is the role based? Primary location is our HQ in Pocklington (YO42). What about hybrid/remote working? Hybrid & Remote working is supported, with flexibility depending on role and business requirements. How many interviews? Following a screen with the Recruitment Team, you can expect a two‑stage interview process, one online and one in‑person. Important BPSS Check As part of our recruitment process and due to the nature of the work we do, all employees are required to undertake a BPSS check. While some employees may require further security clearance, the BPSS check is mandatory and all offers of employment are conditional upon successful completion. Have you made it this far? If you’re still reading, we think there’s a strong chance you might be our kind of person. Here’s the thing, research suggests many women and underrepresented groups don’t apply unless they meet every requirement. Even if you don’t tick every box above, we encourage you to introduce yourself. We believe a diversity of perspectives and experiences makes a team stronger and the stronger our team, the more successful we will be.