Head of Technology
iRock School of Music
Location: Farnborough (Hybrid regular on-site presence required)
Salary: Competitive
Contract Full-time, Permanent (35 hours per week)
Holiday: 27 days plus bank holidays
We’re looking for an experienced and hands-on Head of Technology to take ownership of our technology function at iRock School of Music. This role offers the opportunity to lead, shape, and develop how software is built and delivered across the organisation, with a focus on reliability, scalability, and meaningful impact.
This is a leadership role, but not a purely strategic one. You will be expected to remain close to the technology, supporting delivery where needed while building and developing a high-performing engineering team. If you enjoy combining leadership with hands-on involvement and want to play a key role in a growing organisation, this could be a strong fit.
Why Join iRock School of Music?
Founded in 2016 by father and son team John and Josh Franklin, iRock School of Music is built on a belief in the power of music to unlock confidence, creativity, and potential in every child. What started in a garden shed is now teaching thousands of children in hundreds of schools across the UK.
At iRock, we don’t just teach music. We create experiences that genuinely impact children’s lives. Our culture reflects that. It is fun, honest, supportive, and ambitious. You’ll be joining a team that values ownership, innovation, and doing things properly.
What You’ll Be Doing
Leadership and Team Development
• Lead, structure, and develop the software engineering team
• Build a high-performing, accountable, and delivery-focused culture
• Provide clear direction, prioritisation, and expectations
• Support and mentor engineers at different levels
Delivery and Execution
• Take ownership of delivery across the technology function
• Support development where needed to ensure progress
• Introduce clear planning, prioritisation, and tracking of work
• Improve consistency, quality, and speed of delivery
Product and Platform Development
• Work with senior stakeholders to define a clear technology roadmap
• Ensure development aligns with organisational priorities
• Oversee development across core platforms and internal systems
Technology and Architecture
• Maintain oversight of system architecture, scalability, and performance
• Ensure best practices across development, testing, and deployment
• Support sound technical decision-making within the team
Operational Stability
• Ensure reliability and performance of core systems
• Balance day-to-day support with ongoing product development
• Introduce structured approaches to triage and prioritisation
Stakeholder Collaboration
• Work closely with teams across the organisation
• Act as a bridge between technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Ensure clear communication around priorities and delivery
Technology Environment
• Ruby on Rails backend with PostgreSQL
• GraphQL API powering web and mobile applications
• React-based web platform
• React Native mobile application
• Cloud-based infrastructure with a focus on reliability and continuous delivery
• Background processing, testing, and monitoring built into the platform
Our Tech
Ruby on Rails | React | React Native | GraphQL | PostgreSQL | Cloud
What We Offer
• Competitive Salary
• Hybrid working with regular collaboration in Farnborough
• Medicash cash plan to support your health and well-being
• 27 days holiday plus bank holidays
• Enhanced sickness, maternity, and paternity pay
• A senior leadership role with real influence and autonomy
• Opportunity to grow into a board-level position
What We’re Looking For
Essential
• Proven experience leading and developing software engineering teams
• Strong full-stack development background
• Comfortable working hands-on where needed
• Experience delivering and scaling systems or products
• Strong understanding of scalable application design and architecture
• Highly organised with strong prioritisation and decision-making skills
• Able to communicate effectively across technical and non-technical teams
Desirable
• Experience scaling teams or technology functions
• Experience improving delivery processes and ways of working
• Familiarity with modern web, mobile, and API-driven platforms
• Interest in education, music, or purpose-led organisations
Sound like you?
This is an opportunity to take real ownership of a technology function and play a key role in shaping how it develops as the organisation grows. If you’re looking for a role where you can combine leadership, hands-on delivery, and meaningful impact, we’d love to hear from you.
Recruitment Statement
This role requires the applicant to be a UK national or be resident in the UK with a right to work visa already in place. iRock embraces diversity and equal opportunity. This advert is not intended to discriminate on the grounds of a person's gender, marital status, race, religion, age, disability, or sexual orientation. We are committed to fair treatment; therefore, every candidate will be assessed only in accordance with their merits, qualifications, and ability to perform the duties of the job.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Due to the nature of the position, any offer of employment for this role will be subject to a satisfactory Enhanced DBS and other vetting checks and is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. It is an offence to apply for this role if you are barred from working in a regulated activity. Ex-offenders with spent conviction will be considered on an individual basis and the nature of their offence will be taken into account in the recruitment decision.
Throughout the recruitment process, iRock collects and processes a range of personal data relating to job applicants. We are transparent about how this data is collected, used, and stored and are committed to compliance with data protection obligations.
For more details on our recruitment policies, visit iRock Recruitment Policy.