The posting
About us
We’re the team behind digital retailer Very.
Our purpose, helping families get more out of life, powers everything we do.
And we want our people to get more out of life too! If you’re high-performing, ambitious and make the most of every opportunity, we want to hear from you. In return, you’ll enjoy heaps of flexibility, great perks and benefits, and the freedom to be yourself, keep learning and take your career wherever you want it to go.
If you love making a difference, you’ll love making it sparkle for millions of Very customers. ✨
About the team
The Data team plays a critical role in helping Very unlock the value of its data.
We're responsible for the platforms, pipelines and products that power reporting, analytics, data science, personalisation and decision-making across the Group. Our teams work closely with Product, Architecture, Data Science, Delivery and Business stakeholders to solve complex challenges and deliver real commercial value.
This role sits within the senior leadership team for Data and will work alongside the Head of Data and fellow engineering leaders to shape our strategy, drive modern engineering practices and support the continued evolution of our data ecosystem.
You'll lead multiple Data Engineering Managers, BI Engineering Managers and Lead Engineers, supporting a wider organisation of around 40 engineers and analysts.
About the role
Leading and growing great engineering teams
Success in this role starts with people.
You'll create an environment where engineers can thrive, helping leaders and teams develop their skills, progress their careers and deliver great outcomes. You'll provide clear direction, remove obstacles and foster a culture built on trust, accountability and continuous improvement.
You'll also play a key role in attracting and retaining top talent, helping us build a diverse, engaged and high-performing engineering organisation.
Shaping our data engineering strategy
You'll help define the future of data engineering at Very.
Working closely with Architecture, Product and Technology leaders, you'll set the technical direction for your teams and ensure our platforms continue to evolve to meet the needs of a growing business.
From modernisation initiatives and cloud adoption through to data platform optimisation and technical debt management, you'll balance long-term strategic thinking with the practicalities of delivering value today.
Delivering trusted, scalable data products
You'll be accountable for the delivery of data products in collaboration with the business domains.
Your teams will build solutions that are secure, reliable and scalable by design, ensuring colleagues across Very can access the data they need to make confident decisions.
You'll champion engineering excellence, helping teams adopt modern practices that improve quality, speed, resilience and operational performance.
Driving collaboration across the business
This role sits at the intersection of technology, product and business strategy.
You'll build strong relationships with stakeholders across the organisation, helping translate business priorities into clear engineering outcomes. You'll influence decisions, challenge constructively and ensure our data capabilities continue to support the ambitions of the wider business.
About you
We're looking for an experienced data leader who combines strong people leadership with deep data engineering expertise.
You'll bring:
- Significant experience leading large-scale data engineering organisations within modern technology environments. (AWS, Teradata, Fivetran, Power BI)
- A track record of building, developing and inspiring high-performing engineering teams.
- Strong experience delivering data platforms, pipelines and products at scale.
- Previous hands-on experience in Data Engineering, with a strong understanding of modern engineering practices.
- Experience working within Agile, DevSecOps and product-led delivery environments.
- The ability to balance strategic thinking with operational delivery.
- Strong stakeholder management skills and the confidence to influence at senior levels.
- Experience managing technical debt, engineering roadmaps and platform modernisation initiatives.
- A passion for coaching, mentoring and helping others grow
- Experience with AWS and cloud-based data platforms.
- Teradata, Fivetran and modern data integration tooling.
- Business Intelligence and analytical engineering capabilities.
- Experience in Multi-cloud or complex enterprise data environments.
- Retail, eCommerce, Financial Services or similarly data-rich organisations.
Some of our benefits
- Flexible, hybrid working model
- Inclusive culture and environment, check out our Glassdoor reviews
- £10,000 flexible benefits allowance to suit your needs
- 30 days holiday + bank holidays
- LinkedIn Learning access
- Bonus potential (performance and business-related)
- Up to 25% discount on Very.co.uk
- Matched pension up to 6%
- More benefits can be found on our career site
How to apply
Please note that the talent acquisition team are managing this vacancy directly, and if successful in securing this role, you will be required to undertake a credit, CIFAS, Right to Work checks and if a specific requirement of your role a DBS (criminal records) check. Should your application progress we require you to let the team know if there is anything you need to disclose in relation to any of these checks prior to them being undertaken, including any unspent criminal convictions.
What happens next?
Our talent acquisition team will be in touch if you’re successful so keep an eye on your emails! We’ll arrange a short call to learn more about you, as well as answer any questions you have. If it feels like we’re a good match, we’ll share your CV with the hiring manager to review. Our interview process is tailored to each role and can be in-person or held remotely.
You can expect a one stage interview process for this position:
1st stage - A one hour face-to-face interview with the hiring team to discuss your skills and relevant experience + competency questions. This is also a great opportunity to find out more about the role and to ask any questions you may have.
As an inclusive employer please do let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments.
If you'd like to know more about our interviews, you can find out here.
Diversity, inclusion and equal opportunities
We’re building a culture of everyday inclusion, and welcome applications from anyone who believes they can do the job. We don’t discriminate based on age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.
We want our recruitment process to be accessible to everyone. If you need reasonable adjustments to apply, interview, or perform a role, let us know via [email protected]. We’ll be happy to support you.
We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Committed Employer and have nine brilliant colleague networks - including DAWN (Disability Awareness at Very) and Think (Neurodiversity at Very) - that are helping us make Very an even more inclusive place to work.
