🚀 IT Applications Manager – Leading UK Retail Client

Up to £60,000 + 10% bonus | Hybrid | Buckinghamshire (2–3 days on site)

This is NOT a technical support or engineering role.

 

Part of a small team that own the applications that power one of the UK’s most diverse retail & hospitality organisations.

 

Our retail client is undergoing a technology transformation across a complex multi‑brand estate. With a portfolio of over 140 applications across operational, commercial, HR, finance, and digital teams, they are building a more strategic, business‑aligned Applications function.

 

To support this, we’re hiring a business‑facing IT Applications Analyst - someone who understands how applications underpin day‑to‑day operations, can confidently engage with business teams and third‑party vendors, and who thrives in a role combining application ownership, lifecycle governance, process improvement, and change adoption.

 

This is NOT a technical support or engineering role.

 

This is an applications ownership and business/supplier engagement role.

 

🔎 What You’ll Be Doing

 

Own and Evolve Key Business Applications

• Manage the full lifecycle of core applications — onboarding, enhancements, maintenance, and retirement.
• Assess product roadmaps, upcoming releases, and their impact on operations.
• Coordinate regression testing and support the retirement of legacy systems and introduction of modern SaaS platforms.

 

Vendor & Partner Management

• Act as the primary liaison for third‑party vendors, ensuring strong performance and value for money.
• Support contract oversight, SLAs, licensing structures, performance reviews, and escalations.

 

Business Process Improvement Across Multiple Brands

• Work closely with business owners (in an environment without a formal BA function) to define requirements, refine processes, and ensure systems support operational needs.
• Advise on application suitability for new initiatives and help shape options with internal and external delivery partners.

 

Strengthen Governance, Controls & Documentation

• Ensure applications adhere to governance, security, compliance, MFA, and access control frameworks.
• Maintain clear application documentation, lifecycle records, and audit‑ready artefacts.

 

Champion Adoption & Continuous Improvement

• Become the SME for your application areas, raising awareness of new features and promoting effective usage.
• Support change projects, digital initiatives, process simplification, and automation opportunities.

 

Who We’re Looking For

 

An ideal candidate will have:

• Experience in a business-facing applications role, ideally in retail, hospitality, or multi‑site environments.
• Vendor management expertise and confidence working with third‑party partners.
• Understanding of application lifecycle management, roadmaps, releases, and structured governance.
• Strong communication and stakeholder skills — translating technical topics into business-friendly language.
• Commercial awareness and operational pragmatism.
• A collaborative mindset, comfortable working across multiple brands and business units.

 

This role is NOT suitable for candidates with predominantly IT support, development, or infrastructure backgrounds.

 

💼 What’s on Offer

• Up to £60,000 salary
• Annual bonus
• Hybrid working: 2–3 days per week in the office
• Travel across UK sites as needed
• Retail & hospitality discounts
• Pension, perks, and continuous development pathways
• A chance to shape a newly created Applications function and influence how technology supports a nationwide retail operation

 

🚀 Why This Role Matters

You'll be joining at a pivotal moment, supporting initiatives such as:

• Retiring legacy applications
• Implementing new SaaS and cloud‑based tools
• Strengthening lifecycle governance and maintenance processes
• Enhancing supplier management
• Supporting data, integration, and digital evolution
• Improving operational processes across multiple brands

 

This is a high‑impact opportunity for someone who wants to shape how a complex, multi‑brand retail organisation uses technology at scale.