Head of Design and Engineering

THE ROLE

This newly created and critical role sits at the core of NextEnergy Groups evolving IT function. Reporting directly to the CTIO appointed in January 2025 you will be a key member of the IT senior leadership team. As Head of Design and Engineering you will lead the integration of humancentred design technical architecture and modern software engineering to deliver scalable secure and intuitive digital solutions.

You will be instrumental in shaping and delivering a threeyear technology transformation programme. Your work will ensure technology platforms not only support business growth but also empower end users across NextEnergy Group to drive innovation and operational excellence in pursuit of our mission: leading the transition to clean energy through datadriven technologyenabled innovation.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership & Strategy

• Champion the role of end users in shaping IT services that drive productivity collaboration and insight across our investment development and asset management businesses
• Define and lead the endtoend design and engineering strategy ensuring alignment with business priorities and CTIO goals
• Bring external perspective and advisory experience to shape bestinclass engineering and design approaches across the technology function
• Inspire and lead a growing team of 15 professionals across software engineering architecture UX research and DevOps
• Oversee budgeting and financial planning for design and engineering ensuring investments are valuedriven scalable and aligned with NextEnergy Groups strategy

Human Centred Design & Innovation

• Embed user research usability testing and feedback loops to ensure solutions are frictionless empowering and aligned with the real needs of our users and customers
• Lead the transition from prototype to production delivering enterprisegrade platforms
• Drive collaboration within IT and across our business and core functions building trusted partnerships

Engineering & Technical excellence

• Oversee the design and delivery of cloudnative APIdriven architectures aligned to enterprise strategy as we transition to the cloud
• Establish technical standards and reusable frameworks that support scalability speed and operational resilience for our growing business
• Promote a PaaSfirst approach with robust automation testing and DevOps pipelines guiding the engineering practice on what is great

Governance & Risk

• Lead design and architecture governance processes balancing agility with quality and compliance particularly for regulated entities within NextEnergy Group
• Work closely with the security and compliance lead to ensure alignment with all relevant security privacy and regulatory standards

People & Capability

• • Build coach and retain a diverse highperforming team across design and engineering
  • Define career paths and development frameworks that align with NextEnergy Groups learning culture with emphasis on emerging technologies and usercentred capabilities
  • Promote a culture of innovation experimentation and continuous improvement

SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate:

• Time management & prioritisation skills things can get a little hectic so the ability to effectively manage yourself and your workload is critical
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (in English or/and other European languages) you must be able to organise your thoughts in a way that others find clear and compelling. You will be expected to put together wellwritten grammatically correct emails and other communications. When communicating verbally whether over the phone on video calls in person or in meetings you will need to be articulate warm and engaging
• Flexibility being an effective team player means being flexible in your approach and open to getting involved with new things even if they are not spelt out in your job description
• Intellectual Curiosity we are looking for someone who is truly interested in our profession and has the intellectual curiosity to delve deep into topics and bring fresh ideas to the team
• Delivery focus it may sound obvious but the ability to proactively churn through work at pace and deliver quality outputs really matters
• Strong critical thinking and problemsolving skills
• Passion for our mission to generate a more sustainable future by leading the transition to clean energy
• Our values: be a leader build trust be responsible be innovative and bring your alpha.

EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS

• Degree in a relevant field (e.g. Computer Science Engineering UX Design).
• Proven experience leading crossfunctional technology teams in design engineering and architecture ideally within data intensive sectors
• Deep expertise in humancenter design and full product lifecycle delivery
• Strong knowledge of cloudnative platforms microservices APIs and DevOps
• Demonstrated ability to scale prototypes to production systems while maintaining enterprisegrade standards
• Background in consulting or advisory roles with external insight and the ability to operate handson in a scaling environment
• Certifications in agile delivery cloud architecture or design leadership
• Experience working in regulated or fastgrowing technology environments
• The right to work in the UK.

WHAT WE OFFER

• A busy role in a supportive team with plenty of opportunities to learn
• International scope we operate in over 8 countries
• Hybrid working we will need you in the central London (Mayfair) office at least twice a week but you will normally be able to work remotely for the remainder of the week
• 30 days holiday per year (3 of which are taken during the festive shutdown in December)
• Private pension
• BUPA Healthcare for you and qualifying dependents
• Cycle to work and electric vehicle leasing schemes
• Annual discretionary bonus.

HOW TO APPLY

If you are interested in this opportunity please follow the link to apply or send your application to. If you have been shortlisted for the next stage we will be in contact within 14 days.

By selecting Apply or sending us your CV you indicate you have read and acknowledged NextEnergy Groups Candidate Privacy Notice.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Our approach to diversity and inclusion is a natural extension of our values. Our entrepreneurial culture inspires us to try new things be open to different viewpoints and be bold. Our Group is committed to cultivating and preserving a culture of connectedness that values difference and gives space for individual expression. The collective sum of our individual differences life experiences knowledge innovation selfexpression and talent and hard work form the bedrock of who we are and who we aspire to be.

We are committed to equal employment and advancement opportunity irrespective of race color ancestry social background religion gender national origin sexual orientation age citizenship marital status disability and gender identity.

ABOUT US

NextEnergy Group was founded in 2007 to become a leading market participant in the international solar sector. Since its inception it has been active in the development construction and ownership of solar assets across multiple jurisdictions. NextEnergy Group operates via its three business units: NextEnergy Capital (Investment Management) WiseEnergy (Operating Asset Management) and Starlight (Asset Development).

NextEnergy Capital manages the Groups investment activities and has invested in over 520 solar plants exceeding 2GW in capacity across its institutional funds.

• NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF): Listed on the London Stock Exchange NESF manages 102 solar and energy storage assets in the UK and Italy with a total installed capacity of 983MW and a gross asset value of 1014m.
• NextPower II (NPII): A private fund of 105 solar plants (149MW) focused on Italy successfully divested in January 2022 delivering net IRRs exceeding its 1012% target.
• NextPower III ESG (NPIII ESG): A private fund targeting solar infrastructure in OECD countries (e.g. US Spain Italy) with $896m raised exceeding its $750m target.
• NextPower UK ESG (NPUK ESG): A private fund dedicated to newbuild solar plants in the UK with 600m raised.
• NextPower V ESG (NPV ESG): A private OECD solar fund investing in solar and adjacent technologies like battery storage. To date it has raised $745m targeting $1.5bn ($2bn ceiling).

WiseEnergy is NextEnergy Groups operating asset manager. WiseEnergy is a leading specialist operating asset manager in the solar sector. Since its founding WiseEnergy has provided solar asset management monitoring technical due diligence and under construction services to over 1500 utilityscale solar power plants with an installed total capacity in excess of 3.4 GW. WiseEnergy clients comprise leading banks and equity financiers in the energy and infrastructure sector.

Starlight is NextEnergy Groups development company that is active in the development phase of solar projects. It has developed over 100 utilityscale projects internationally and continues to progress a large pipeline of c.10GW of both green and brownfield project developments across global geographies.

NextSTEP is the venture capital fund of NextEnergy Group dedicated to investing in innovative startups in the field of environmental sustainability. The fund primarily focuses on investments in Italy and the United Kingdom but also extends its reach to the rest of Europe and the United States targeting startups in the preseed and seed stages. NextSTEP pays particular attention to emerging entities from incubators startup accelerators universities and research centers supporting projects that address global challenges in crucial areas such as Climate Change Energy Transition CO2 Capture and Sequestration Circular Economy Sustainable Cities Sustainable Mobility Sustainable Fashion Waste Management Water and much more.

NextEnergy Foundation is a nonprofit organisation founded in 2016 by the NextEnergy Group that operates internationally and whose mission is to proactively participate in the global effort to reduce carbon emissions by providing clean energy sources in regions where they are not yet available and thereby contributing to poverty reduction. As the main sponsor of this foundation the NextEnergy Group donates at least 5% of its consolidated net profits each year. The NextEnergy Foundation has no overhead costs and therefore 100% of the funds raised go to donations for the various projects. Since 2016 in 8 years of operation the foundation has donated more than 1.2 million supporting over 30 projects in 27 different countries around the world.