Job Description

ABOUT US
Ancient + Brave is a female founded, mission-driven wellness brand with an award-winning range of collagen, supplements and functional blends.

Rooted in ancient wisdom and validated by science, our simple daily rituals support our community in nurturing whole body health.

As a business, we are ambitious about our growth and disciplined in how we execute. In June 2024, we were named 5th in The Sunday Times 100 fastest-growing private companies and 4th in the Oresa retail growth index in 2025.

We care deeply about the impact we have - on our customers, our community and the world around us. As well as a B Corp, we are a member of 1% for the Planet, contributing 1%+ of all revenue to environmental and social causes - putting people and the planet at the heart of all we do.

As an equal-opportunity employer we are committed to an inclusive and diverse workplace culture, where we are brave, connected and intentional - and lead with integrity in all we do.

Please find out more by reading our JEDI statement which can be found here https://careers.ancientandbrave.earth/pages/jedi-commitment-statement

While most of our roles are advertised as full-time, we are happy to discuss part-time setup where appropriate.

We operate from beautiful head offices overlooking the river Ouse in Lewes, East Sussex.

THE ROLE

We are looking for a Head of IT to take ownership of the technology backbone of Ancient + Brave. As we scale across geographies and channels, our systems, data and infrastructure need to keep pace, and this is the role that makes that happen. You will set the technology strategy, own the architecture, run our outsourced partners, and ensure that everything from our ERP to our data warehouse to our cyber posture is fit for the next phase of growth.

This is a hands-on, strategically significant role with high visibility. You will be the most senior technology voice in the business, reporting into the Chief Operating and Financial Officer (COFO) and partnering closely with leaders across Finance, Operations, Commercial and People.

You will start with no direct team, leveraging a network of outsourced partners and specialists, and build a small in-house team over time as scale demands. If you are energised by shaping a tech function from a strong foundation rather than inheriting bloat, you will thrive here.

WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING

• Own the IT strategy and technology roadmap for Ancient + Brave, translating commercial and operational priorities into a coherent plan for systems, data and infrastructure.

• Lead all aspects of IT infrastructure, including end-user computing, networking, telephony, and identity and access management, across the UK, US and EU.

• Own data protection and cyber security as a single accountability. Lead our cyber posture, maintain UK and EU GDPR compliance, hold the DPO relationship, and ensure we are demonstrably secure as we scale internationally.

• Maintain and improve our ERP (Priority), partnering with our implementation partner to drive performance and data quality. Lead the strategic review and, when the business is ready, the evaluation and implementation of any future ERP.

• Be architecturally responsible for the full technology stack - setting integration standards, integration patterns, and the data and security perimeters within which our systems (Shopify, Priority, Omnicommerce, marketing platforms, 3PLs, Amazon) operate.

• Lead the build of our data infrastructure, including the data warehouse, pipelines and reporting layer. Partner with Finance, Commercial and Operations to define requirements and ensure the output is trusted, accessible, and used.

• Manage our outsourced technology partners (ERPIQ, High Co, Newmans, Trust Keith and others), holding them to clear SLAs, commercial terms and delivery standards, consolidating where it serves the business.

• Own the IT budget end-to-end, providing the COFO with clear forecasts, cost transparency and return on investment, identifying savings as the stack matures.

• Build and lead a small in-house technology team over time, recruiting where the business case is clear and keeping the function lean, partnering with the People team to develop the right structure as we scale.

• Champion strong governance practices. Maintain the technology risk register, support the Audit Committee on cyber and data, and embed appropriate controls (change management, access reviews, incident reporting) without slowing the business down.

• Partner cross-functionally with leaders across the business, bringing pragmatic technology thinking to commercial problems and acting as a trusted advisor on system, data and process decisions.

• Reflect and champion Ancient + Brave's B Corp commitments in technology choices, considering sustainability, ethics and supplier alignment in vendor selection and architecture decisions.

WHO YOU ARE

To be successful in this role, you will need the following skills / knowledge / experience:

• Significant experience in a senior IT or technology leadership role within a high-growth, multi-channel business. Consumer, DTC, e-commerce or FMCG experience is a strong advantage given our systems landscape.

• Genuine breadth across the stack - comfortable across infrastructure, ERP, middleware, data and cyber, with the technical depth to challenge partners and the commercial instinct to know when “good enough” is the right answer.

• Demonstrable ERP experience across multiple geographies: selection, implementation, optimisation or migration. Hands-on familiarity with Priority, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics, SAP Business One or similar.

• A strong track record of building data infrastructure from the ground up. Modern data warehouse experience (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, Databricks or similar) and familiarity with BI and FP&A tooling.

• Deep working knowledge of cyber security and data protection, including frameworks such as Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO 27001, SOC 2 and NIST. Confident on UK and EU GDPR. CISSP or CISM welcome but not essential.

• Proven ability to manage outsourced partners - you know how to write a good SLA, hold a partner to account, run a competitive tender and consolidate vendors when the case is clear.

• Architecture-minded but pragmatic. You can sketch the future state and also live with the realities of a scaling business where some things need to be fixed in flight.

• Commercially sharp. You bring clarity to complexity, can build a business case, and hold your own across the leadership team without retreating into jargon.

• Hands-on, lean and entrepreneurial. You enjoy operating without layers of structure and are at home in a business that values pace, judgement and ownership.

Further, to truly thrive at Ancient + Brave you will need to embody the spirit of our brand and align with our company culture. For us that is a series of shared beliefs:

WE BELIEVE IN BRAVERY — We are: Courageous, Bold, Experimental

WE BELIEVE IN INTEGRITY — We are: Honest, Accountable, Ethical

WE BELIEVE IN CONNECTION — We are: Collaborative, Inclusive, Open

WE BELIEVE IN INTENTION — We are: Purposeful, Proactive, Focused

Please Note:

+ This role requires full time working at our stunning Lewes offices. Please apply only if you’re within a reasonable commute.

+ We’re not seeking recruitment support for this role at this time.

WHY JOIN US

Ancient + Brave are a community-built brand and embracing innovation and sustainability with social and environmental responsibility is at the heart of everything we do. We hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards when it comes to our commitment to balance profit and purpose - working with us means being part of building a truly sustainable product. We are B Corp certified and members of 1% for the Planet, committed to giving back 1%+ of all sales towards helping environmental partners, so we can work together towards a better future for our planet.

At Ancient + Brave you’ll find an engaging, collaborative and inclusive work environment where your talents will be nurtured, and your contributions valued.

• We provide all our team members with suitable laptop computers & headphones and our office is equipped with monitors, ergonomic chairs and sitting + standing desks.

• Our kitchen is fully stocked with the usual supplies as well as limitless supply of A+B products (you also get 50% off on any product you wish to purchase).

• We pay a discretionary bonus based on a mix of company performance and individual contributions and review our salaries annually.

• Our pension contributions are ESG invested (so no pharma, weapons or other ethically questionable investments).

• Our Private Medical Insurance is designed to support your health and wellbeing, providing swift access to high-quality care whenever you need it most.

• Our Medicash plan offers access to specialist consultations, 24/7 Virtual GP and health screenings as well as dental, optical and complementary therapies and access to confidential support via its EAP programme.

• Our Mintago platform gives employees access to financial wellbeing advice and support as well as retail discounts and salary sacrifice schemes, which cover childcare, cycle to work, gym membership, groceries, electric vehicle and mobile/tech purchase.

• In addition to our regular annual holiday allowance of 25 days plus bank holidays, we also offer one Wellbeing day to use as needed.

• We offer continuous training & professional development opportunities and our team members get to enjoy complimentary nutrition and workout sessions in the office. We support a number of charities, coordinating our fund-raising initiatives for maximum impact. We hold two social events a year to come together and connect in a meaningful way.

An important note on our ways of working…

As a fast-paced scale-up, we’ve found that spending time together in person is hugely beneficial to the way we’re needing to communicate, collaborate and drive the business forward. We’ve worked hard to make our new HQ (a beautiful riverside office situated in Lewes, East Sussex) an inviting and friendly environment for all of our team members and we expect any new joiner to be in the office full time.