Orlebar Brown Head of Technology

About Orlebar Brown

Founded in London in 2007 by Adam Brown, Orlebar Brown redefined men’s swimwear through tailored swim shorts inspired by the precision of traditional trousers. Now part of Chanel, the British brand extends its distinctive approach across resortwear, combining vibrant photographic prints, considered fabrics and an effortless holiday sensibility. As an employer, Orlebar Brown brings together creative, commercial and retail expertise around a clearly articulated lifestyle proposition. Its activities encompass design, product development, digital commerce and customer experience, offering professionals the opportunity to contribute to a luxury brand where attention to detail, distinctive storytelling and an understanding of contemporary leisure are central to its identity.

Role & Responsibilities

• Lead a small, high-performing Technology team, setting clear priorities, standards and accountability.
• Develop team capability through coaching, documentation and knowledge sharing, reduce reliance on individuals and suppliers, and foster a collaborative culture of simplicity, ownership and continuous improvement.
• Contribute to the wider leadership team as a constructive, commercially minded member.
• Lead complex technology and cross-functional change from definition through implementation, adoption and benefits realisation.
• Translate strategy into roadmaps and delivery plans with defined outcomes, scope, ownership, resources, milestones and dependencies.
• Control budgets, risks, issues, decisions and changes through proportionate governance and transparent reporting.
• Coordinate business teams, specialists and partners to deliver to agreed quality, cost and timing; plan testing, communication, training, readiness, handover and post-implementation support from the outset.
• Lead discovery, workshops and process reviews to understand objectives, user needs, constraints and root causes.
• Translate needs into requirements, priorities, process maps, user stories, acceptance criteria and delivery plans.
• Use structured analysis and options appraisal to support decisions and challenge investment where benefits are unclear; identify opportunities to simplify, standardise, automate or remove unnecessary complexity.
• Build trusted partnerships across the business, translating complex technology topics into clear choices and decisions.
• Communicate priorities, progress, risks and decisions concisely to senior leaders and wider stakeholders; clarify competing expectations, challenge constructively and follow through consistently.
• Partner with the Chief Technology Officer to translate strategy into focused roadmaps and priorities.
• Champion coherent architecture and simplicity by standardising where possible, integrating thoughtfully and customising only where there is clear value.
• Ensure solutions are secure, scalable, supportable and documented, with clear lifecycle ownership; reduce technical debt, duplication and unnecessary complexity.
• Lead cybersecurity governance, risk management and remediation with the Chief Technology Officer and specialist partners.
• Embed security, privacy and resilience into projects, suppliers, system changes and operating practices; maintain ownership and escalation of risks, vulnerabilities, incidents and improvement actions.
• Lead significant incident response and oversee business continuity, disaster recovery and resilience testing.
• Govern NetSuite, Celigo, OneStock and related Finance, inventory, fulfilment, operations and reporting processes.
• Prioritise platform improvements by customer and business value, risk and strategic alignment; ensure integrations, APIs and automations are owned, monitored, documented, tested and supported.
• Maintain sufficient NetSuite, Celigo and OneStock expertise to challenge designs, assess impact and hold partners accountable.
• Own the Power BI and reporting roadmap, prioritising dashboards and enhancements transparently.
• Translate reporting needs into specifications and oversee development, testing, release, adoption and support.
• Establish governance for data, reports, access, ownership and change control, improving trust through clear definitions and validation.
• Manage internal developers and external reporting partners, reducing duplicated or obsolete reporting.
• Help business leaders identify and evaluate opportunities where technology, automation and AI can create measurable value.
• Support business-owned pilots and lead secure technology delivery, rollout, adoption and scaling of approved initiatives.
• Drive adoption of Microsoft Copilot and other approved AI capabilities through practical governance, communication and coaching.
• Define success measures with business owners and turn successful pilots into sustainable capabilities.
• Ensure reliable, well-managed technology services across Head Office, stores, ecommerce and operations.
• Set service standards, ownership, support models and escalation routes, using performance and root-cause insight to drive improvement.
• Lead critical incident response and coordinate readiness for launches, peak trading and major business events.
• Manage suppliers and delivery partners against clear outcomes, service expectations, cost and performance measures.
• Ensure supplier work is documented, knowledge is transferred and internal capability is strengthened.
• Manage the Technology budget, forecasts and investment pipeline, ensuring accurate reporting, clear ownership and disciplined spend control.
• Build robust business cases and track costs, benefits and outcomes to ensure Technology investment delivers measurable value.

Qualifications

• Exceptional project and programme management, with a record of delivering complex cross-functional change through adoption.
• Exceptional business analysis, requirements gathering, facilitation and process improvement.
• Outstanding communication, stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Strong people leadership, with evidence of building accountable, high-performing teams.
• Strong technical breadth across enterprise applications, integrations, data, cloud, cybersecurity and operations.
• Working knowledge of NetSuite, Celigo and OneStock, plus experience governing Power BI and reporting development.
• Experience managing cybersecurity, suppliers and business-critical platforms in a retail, ecommerce, consumer, luxury or omnichannel environment.
• Desirable: experience with Microsoft Copilot, responsible AI governance or business-led innovation.
• Desirable: exposure to Microsoft Fabric, Shopify, Ometria, Centric or comparable platforms.
• Desirable: ERP or Finance transformation experience and an understanding of stores, POS, payments, inventory and fulfilment.
• Desirable: a relevant project, programme or business analysis qualification.
• Confident, pragmatic and business-minded technology leader with exceptional delivery and analysis skills, sound technical judgement, clear communication and a commitment to developing people; collaborative, hands-on and comfortable working beyond traditional role boundaries.
• Direct applications only; recruitment agencies are not considered.

Skills

Benefits

Private medical insurance covering pre-existing conditions, with the option to add family members; 24/7 online GP appointments available within 24 hours; cycle scheme; company pension; Orlebar Brown and CHANEL product discounts and employee-only sales; service award incentives; one-week paid office closure in August, separate from 25 days' annual leave and UK public holidays; training and development opportunities; diverse working environment.

Culture

Orlebar Brown’s workplace culture reflects its British heritage and distinctive approach to tailored swimwear, combining a relaxed, holiday-inspired spirit with exacting standards of design and quality. The brand’s emphasis on fit, colour and contemporary lifestyle places creativity, attention to detail and customer experience at the heart of its professional environment.

About Cerulean

Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.