Parkinson Lee Executive Search are retained partners with Tes in the appointment of a VP Engineering.
Our client, Tes, is a global EdTech organisation on a mission to power schools and enable great teaching worldwide.
Tes delivers innovative software and services that support educators across critical areas including safeguarding, compliance, and staff and pupil management — providing schools with the tools they need to operate effectively and improve educational outcomes.
With a community of more than 13 million educators and long-standing relationships with over 25,000 schools across more than 100 countries, Tes combines deep educational heritage with modern technology to drive meaningful impact at scale. For over 100 years, the business has been shaping the future of education through trusted solutions and continuous innovation.
As the VP Engineering you will lead the engineering function, define technical strategy, and scale high-performing teams.
Reporting to the CTO, you will own delivery across our platform — setting architectural direction, driving execution at pace, and ensuring consistently high-quality, secure products. You’ll partner closely with Product, Design, Sales, and Finance to align technology with business goals while building a strong engineering culture.
Key Responsibilities
* Define the technical roadmap and scalable architecture
* Lead, hire, and develop engineering managers and teams
* Deliver high-quality products on time and at scale
* Drive Agile delivery and continuous process improvement
* Collaborate cross-functionally to support business growth
What You’ll Bring
* 10+ years in software engineering, with 5+ in senior leadership
* Strong technical background across modern architectures and cloud platforms
* Proven experience scaling teams and delivering complex platforms
* Excellent stakeholder and communication skills
* A people-centric leadership style — thriving on developing talent while driving high performance and delivery excellence
* A leadership approach aligned to Tes’s values — collaborative, inclusive, accountable, and driven by continuous improvement in service of educators and learners
* Comfortable operating in a hybrid model, with c3 days per week in one of their offices (Sheffield, Cardiff, or London) and the remainder working flexibly
Success Metrics
* Delivery velocity and engineering efficiency
* Product quality, reliability, and uptime
* Team retention and growth
This is an exceptional opportunity for an ambitious technology leader, this is a pivotal opportunity to influence strategy, scale teams, and drive meaningful change across a global platform.