Most people would agree cookies make life better. For us, they help us make our site and marketing better. But if you don't like cookies, that's cool too. Find out more in our
Cookie Policy.
Explore our vision: Incredible, effortless recruitment
£90k-£140k
Typical base salary
12 wks
Replacement guarantee
Business, not just tech
They translate technology into commercial outcomes. Ask how a decision they made saved money or reduced risk.
Security and resilience
Ask how they've handled risk, compliance and keeping the lights on under pressure.
Team leadership
They lead IT managers and specialists. Look for someone who develops people, not just systems.
How to run the hire
1. Define the remit
Decide whether this role owns internal IT, digital, security, or all three, and write it down.
2. Build a scorecard
Weight the outcomes that matter - reliability, security posture, cost, delivery - and score against it.
3. Source and approach
Strong IT Directors are rarely applying, so approach them directly.
4. Test judgement
Use a scenario - a major outage or a security incident - and listen to how they'd lead through it.
5. Reference results
Confirm they delivered stability and improvement, not just kept things ticking over.
Fees typically run 20-25% of first-year salary, capped and agreed upfront.
Nothing is due until your hire starts, and for the most senior or confidential briefs we can discuss a retained approach.
Around 8-14 weeks. Senior roles take longer to get right.
The main variable is scope clarity - the more precisely you define what the role owns, the faster and cleaner the search.
An IT Director owns the organisation's technology systems, infrastructure, security and support, along with the team and budget behind them.
They set IT strategy, manage risk and keep the business running reliably, usually reporting to a CIO, CFO or MD.
An IT Director usually owns internal systems and infrastructure. A CTO owns product and engineering - what you build for customers.
Titles blur in smaller businesses, so we confirm the actual remit before searching.
Ask: Tell me about a major outage or incident and how you led through it.
How have you improved security posture?
Where have you cut IT cost without cutting capability? and How do you develop your managers?
Yes, UK-wide, with particular depth across the Midlands and North West.
Senior IT roles are increasingly hybrid or remote, which widens the pool, and we factor working pattern into every shortlist.
Tell us about your role and a specialist IT recruiter will call you. No fee until your hire starts.
{"@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [{"@type": "Article", "headline": "How to Hire a IT Director in the UK (2026)", "description": "How to hire an IT Director in the UK. Salary, time to hire, what to look for and role-specific FAQs.", "datePublished": "2026-07-13", "dateModified": "2026-07-13", "author": {"@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Trivett", "jobTitle": "Managing Director, Coburg Banks IT", "url": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlestrivett/", "worksFor": {"@type": "Organization", "name": "Coburg Banks"}}, "publisher": {"@type": "Organization", "name": "Coburg Banks", "logo": {"@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/645cf1f1ad8cd97335eefcd6/67e52adb28b5bfce304c13dd_CB%20Sales%20Logo.svg"}}, "mainEntityOfPage": "https://www.coburgbanks.co.uk/hiring/it-director"}, {"@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [{"@type": "Question", "name": "How much does it cost to hire an IT Director?", "acceptedAnswer": {"@type": "Answer", "text": "Fees typically run 20-25% of first-year salary, capped and agreed upfront. Nothing is due until your hire starts, and for the most senior or confidential briefs we can discuss a retained approach."}}, {"@type": "Question", "name": "How long does it take to hire an IT Director?", "acceptedAnswer": {"@type": "Answer", "text": "Around 8-14 weeks. Senior roles take longer to get right. The main variable is scope clarity - the more precisely you define what the role owns, the faster and cleaner the search."}}, {"@type": "Question", "name": "What does an IT Director do?", "acceptedAnswer": {"@type": "Answer", "text": "An IT Director owns the organisation's technology systems, infrastructure, security and support, along with the team and budget behind them. They set IT strategy, manage risk and keep the business running reliably, usually reporting to a CIO, CFO or MD."}}, {"@type": "Question", "name": "What's the difference between an IT Director and a CTO?", "acceptedAnswer": {"@type": "Answer", "text": "An IT Director usually owns internal systems and infrastructure. A CTO owns product and engineering - what you build for customers. Titles blur in smaller businesses, so we confirm the actual remit before searching."}}, {"@type": "Question", "name": "What should I ask an IT Director at interview?", "acceptedAnswer": {"@type": "Answer", "text": "Ask: Tell me about a major outage or incident and how you led through it. How have you improved security posture? Where have you cut IT cost without cutting capability? and How do you develop your managers?"}}, {"@type": "Question", "name": "Do you cover IT recruitment across the UK?", "acceptedAnswer": {"@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes, UK-wide, with particular depth across the Midlands and North West. Senior IT roles are increasingly hybrid or remote, which widens the pool, and we factor working pattern into every shortlist."}}]}, {"@type": "ItemList", "name": "What to look for in a IT Director", "itemListElement": [{"@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Business, not just tech"}, {"@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Security and resilience"}, {"@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Team leadership"}]}, {"@type": "ProfessionalService", "name": "Coburg Banks IT Recruitment", "url": "https://www.coburgbanks.co.uk/it-recruitment-agencies", "telephone": "+441213622300", "foundingDate": "2002", "areaServed": {"@type": "Country", "name": "United Kingdom"}, "serviceType": "IT Recruitment", "sameAs": ["https://www.linkedin.com/company/coburgbanks/", "https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/coburgbanks.co.uk", "https://www.facebook.com/CoburgBanksJobs/"]}]}
