The West Midlands is the fastest growing tech sector in the UK, a position it has proudly held for the last two years. The region is now home to more than 2,300 startups that have collectively raised more than £850m in venture capital funding since 2020. The UK’s fastest-growing tech hub, home to ‘Silicon Spa’, is now valued at £15.3 billion too, up from £11.5 billion in 2021. The West Midlands could be set to create 52,000 tech jobs and see the sector grow by £2.7 billion, according to new government figures.
To ensure the region realises its potential, a new and exciting role has been created to lead the West Midlands tech sector.
The West Midlands Tech Commissioner will provide a visible point of leadership for the digital and tech economy. This individual will advocate for our sector, engage with investors, encourage firms to relocate, and advise the Mayor of the West Midlands and the WMCA Economy team on how to achieve our aims as outlined in the Digital Strategy & Roadmap.
The chosen person will:
-Advocate for the region both nationally and internationally
-Work alongside the West Midlands Global Tech Ambassadors
-Encourage Big Tech firms to establish a presence in the region and/or relocate
-Regularly meet local tech and digital entrepreneurs to understand their barriers to growth and use this insight to influence key policy decisions
-Focus on 3 key parts of the ecosystem: Support / Investment / Skills
-Meet with key influencers and stakeholders to discuss what’s needed to supercharge the West Midlands digital economy and ecosystem. Including partners such as Birmingham Tech, WM5G and WM SuperTech
-Work closely alongside the mayor to ensure the region’s digital and tech strategy delivers for everyone
The successful person will have experience of working in a role where they have influenced a wide range of senior stakeholders across different organisations.
They’ll be committed to the WMCA’s purpose to build a fairer, greener, and better-connected West Midlands, and able to demonstrate their drive and motivation to leverage and inspire the digital economy to grow and prosper across the West Midlands.
The ideal candidate will have:
-Experience of working in tech and digital (industry experience)
-The ability to engage and influence C-suite executives
-Established global tech connections
-Experience of working with government departments and Ministers
-Worked in a similar role or acted as an ambassador/advocate within a different role
-The know-how to navigate and operate across all sectors (private, public, academia and the third sector)
-Experience of working in one or more of the eight growth clusters identified in the West Midlands Plan for Growth
Become the region’s Tech Commissioner
This is a part-time voluntary role and not remunerated, however, the role will be heavily supported by existing organisations and teams, including WMCA and Birmingham Tech who are overseeing the Digital Economy Strategy. This Tech Commissioner will serve a two-year term in the first instance to ensure they have the ability to maximise their impact.
If you would like to apply for this position, please email your CV and a covering letter to hello@birmingham.tech by the 9th of January 2023.
Slingshot