James Skinner switches on Open to Work banner as he departs Director of Digital Technology role at Specsavers

James Skinner has left Specsavers where, for the past five years, he held the position of Director of Digital Technology.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “It's back to school week and after a relaxing summer it's time for me to switch on the Open to Work banner and share that my time at Specsavers has come to an end and I'm on the hunt for my next adventure.”

“My team has delivered some amazing things over the past five years, massively improving the stability, observability and performance of Specsavers' digital platforms, building an all new, bespoke appointment service that now feeds 1,000,000 customers into the stores every month, rolling out e-commerce and remote care at pace during the pandemic and implementing Contentful and Algolia content and product discovery tech globally to drive an omnichannel content agenda. We also had some fun, which is important!”

As for what comes next, Skinner said he was looking for something where he could continue to build amazing teams that add real value to businesses through great technology delivered at pace.

He commented: “Innovation and creativity is important to me but with common sense at its heart - simple solutions that create a tangible benefit to the organisation.”

“My style is authentic, engaging and visionary and I prefer to coach, empower and ask good questions than to dictate and micro-manage. Seeing my team progress, develop and learn gives me a real buzz.”

“An itch I really want to scratch is doing some fractional, interim or consulting type work so if you think I might be able to help your startup, guide your team or advise on how to pitch your technology to large scale companies I'd love to hear from you.”

He concluded: “It often feels uncomfortable to ask for help but I'd be most grateful to my network if you can share any interesting opportunities that cross your paths, however big, small or random.”

2024 RTIH INNOVATION AWARDS

Digital technology is a key focus area for the sixth edition of the RTIH Innovation Awards, which is now open for entries.

The awards, sponsored by CADS, 3D Cloud, Retail Technology Show 2025, and Business France, celebrate global tech innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

It’s free to enter and you can do so across multiple categories.

Key 2024 dates

Friday, 25th October: Award entry deadline 

Tuesday, 29th October: 2024 shortlist revealed

30th October-6th November: Judging days

Thursday, 21st November: Winners announced at the 2024 RTIH Innovation Awards ceremony, to be held at RIBA’s 66 Portland Place HQ in Central London.