IT Head of Operations
In OfficeDirectorEMEACybersecurityCloud ComputingHead of OperationsGovernanceTeam ManagementPerformance ManagementCoachingBudget Management
Upload My Resume
Drop here or click to browse · PDF, DOCX, TXT
Requirements
- Strong leadership experience in operations or service‑delivery environments.
- Experience managing technical service desk teams.
- Proven ability to negotiate, manage, and optimise supplier and third‑party contracts.
- Experience managing budgets, forecasting, and operational spend.
- Deep understanding of operational governance, process optimisation, and service‑management practices.
- Strong communication, stakeholder‑management, and influencing skills.
- Highly analytical and data‑driven.
- Deep knowledge of cloud platforms (Azure, AWS), container orchestration, IaC, and ITSM practices.
- Solid understanding of cybersecurity principles and compliance frameworks (ISO, SOC, GDPR).
- Preferred
- Experience with ITSM/ESM platforms and service management tooling.
- Certifications such as ITIL, Lean, or Six Sigma.
- Background in automation, tooling modernisation, or service transformation initiatives.
- Degree in a relevant field (e.g. Computer Science, Engineering, UX Design).
- Proven experience leading cross-functional technology teams in Operations and Infrastructure
- Deep expertise in human-centred design and full product lifecycle delivery
- Strong knowledge of cloud-native platforms, microservices, APIs, and DevOps
- Experience working in regulated or fast-growing technology environments
- The right to work in the UK.
Responsibilities
- Operational Strategy & Leadership
- Develop and deliver the operations strategy aligned to business and technology goals.
- Establish clear operational standards, frameworks, and processes supporting scalable, resilient delivery.
- Lead transformation initiatives across tooling, automation, workflows, and data‑driven decision‑making.
- Team Leadership & Management
- Lead, coach, and mentor a team of 10+ technical service desk analysts, fostering capability growth, strong performance, and customer‑centred behaviour.
- Act as the senior escalation point for complex technical issues and major incidents.
- Manage resource planning, team scheduling, workload balancing, documentation quality, and performance reviews.
- Build a high‑performance culture focused on collaboration, continuous learning, and service excellence.
- Commercial Management: Contracts, Vendors & Budget
- Negotiate, manage, and optimise contracts with technology, software, and service suppliers, ensuring commercial value and strong service-level commitments.
- Maintain proactive relationships with third‑party vendors, including performance reviews, compliance management, risk tracking, and escalations.
- Own the operations budget, including forecasting, cost monitoring, variance analysis, and cost‑efficiency planning.
- Identify opportunities to optimise spend through contract improvements, vendor performance, automation, and tooling rationalisation.
- Service Excellence & Process Optimisation
- Design, refine, and standardise operational processes and service desk workflows aligned with best practice (including ITIL).
- Own SLA and KPI governance, ensuring measurable improvements in performance and service quality.
- Lead operational maturity uplift across incident, request, change, problem, and knowledge management processes.
- Drive automation and tooling initiatives that improve efficiency and reduce manual effort.
- Reporting, Insights & Operational Transparency
- Build and maintain reporting dashboards covering KPIs, SLAs, service quality, risks, trends, and operational capacity.
- Provide senior leadership with actionable insights and recommendations driven by data, analytics, and forecasting.
- Ensure operational documentation, service maps, and governance artefacts are accurate, current, and audit‑ready.
- Customer Experience & Stakeholder Engagement
- Champion a customer‑focused mindset and ensure the service desk delivers a consistent, high‑quality user experience.
- Work closely with Technology, central functions, and business teams to resolve issues, improve processes, and streamline delivery.
- Serve as an escalation point for recurring and high‑impact service issues, driving root‑cause analysis and preventive actions.
- Build strong relationships across the organisation to ensure seamless operational integration.
- Governance, Risk & Compliance
- Oversee operational governance and ensure compliance with organisational policies, regulatory requirements, and security standards.
- Identify operational risks, develop mitigation strategies, and lead incident‑response processes.
- Ensure readiness for internal and external audits with well‑maintained controls and documentation.
Benefits
- A busy role in a supportive team, with plenty of opportunities to learn
- International scope – we operate in over 8 countries
- Hybrid working – we will need you in the central London (Mayfair) office at least twice a week, but you will normally be able to work remotely for the remainder of the week
- 30 days’ holiday per year (3 of which are taken during the festive shutdown in December)
- Private pension
- BUPA Healthcare for you and qualifying dependents
- Cycle to work and electric vehicle leasing schemes
- Annual discretionary bonus.