Live Operations Director
Location: UK or Ireland (regular travel required)
Reports to: Chief Product & Delivery Officer
Type: Initial 6 Month contract – likely to go permanent
Outside IR35
Overview
We are looking for a Live Operations Director to build and lead a global operations function supporting large-scale, multi-country platform deployments.
You will ensure platforms operate as secure, resilient, and high-performing services, combining L1/L2/L3 support with Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) and automation-first practices. This role works closely with engineering and architecture teams to embed operational excellence into platform design from day one.
Key Responsibilities
Build and lead a global live operations function
Define SLAs, SLOs, and reliability metrics (uptime, MTTR, latency)
Own incident management and continuous improvement processes
Embed observability, automation, and operability into platforms
Ensure compliance with security and regulatory requirements
Act as senior operational contact for clients
Scale operations to support international growth
Experience
8+ years in technology operations, with leadership experience
Proven track record managing live production environments
Experience with IT service management frameworks (e.g. ITIL)
Strong background in cloud, DevOps, and platform operations
Experience managing client-facing SLAs
Skills
Strong knowledge of SRE principles
Expertise in monitoring, observability, and incident management
Ability to lead in high-pressure environments
Excellent stakeholder and client management
Strategic thinking with a focus on continuous improvement
Experience building and leading high-performing teams