3x a week on-site in London
Global Financial Services Firm
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE WORKING IN LARGE ENVIRONMENTS IS A MUST
Reporting Directly into Global CIO
Salary - £90,000-£110,000 + Car Allowance + Bonus + Benefits
*No sponsorship provided* - MUST HAVE RIGHT TO WORK IN THE UK
Details:
We’re looking for a Head of Infrastructure to lead and modernise the UK/EU infrastructure estate across Azure cloud, on‑prem data centre, networks, collaboration and core platforms. You’ll drive the cloud migration waves, refine UK/EU cloud strategy, and embed modern practices—Infrastructure as Code, DevOps enablement, automation and AI-assisted operations
You will be accountable for operational excellence and strategic evolution of the UK/EU infrastructure estate across cloud (Azure), on‑prem data centre, office infrastructure, networks, collaboration platforms, storage, backups, and end-user connectivity and more.
This role leads day-to-day operations while driving transformation—most notably the Azure cloud migration programme and the review/refinement of UK/EU cloud strategy—and ensures the infrastructure function is future-ready through automation, Infrastructure as Code (IaC), DevOps enablement, and intelligent operations (AIOps/AI-driven monitoring and maintenance).
The role holder is a leader first: developing a high-performing team, aligning with global peers
Key Accountabilities & Responsibilities
Infrastructure Operations & Service Reliability (Run)
* Own and continuously improve the reliability, availability, performance, and security of the UK/EU infrastructure estate.
* Lead operational management across:
* On‑prem data centre services (compute, storage, virtualisation, power/cooling/vendor support, capacity)
* Office infrastructure and connectivity (LAN/WAN/Wi‑Fi, site resilience, meeting room tech as applicable)
* Network services including routing/switching, segmentation, and secure connectivity
* Perimeter and security appliances, including Palo Alto firewalls and Cisco network capabilities
* Microsoft Exchange (as applicable—hybrid or legacy) and collaboration dependencies
* UCaaS / voice / conferencing platforms and related integrations
* Backups, disaster recovery, and business continuity
* Storage platforms and data protection controls
* Establish and run effective operational practices:
* Incident, problem and change management (modern ITSM/ITIL-aligned)
* Capacity, availability, and performance management
Cloud Migration Programme Leadership (Change / Transform)
* Lead UK/EU infrastructure contribution to the Cloud Migration project, partnering with global architecture, infrastructure and information security.
* Coordinate and deliver:
* Azure migration waves (planning, dependencies, readiness, cutover governance)
* Workload assessments (technical fit, complexity, risk, data sensitivity, cost and performance considerations)
* Transitional and target-state architectures (hybrid designs, landing zones, identity/networking patterns)
* DevOps capabilities setup and enablement (pipelines, environments, deployment standards, release governance)
* Drive adoption of Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and repeatable patterns to reduce risk and improve time-to-deliver.
Modern Infrastructure Practices: Automation, AIOps & AI-Assisted Operations
* Identify and deliver opportunities where automation and AI improve operational efficiency and service reliability, including:
* Hardware and platform performance monitoring (predictive alerts, capacity forecasting, anomaly detection)
* Operating system and platform health (patch compliance, drift detection, configuration baselines)
* Event correlation and incident reduction via AIOps practices (noise reduction, root-cause acceleration)
* Build a roadmap for self-healing capabilities (automated remediation), automated testing, and policy-as-code controls.
* Champion “shift-left” operational quality—standard patterns, automation-first delivery, and measurable service SLOs/SLAs.
Strategy, Roadmap & “What’s Next”
* Review, refine, and drive the UK/EU Cloud Strategy aligned with global direction and local business needs.
* Maintain a rolling infrastructure roadmap balancing security, reliability, cost optimisation, and transformation.
* Be future-focused—evaluate emerging infrastructure directions such as:
* Green IT / sustainable infrastructure (energy-aware choices, hardware lifecycle optimisation, cloud carbon considerations)
* Modern security patterns (Zero Trust alignment, segmentation, identity-first design)
* Ensure standards remain current as technology and regulatory expectations evolve.
Vendor Management, Commercials & Lifecycle Governance
* Own relationships with strategic infrastructure partners and suppliers; manage service performance and escalations.
* Maintain governance of the hardware and software estate to ensure:
* No critical component falls out of support, maintenance, or into end-of-life/end-of-support
* Asset, configuration and dependency information remains accurate and useful
* Support or lead commercial/contract negotiations in the infrastructure space (renewals, RFPs, value realisation, service credits, risk management).
People Leadership & Organisational Development
* Lead, coach, and develop the infrastructure team to be fit for today and tomorrow.
* Build a scalable operating model to support projected company growth:
* Role clarity and skills development (cloud, automation, security, SRE-like practices)
* Performance management, objectives, feedback cycles, and succession planning
* Healthy team culture across onshore and offshore resources, operating as one team
* Ensure strong stakeholder engagement and effective communication across IT and the business.
Cross-Functional Alignment (Global & Regional)
* Align with global and regional peers across Architecture, Infrastructure, and Information Security.
* Partner with the Project Management Office on project intake, resource availability, project sizing and Project Managers as assigned.
* Ensure consistent implementation of global patterns while reflecting UK/EU requirements and constraints.
* Contribute to enterprise-wide standards, reference architectures, and governance forums.
Key Deliverables (What Success Looks Like)
Within the first 6–12 months, the role holder is expected to deliver outcomes such as:
* A clear UK/EU infrastructure roadmap aligned to cloud strategy and growth plans
* Improved operational maturity (reduced recurring incidents, stronger change success rate, improved monitoring/alerting quality)
* Tangible automation/IaC adoption opportunities (repeatable deployments, reduced manual effort, improved compliance)
* Progressed Azure migration waves with strong governance and stakeholder confidence
* Robust lifecycle management with visible tracking of EOL/EOS risks and timely remediation plans
* A strengthened, scalable team operating effectively across onshore/offshore delivery
Essential Skills & Experience
Must-Have Technical Experience
* Deep Microsoft Azure experience in infrastructure/platform delivery and operations, including:
* Networking (VNets, routing, connectivity patterns, hybrid connectivity)
* Identity and access (Entra ID/Azure AD concepts, role-based access, IAM)
* Governance (policies, cost controls, landing-zone principles)
* Monitoring/operations and reliability approaches
* Proven experience leading/owning cloud migration programmes (wave planning, workload assessments, cutovers, transitional architecture)
* Strong Infrastructure as Code (IaC) capability and associated practices (version control, review, reusability)
* Knowledge of modern infra tooling and practices such as DevOps enablement, CI/CD for infra, configuration management, and observability
* Broad infrastructure knowledge across:
* Data centre operations, virtualisation, storage, and backup/recovery
* Office/network infrastructure and service management
* Collaboration/communication platforms (including Exchange and UCaaS dependencies)
* Network/security infrastructure experience including Palo Alto firewalls and Cisco technologies (routing/switching/WAN)
Must-Have Leadership & Delivery Experience
* Demonstrable people management experience: coaching, supervision, performance management, team evolution and capability building
* Strong project and delivery management skills (planning, RAID, stakeholder management, governance)
* Proven ability to manage vendors/partners and drive outcomes via third parties
* Excellent communication, presentation, and influencing skills—able to communicate clearly from engineers to executives
Desirable / Advantageous
* Experience implementing or operating AIOps / AI-assisted infrastructure operations
* Experience with SRE-style practices (SLOs, error budgets, reliability engineering, blameless postmortems)
* Exposure to modern security frameworks (Zero Trust principles, vulnerability management automation)
* Formal IT service management exposure (ITIL or equivalent) and strong operational governance mindset
* Sustainability/Green IT initiatives experience (lifecycle optimisation, energy-aware infrastructure decisions)
Qualifications
* Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent practical experience) in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related discipline
* Relevant certifications (desirable): Azure (Administrator/Architect), Security, Networking, ITIL, Agile/Project Management
Competencies & Behaviours
* Leadership & Accountability: takes ownership, sets direction, builds trust
* Modern Engineering Mindset: automation-first, measurable outcomes, quality and repeatability
* Strategic Thinking: balances “run” excellence with transformation and innovation
Performance Measures (Indicative)
* Service availability/reliability; reduction in recurring incidents
* Change success rate; operational risk reduction
* Progress against cloud migration waves and roadmap milestones
* Automation/IaC adoption metrics; reduction in manual toil
* Lifecycle compliance (EOL/EOS exposure reduced); audit readiness