Head of Infrastructure
18 hours ago
City of London
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 - ÂŁ90,000-ÂŁ110,000 + Car Allowance + Bonus + Benefits - MUST HAVE RIGHT TO WORK IN THE UK Details: Weâre looking for a Head of Infrastructure to lead and modernise the UK/EU infrastructure estate across Azure cloud, onâprem data centre, networks, collaboration and core platforms. Youâll drive the cloud migration waves, refine UK/EU cloud strategy, and embed modern practicesâInfrastructure 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), onâprem data centre, office infrastructure, networks, collaboration platforms, storage, backups, and end-user connectivity and more. This role leads day-to-day operations while driving transformationâmost notably the Azure cloud migration programme and the review/refinement of UK/EU cloud strategyâand 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:, ⢠Onâprem data centre services (compute, storage, virtualisation, power/cooling/vendor support, capacity), ⢠Office infrastructure and connectivity (LAN/WAN/WiâFi, 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 applicableâhybrid 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), ⢠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), ⢠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., ⢠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-focusedâevaluate 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, ⢠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, ⢠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 6â12 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 skillsâable 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 ⢠Bachelorâs 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 ârunâ 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