Director IT Operations

The Group Director IT Operations is a leadership role within a dynamic, multi-country distribution organization with more than €5bn in turnover and 12,000+ employees.
Reporting directly to the Group Chief Digital & Information Officer (CDIO), the position is responsible for defining, implementing, and overseeing the IT operations strategy, ensuring high availability, performance, security, and scalability of the company's IT infrastructure.

With a primary focus on harmonization, consolidation, and operational excellence, the role oversees a predominantly cloud-based infrastructure (MS Azure and on-premise solutions in local organizations) across eight European countries.
The Group Director IT Operations leads a small team of IT professionals and collaborates closely with country IT leads, other group IT functions, and key business stakeholders to drive standardization, cost efficiency, and digital enablement.

Key Responsibilities:

IT Operations Strategy & Leadership

• Define and execute the IT operations strategy in alignment with the group's digital transformation and business objectives.

• Lead the standardization and consolidation of IT infrastructure across the group, driving harmonization of cloud-based and on-premise environments.

• Foster a high-performance IT operations organization, ensuring operational excellence, business continuity, and resilience.

• Act as a strategic partner to the CDIO and country IT leaders, ensuring IT operations align with local and group-wide business needs.

Infrastructure & Cloud Operations

• Oversee cloud infrastructure (MS Azure) and on-premise environments, ensuring optimal performance, scaleability and cost efficiency.

• Lead the migration and modernization of legacy infrastructure, consolidating systems where appropriate.

• Define best practices for hybrid cloud operations, including governance, cost control, and security frameworks.

• Ensure a robust monitoring framework for proactive issue resolution and performance optimization.

Service Management & Operational Excellence

• Improve IT service management (ITSM) best practices to standardize support, incident, problem, and change management processes.

• Define and monitor SLAs and KPIs to ensure reliable and responsive IT services.

• Drive continuous automation, FinOps, AIOps, and self-service capabilities to enhance efficiency and reduce operational overhead.

• Establish an effective support model, ensuring high availability and rapid incident response.

Cybersecurity, Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure IT operations comply with data protection (GDPR), cybersecurity regulations, and industry standards.

• Partner with the CISO & the Group and local Security teams to implement and maintain a zero-trust security model.

• Oversee disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity (BC) strategies, ensuring resilience against cyber threats and operational disruptions.

• Define security baselines and ensure patching, vulnerability management, and compliance frameworks are strictly followed.

Financial & Vendor Management

• Manage the IT operations budget, optimizing TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) while maintaining service quality.

• Drive contract negotiation, vendor selection, and service performance management for key cloud, data center, and network providers in close alignment with the CDIO and our owner Blackstone.

• Ensure cost-effective license management, cloud resource allocation, and procurement strategies.

Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement

• Work closely with country IT & Digital Directors, and operational teams to ensure IT operations support business growth and agility.

• Lead cross-functional initiatives for IT modernization, automation, and digital enablement.

• Act as a key advisor on emerging infrastructure and operations trends, influencing long-term IT strategy.

Key Qualifications & Experience:

Technical & Strategic Expertise

• 10+ years of leadership experience in IT infrastructure & operations within a multi-national, multi-site business.

• Proven track record of leading cloud transformation (MS Azure preferred) and IT consolidation programs.

• Strong knowledge of hybrid cloud, network architecture, IT security, and automation technologies.

• High level of experience with IT service management (ITIL), DevOps, and AIOps-driven operations.

• Hands-on expertise in cost optimization, performance engineering, and operational resilience.

Leadership & Business Acumen

• Experience in leading engineering teams, fostering a high-performance culture.

• Proven track record in driving standardization, harmonization, and operational efficiency in complex IT landscapes.

• Strong analytical and financial acumen to manage IT operations budgets and vendor contracts effectively.

What We Offer:

• A leadership role in a growing, pan-European distribution business.

• The opportunity to shape the IT operations strategy for a multi-billion euro company.

• A high-impact role with visibility at the executive level, reporting directly to the CDIO.

• An international work environment with opportunities for innovation and transformation.

• Competitive compensation, benefits.