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Head of IT Operations
Department for EducationHead of IT Operations for ARIA, leading enterprise IT operations and operational technology services for R&D funding agency. Focused on security, performance, and collaboration.
Tech Stack
Tools & technologiesCloudCyber Security
About the role
Key responsibilities & impact- Lead ARIA’s IT Operations function and continuously evolve the organisation’s operational technology maturity, resilience and effectiveness.
- Own accountability for ARIA’s enterprise IT operations and operational service environment, ensuring services are stable, secure, reliable and aligned to organisational needs.
- Act as the senior accountable lead for ARIA’s MSP and operational technology partners, holding providers to account against SLAs, contractual obligations and continuous improvement objectives.
- Drive a culture of operational excellence, proactive service improvement and enablement-first IT operations.
- Maintain accountability for ARIA’s enterprise operational cyber security posture, operational technology risks, resilience planning and compliance obligations.
- Lead governance frameworks, operational standards, policies and controls across enterprise IT domains to ensure proportionate and effective risk management.
- Oversee incident response readiness, disaster recovery planning, operational resilience and security assurance activities.
- Partner with leadership teams to translate operational technology risks into clear organisational decisions and priorities.
- Ensure ARIA’s enterprise IT controls, security foundations and support models evolve to safely enable AI-native ways of working, including increased use of AI tools, automation, data platforms and bespoke technical solutions.
- Oversee ARIA’s enterprise operational infrastructure, cloud environments, identity and access management, SaaS estate, devices and core operational systems.
- Maintain visibility and governance across ARIA’s enterprise operational technology assets, ensuring systems remain secure, supportable and operationally sustainable.
- Lead the management and oversight of enterprise application lifecycle management, rationalisation, operational supportability and cost optimisation.
- Ensure enterprise IT services effectively support organisational productivity, operational continuity and secure collaboration.
- Lead and develop a high-performing IT Operations function, including internal team members, contractors and managed service providers.
- Build strong relationships across ARIA to ensure enterprise technology services effectively support organisational effectiveness and user experience.
- Partner closely with the Head of Engineering & Platforms to ensure operational resilience, enterprise compliance and security considerations are effectively embedded across organisational technology initiatives.
- Contribute to organisation-wide technology governance, standards and roadmap discussions across operational and enablement domains.
- Provide clear reporting, insight and assurance to senior leadership on operational performance, security, resilience and enterprise technology risks.
- Collaborate closely with the wider ARIA team and Programme Directors to deliver a seamless IT environment that empowers, rather than restricts, ambitious R&D initiatives.
Requirements
What you’ll need- An experienced technology operations leader with significant experience leading IT operations within MSP-supported or outsourced environments.
- Technically credible across enterprise infrastructure, cyber security, cloud platforms and operational resilience.
- Strong governance and risk management capability, with experience building operational standards, controls and assurance mechanisms.
- Experienced working across cyber security and regulatory frameworks such as GDPR, NCSC CAF, ISO27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus.
- Commercially astute and comfortable managing vendors, contracts, procurement and service performance.
- An excellent communicator and relationship builder who can influence across technical and non-technical audiences.
- Experienced leading blended capability models comprising internal teams, contractors, MSPs and specialist partners.
- Comfortable balancing strategic control, enablement, operational reliability and organisational needs in a fast-moving environment.
- A pragmatic and trusted leader with strong judgement and an enablement-first mindset.
- We are a Google-native organisation. If you’ve worked in this environment before, that’s great - if not, don’t let it stop you from applying; we’re more interested in your expertise than your current toolkit.
Benefits
Comp & perks- 27 days annual leave provision, with the option to buy/sell additional days
- Hybrid working arrangements; 60% in office / 40% at home
- Supportive environment for learning and development opportunities
- Enhanced family leave arrangements
- A free and confidential 24/7 employee assistance programme
- Life Assurance
- 2 days of paid volunteer days
- 5% defined contribution pension scheme with Smart Pension
- Cycle to Work scheme
- An excellent office location in Kings X, London
ATS Keywords
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Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.
Hard Skills & Tools
IT operationscyber securitycloud platformsoperational resiliencegovernance frameworksrisk managementincident responsedisaster recovery planningapplication lifecycle managementservice performance
Soft Skills
communicationrelationship buildinginfluenceleadershipjudgementpragmatismstrategic controlenablement mindsetcollaborationcommercial acumen
Certifications
ISO27001Cyber Essentials PlusGDPR complianceNCSC CAF