Head Of IT Operations

Applegreen Head of IT Operations

Role Introduction:

Applegreen is in a rapid growth phase and is seeking to onboard a Head of IT Operations who will be based in the Group headquarters office in Park West, Dublin. This role will form part of the MIS team for Ireland and reports to the IT Director. It is an exciting opportunity for the right candidate to excel. The successful candidate will be a confident people person who can fit into Applegreen seamlessly and adopt a hands-on approach to their role. The role will lead two internal teams, Infrastructure/Security Ops & IT Service, own business-critical Managed Service Providers, and provide strategic direction in IT Operations.

Key Responsibilities:

As Applegreen expands, the responsibilities will evolve and change over time. The core responsibilities will centre around the following areas:

• Create and execute a strategic roadmap for IT Operations, ensuring best-of-class technologies underpin business operations, and high-quality IT Service is by design.
• Lead, coach, and develop an internal IT Operations team, ensuring the function evolves to meet future business needs and changing technology landscapes.
• Identify, implement, and mature best-practice IT Service Management principles, partnering IT Service with the business while instilling a culture of service excellence.
• Analyze and report on IT Service performance, metrics, and trends, presenting these to the business including senior leadership teams.
• Act a senior point of IT escalation, partnering and communicating with senior business stakeholders and translating technical issues into non-technical terms.
• Own the IT Infrastructure and enterprise architecture including LAN, WAN, WLAN, cloud, domain services, servers, hosting, security solutions and End User Computing.
• Monitor and manage end-to-end lifecycles of IT Infrastructure including continuous improvement and define and sponsor IT Infrastructure implementation projects.
• Oversee risk and vulnerability management, and ensure technology operates within established control frameworks and regulatory compliance (NIST, ISO, PCI-DSS, GDPR).
• Own and manage third-party suppliers and managed service providers, driving strategic alignment and ensuring operational, financial and contractual performance.
• Create and manage large operational and capital expenditure budgets for IT Operations, ensuring strict cost control, monitoring, analysis, and reporting.
• Deputize for the IT Director including creating and presenting strategies, policies, processes, business updates, and senior leadership communications.
• Collaborate closely with Group IT, aligning IT Operations strategies, projects and initiatives with Group strategies, projects and initiatives.

The Candidate should have the following:

Qualifications, experience & skills

• Bachelors degree in IT or related disciple, or relevant experience.
• Experience and expertise in IT Service Management including leading IT Service Delivery teams and implementing ITIL based practices and processes.
• Experience and expertise in managing complex IT Infrastructure and enterprise architecture, ideally within a multi-site retail, Hospitality, or FMCG environment.
• Broad expertise in IT Infrastructure and technologies including WAN/LAN/WLAN, Cloud (Azure), Domain services (AAD), Servers, hosting/virtualization, and End User Computing including build, deployment and endpoint management.
• Broad expertise in cybersecurity technologies covering traditional, modern and emerging including NGFW, WAF, ZTNA, CASB, SIEM, EDR and XDR.
• Strong understanding of Cybersecurity principles, known control frameworks, and regulatory compliance. Experience in NIST, ISO27001 or CE+ certifications is desirable.
• Broad experienced in managing third-party suppliers, partners, and business-critical managed service providers, including contract and performance management.
• Experience in creating and managing large operational and capital expenditure budgets, including analysis, reporting and presentation.
• Exceptional communication, presentation, business-partnering, and influence skills, with the ability to translate the complex to the simple at all levels.

Additional Key Skills & Attributes:

• A dynamic individual who adapts well to change and can thrive in a rapidly growing organisation that continues to evolve.
• Proven track record of delivering to tight deadlines.
• A highly organised individual with ability to plan and prioritise workloads effectively for maximum impact and adapt around changing priorities as required.
• Ability to execute directly at high quality and pace.
• Excellent drive, enthusiasm and commitment and a keen interest in developing a career in Applegreen.
• A ‘can do’ attitude and a positive solution focused mindset.
• Demonstrate strong analytical capability to interpret and challenge data
• Has strong commercial acumen and a focus on delivering value to the business.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, and ability to engage and develop relationships with individuals at all levels of the organisation.
• Be a self-starter, and also be able to work collaboratively as a member of a highly interdependent team across many parts of Applegreen.
• Is resilient and calm under pressure.
• Has sound judgement and objective logical decision-making skills.
• Has strong leadership potential and management skills, who will be a role model for the people and culture at Applegreen.
• Willing to travel ad hoc if required.

Illustrative Application & Screening Process (subject to change):

Application Process:

• Please submit an up to date tailored CV (max 2 pages) and cover letter

Interview & Selection Process:

• Up to Two interview rounds may be required for this role