IT Operations Manager

IT Operations Manager (Service Management & Site Reliability) – Permanent, Knutsford
Hybrid – 3 days on site 2 days remote

Required:-  Proven experience managing cloud platforms in critical, always-on production environments. Demonstrable experience owning or operating services where uptime, data integrity, & regulatory compliance are critical. Azure Certification. Operations Manager, Service Manager, or equivalent, with ownership of live services. Strong hands-on experience with ITIL service management practices, particularly Incident, Problem, Change, & Continual Improvement. Experience managing Customer Service / L1 support teams in a production environment.  Working knowledge of Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) principles & operational risk management. Strong technical foundation across Azure, Windows Server, Linux (RedHat), Active Directory, networking, & scripting (PowerShell, Bash, or Python).  Experience delivering platform upgrades & managing production change in cloud & hybrid environments. Experience owning operational budgets & cost centres. Calm, structured leadership style with a strong focus on uptime, customer impact, deadlines, & service quality. A genuine commitment to training, mentoring, & building high-performing operational teams.

IT Operations Manager Role Summary
Seeking an experienced Operations Manager to act as the operational owner & Service Manager for a business-critical platform, while also managing the Customer Service (Level 1) function. Role combines ITIL-based service management discipline, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) principles, & people leadership to ensure high service availability, effective incident response, & continuous improvement across both customer-facing support & backend service operations. You will have end-to-end accountability for live service operations, leading both the Service Engineering team & the Customer Service (L1) team, & owning service performance, platform reliability, operational risk, & financial stewardship. Hands-on experience managing cloud platforms in critical, always-on environments is a mandatory requirement for this role.  

IT Operations Manager Key Responsibilities
Service & Operational Ownership

• Act as the named Service Manager for the platform, with full accountability for service performance, stability, & customer impact.
• Own the service lifecycle, from operational readiness & go-live through live service management & continual improvement.
• Define, own, & report against SLAs, SLOs, & operational KPIs across both customer service & service engineering functions.
• Serve as the primary operational escalation point for internal stakeholders & key customers.

Customer Service (L1) Management

• • Lead & manage the Customer Service (Level 1) team, ensuring consistent, high-quality first-line support for customers.
  • Ensure effective triage, prioritisation, & escalation of incidents from L1 to Service Engineering.
  • Drive customer-focused service metrics, including response times, resolution quality, & customer satisfaction.
  • Establish training, coaching, & quality assurance processes to continually improve L1 service delivery.

Reliability, Availability & Incident Management

• • Own the end-to-end reliability & availability of a mission-critical, compliance focused platform.
  • Apply SRE principles to reduce incidents, manage operational risk, & balance reliability with delivery velocity.
  • Lead major incident management, ensuring effective coordination, clear communication, & rapid service restoration.

ITIL-Aligned Service Operations

• Lead Incident, Problem, Change, & Release Management in line with ITIL best practices.
• Plan & execute on-premises software upgrades & platform changes, ensuring controlled delivery & minimal disruption.
• Drive thorough root cause analysis (RCA) & ensure corrective actions are implemented & tracked to completion.
• Maintain audit-ready service documentation, runbooks, & operational procedures.

Cloud Platform & Engineering Collaboration

• Own operational oversight of cloud & hybrid platforms supporting critical customer services.
• Work closely with Engineering, Product, & Security teams to ensure platforms are operationally ready, resilient, observable, & secure.
• Ensure appropriate monitoring, alerting, capacity planning, & resilience controls are in place across Azure & hybrid environments.
• Champion automation & Infrastructure-as-Code to reduce operational toil & improve reliability.

Budget & Cost Management

• Own & manage the operations & service engineering budget, ensuring spend is forecast, controlled, & aligned to service outcomes.
• Manage costs related to cloud infrastructure, on-premises upgrades, tooling, licensing, & third-party services.
• Partner with Finance & Procurement to justify investment & identify cost optimisation opportunities without compromising service reliability or compliance.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, & develop both the Customer Service (L1) & Service Engineering teams.
• Establish structured onboarding, training, & progression paths to build resilient, high performing teams.
• Foster a culture of accountability, service excellence, & continuous improvement across operations.

 
 

With over 90 years' combined experience, NES Fircroft (NES) is proud to be the world's leading engineering staffing provider spanning the Oil & Gas, Power & Renewables, Chemicals, Construction & Infrastructure, Life Sciences, Mining and Manufacturing sectors worldwide. With more than 80 offices in 45 countries, we are able to provide our clients with the engineering and technical expertise they need, wherever and whenever it is needed. We offer contractors far more than a traditional recruitment service, supporting with everything from securing visas and work permits, to providing market-leading benefits packages and accommodation, ensuring they are safely and compliantly able to support our clients.