Director Global IT Operations

Location: Germany (preferred) / UK

The company:

Our client is one of Europe's leading ed-tech companies. running a large change process and requiring executives with a growth mindset who can participate in these changes.

Your role:

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Director of IT Operations to oversee the entire IT department within our organization, comprising 80 full-time employees across numerous campuses in Germany. The infrastructure supports 4,500 employees across 5 continents. This strategic role reports directly to the CTO and has full responsibility for the IT department. The 6 direct reports are

1. Applications
2. Cloud and collaboration (M365 landscape)
3.  IT Infrastructure
4. IT Service and & support (for students and employees)
5. IT Projects
6. Incident management

Your responsibilities:

• Provide transformation leadership to an 80-person IT team supporting 4,500 staff.
• Manage the integrations and expansion of IT operations of global entities that are acquired through M&A
• Lead IT vendor selection processes, ensuring the best choices for the organization's needs and budget.
• Oversee IT project management 
• Manage a decentralised infrastructure across multiple locations and continents, ensuring consistent and reliable IT services.
• Administer an annual budget of EUR 10 million, with transparency and efficiency.
• Embrace and promote an Agile work environment, driving progress and eschewing the status quo.

Your qualifications:

• Proven experience as an IT leader, particularly in managing large-scale, decentralized operations.
• Experience in fast-growth environments would be beneficial
• You have some experience managing managers
• Strong understanding of Microsoft 365 and its applications.
• Exceptional skills in people management and interpersonal communication.
• Demonstrated capability in IT project management and vendor selection.
• Experience in managing significant budgets with a focus on cost transparency.
• You must have a growth mindset. You are a professional who is constantly looking for ways to make your department better and can collaborate to ensure large change operations occur in a timely manner.
• Agile and proactive, with a track record of driving change and advancement in IT operations.
• Strong interpersonal skills, capable of maintaining professionalism and not taking things personally.
• Transparent in handling costs and able to provide clear financial reporting.