Automation Operations Manager [AQ-25114]

Aquent; Worthing; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Aquent partners with a leading organization to drive automation, AI, and high-availability operations across critical infrastructure. You will lead an external managed-service engineering team and shape the strategic evolution of a cutting-edge automation platform.

In this role, you will own operational resilience, sponsor modern tooling (Power Platform, CoPilot Agents), and ensure security, governance, and regulatory compliance while delivering scalable, reliable services for millions of users.

Qualifications

• Experience running live, enterprise-level automation environments.
• Hands-on Power Platform experience (Power Automate, CoPilot Agents).
• Vendor/partner management experience with external suppliers.
• Knowledge of platform security, DLP, RBAC, identity, and audit logging.

Responsibilities

• Provide decisive leadership for an external partner team of Automation Operations Engineers, overseeing intake, incident triage, prioritization, and problem resolution in ITIL/SLAs.
• Oversee the daily health and performance of production automations, bot controllers, runbooks, orchestrations, and CoPilot Agent solutions.
• Conduct root-cause investigations using telemetry, system logs, and observability tools to proactively prevent recurring failures and enhance reliability.
• Take ownership of operational change processes, including patch management cycles, environment governance, regression testing, and rollback procedures.
• Collaborate with Enterprise Architects, Platform Engineers, and Business SMEs to ensure operational solutions align with guardrails and goals.
• Drive continuous improvement using operational reporting, usage analytics, and dashboards for evolution of tooling.

Skills

Automation operations

Power Automate

CoPilot Agents

Vendor management

Platform security

Monitoring/telemetry

Root-cause analysis

Stakeholder management

Regulatory compliance

Tools

Azure Monitor

Dynatrace

Job description

Aquent is proud to partner with a leading organization at the forefront of managing critical infrastructure, dedicated to delivering essential services with unparalleled efficiency. This innovative leader is shaping the future of digital operations by leveraging cutting-edge automation and AI to enhance resilience and service delivery for millions. In this pivotal role, you will be empowered to drive the high availability, security, and resilience of live automated workflows, RPA tools, and next-generation CoPilot Agents, making an immediate and profound impact on how critical services are delivered and managed across vital infrastructure.

We are seeking a visionary leader ready to spearhead the strategic evolution and day-to-day excellence of a sophisticated automation and AI platform. This role places you at the heart of our operational ecosystem, leading an external managed-service engineering team and bridging technical prowess with strategic operational insights. Your expertise will deliver unparalleled stability, scalability, and long-term business value, transforming the landscape of essential service delivery.

What You'll Do

• Provide decisive leadership, direction, and quality assurance for an external partner team of Automation Operations Engineers, overseeing intake, incident triage, prioritization, and problem resolution in strict adherence to ITIL best practices and SLAs.
• Oversee the daily health and performance of all production automations, bot controllers, runbooks, orchestrations, and CoPilot Agent solutions.
• Conduct in-depth root-cause investigations using telemetry, system logs, and observability tools to proactively prevent recurring failures and significantly enhance long-term reliability.
• Take ownership of operational change processes, including patch management cycles, environment governance, regression testing, and robust rollback procedures.
• Collaborate closely with Enterprise Architects, Platform Engineers, and Business SMEs to ensure operational solutions are consistently aligned with architectural guardrails and overarching strategic goals.
• Drive continuous improvement by leveraging operational reporting, usage analytics, and platform health dashboards to refine operational tooling and provide crucial insights for solution evolution or consolidation.

Required Skills & Expertise

• A strong track record in running and supporting live, enterprise-level automation environments.
• Hands-on experience with Microsoft Power Platform tools, including Power Automate and Power Platform CoPilot Agents.
• Proven skill in vendor/partner management, with a demonstrated ability to drive performance across external managed-service suppliers.
• Expert knowledge of platform security, DLP policies, RBAC, identity, and audit logging for cloud and automation stacks.
• Proficiency with modern monitoring and telemetry tools (e.g., Azure Monitor, Dynatrace).
• Exceptional diagnostic, troubleshooting, and analytical skills.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, enabling effective collaboration with technical experts, business leaders, and external vendors.
• A high-energy, proactive approach with an unwavering focus on regulatory compliance, stability, and operational resilience.

Nice-to-Have Qualifications

• Certifications such as PL-400, PL-600, AZ-104, ServiceNow, or ITIL v4.
• Awareness of AI solution telemetry (model drift, prompt behavior, usage patterns).
• Familiarity with operations in highly regulated environments.

Why Join Us?

This is an unparalleled opportunity to significantly shape the future of digital operations within a vital sector. You will lead a critical function at the dynamic intersection of RPA, low-code automations, and cutting-edge AI technologies. Enjoy total operational autonomy to innovate and build resilient, world-class automated capabilities that will have a lasting impact on our organization and the essential services we provide to millions.

Client Description

Imagine an enterprise with over 3,000 employees, serving millions of people daily, undergoing the largest infrastructure and technology overhaul in their history. Backed by a sizeable multi-year investment program - underpinned by top-tier global infrastructure investors - our client is fundamentally rewriting how heavy their sectors operates.

Instead of treating technology as a back-office utility, this client is putting Artificial Intelligence, Power Platform, RPA, and Cloud Orchestration directly onto the frontlines.

Joining our client today means getting in on the ground floor of a high-visibility digital transformation journey. You will not be maintaining old systems; you will be architecting, running, and scaling the future digital engine of a high profile, well known brand.

Other Requirements

1 day in the office a week (Monday) the remainder remote.