Chief IT Infrastructure & Cloud Strategy Lead

Canopius; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Competitive base salary

Non-contributory pension

Discretionary bonus

Health and dental cover

Job summary

Canopius seeks a Head of IT Infrastructure to define and deliver the organisation's infrastructure strategy, connecting secure, resilient, and scalable technology foundations to current and future business needs.

The role provides strategic and operational leadership across cloud platforms, networks, storage, OS, and database services, with direct accountability for the DBA team to ensure high availability, performance, and security of infrastructure assets.

Qualifications

• Proven track record of successfully leading and managing IT teams within a complex trading environment.
• Experience in planning and executing IT infrastructure and system modernisation initiatives, with a focus on cloud and DevOps.
• Strong understanding of IT security principles and best practices, with experience in implementing robust cybersecurity measures.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build strong relationships with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Proven ability to develop and execute strategic IT plans aligned with overall business objectives.
• Experience in a regulated environment, managing complex IT infrastructures and relevant technologies, is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Define and own the IT infrastructure strategy, aligned to business objectives, technology roadmaps, and enterprise architecture principles.
• Lead the evolution of infrastructure platforms, including cloud, hybrid, and on-premises environments.
• Ensure infrastructure designs are secure, resilient, scalable, and cost-effective.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and vendor solutions to support innovation and operational efficiency.
• Oversee the day-to-day operation of infrastructure services, ensuring high availability, performance, and reliability.
• Establish and maintain infrastructure standards, operational procedures, and service documentation.
• Drive continuous improvement across infrastructure services and operational processes.
• Lead and manage the DBA function, ensuring robust database performance, availability, security, and integrity.
• Set strategy and standards for database platforms, including design, configuration, backup, recovery, and patching.
• Ensure effective capacity planning, performance tuning, and lifecycle management of database technologies.
• Develop DBA team capability, providing leadership, coaching, and performance management.
• Work closely with Information Security and Risk teams to ensure infrastructure and database environments meet security and compliance requirements.
• Ensure disaster recovery, backup, and business continuity solutions are in place and regularly tested.
• Identify and manage infrastructure risks, vulnerabilities, and technical debt.
• Contribute to infrastructure budget planning and cost management, including cloud spend optimisation.
• Manage vendor relationships, contracts, and third-party service providers.
• Ensure value for money and effective commercial management of infrastructure services.

Skills

IT team leadership

Cloud and DevOps

IT security principles

Stakeholder communication

Strategic IT planning

Regulated environment experience

Job description

Canopius seeks a Head of IT Infrastructure to define and deliver the organisation's infrastructure strategy, connecting secure, resilient, and scalable technology foundations to current and future business needs.

The role provides strategic and operational leadership across cloud platforms, networks, storage, OS, and database services, with direct accountability for the DBA team to ensure high availability, performance, and security of infrastructure assets.