Cloud Operations Manager

Cornerstone; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 75,000 - 91,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension (joint-contribution 6%)

Enhanced maternity leave

Life assurance

HolidayPlus

Virtual GP

Employee Assistance Programme

Retail and leisure discounts

Job summary

SGN in Portsmouth is seeking a Cloud Operations Manager to own the performance, availability and resilience of cloud platforms and hosted services, with a hybrid, full-time arrangement.

You will lead cloud incident response, cost management, automation and observability, and partner with business leaders to align strategy and budgets.

The role requires strong leadership, depth in Azure/AWS, ITIL practices, and DevOps, with a focus on safety and reliability.

Qualifications

• Substantial experience managing cloud operations or platform services in a complex enterprise environment.
• Proven knowledge of at least two major cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, Salesforce or Oracle Cloud.
• Experience in service management, incident leadership and continual service improvement.
• Understanding of cloud networking, IAM, security controls, backup and DR, monitoring and automation.
• Experience managing third-party suppliers, contracts and SLAs.
• Working knowledge of cloud cost management, budgeting and forecasting.

Responsibilities

• Own the operational performance, availability, capacity and resilience of cloud platforms and hosted services.
• Lead cloud incident, problem, change and event management with timely restoration and root-cause analysis.
• Maintain runbooks, controls and support models aligned with ITIL and engineering practices.
• Ensure cloud environments comply with security, risk, audit and data protection requirements.
• Own vulnerability management and implement remediation plans.
• Manage cloud spending, forecasts and optimisation, embedding FinOps practices.
• Oversee service providers and partners, ensuring SLAs and improvements.
• Drive automation and observability to reduce manual effort and increase reliability.
• Support the safe transition of new or changed cloud services into live operation.

Skills

Cloud operations

Cloud platforms

Incident leadership

Service management

Cost management

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Automation & observability

Education

Cloud certification (associate/professional)

ITIL qualification

Tools

Infrastructure as Code

DevOps practices

Site Reliability Engineering

Platform engineering

Job description

Cloud Operations Manager

Portsmouth | £75-91k per annum (dependent on skills and qualifications)

Full-time | Hybrid

Joint-contribution pension from 6% (12% total) – Enhanced maternity & family leave – Life assurance – HolidayPlus – Virtual GP & Employee Assistance Programme plus retail and leisure discounts & many more.

We deliver safety, warmth, and comfort to homes and businesses. Every role, whether in the office or on the front line, plays a key part in this mission. Here’s how you will contribute…

Key Accountabilities

• Own the operational performance, availability, capacity and resilience of cloud platforms and hosted services.

• Lead cloud incident, problem, change and event management, ensuring timely restoration, clear communication and effective root-cause resolution.

• Maintain operational controls, standards, runbooks and support models aligned with IT service management and engineering practices.

• Ensure cloud environments comply with security, risk, audit, data protection and regulatory requirements.

• Own and maintain vulnerability management processes to protect the estate.

• Manage cloud consumption, budgets, forecasts and optimisation plans, embedding effective FinOps practices.

• Oversee service providers and technology partners, holding them accountable for contractual commitments, service levels and improvement actions.

• Drive automation, observability and operational tooling to reduce manual effort, improve insight and increase service reliability.

• Support the safe transition of new or changed cloud services into live operation, confirming operational readiness and support acceptance.

Leadership and Stakeholder Management

• Lead, coach and develop a multidisciplinary cloud operations team, setting clear objectives and performance expectations.

• Establish effective on-call, escalation and major incident arrangements that support critical services.

• Build strong relationships with business leaders, product teams, technical specialists and suppliers.

• Translate operational performance, risks and investment needs into concise information for senior stakeholders.

• Promote a culture of ownership, collaboration, safety, learning and continuous improvement.

• Contribute to cloud strategy, platform roadmaps, obsolescence management, sourcing decisions and the wider technology operating model.

What you will need

Essential Experience and Skills

• Substantial experience managing cloud operations or platform services in a complex enterprise environment.

• Strong practical knowledge of at least two major cloud platform, such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, Salesforce or Oracle Cloud.

• Proven experience of service management, operational governance, incident leadership and continual service improvement.

• Understanding of cloud networking, identity and access management, security controls, backup, disaster recovery, monitoring and automation.

• Experience managing third-party suppliers, contracts, service reviews and performance improvement plans.

• Working knowledge of cloud cost management, budgeting, forecasting and optimisation.

• Strong leadership, communication, influencing and stakeholder-management skills.

• Ability to make sound decisions under pressure and balance service resilience, security, cost and delivery priorities.

Desirable Qualifications and Experience

• Relevant cloud certification at associate or professional level.

• ITIL qualification or equivalent service-management experience.

• Experience with infrastructure as code, DevOps practices, site reliability engineering or platform engineering.

• Knowledge of AWS, Azure, Salesforce & Oracle Cloud

• Experience operating services in a regulated or safety-critical environment.

• Knowledge of container platforms, configuration management and cloud governance frameworks.

Not sure you meet every requirement?

Research shows some people – particularly women and those from underrepresented backgrounds – may hesitate to apply unless they meet every criteria. At SGN, we value diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.

If this role interests you but you’re not sure you tick every box, we’d still love to hear from you. You might be just who we’re looking for – now or in the future.

Why SGN?

SGN leads pioneering research and development for a net-zero energy system. Our innovative technologies are transforming the gas industry while keeping people safe and warm. We are an award-winning employer, including CCA Gold Awards for Great Places to Work and Inclusivity and Accessibility, and a proud Gold member of the Armed Forces Covenant.

About us | Benefits | Diversity and inclusion

If you require any accommodations or support during the application process, reach out to us. We're here to help ensure an inclusive and accessible experience for everyone.