Data Center and Network Manager

Sanderson; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Sanderson in Bristol is seeking an experienced Data Center and Network Manager to lead a team responsible for the availability, resilience, and security of enterprise hosting and network platforms. This hands-on technical management role demands strong governance and risk oversight within a regulated financial services context.

You will drive automation, vendor management, and mature operational controls while partnering with technology, risk, and business stakeholders at senior levels.

Qualifications

• Experience leading hosting and network teams in regulated environments.
• Strong understanding of data centre operations and network governance at scale.
• Proven ability to drive governance, risk, and resilience in enterprise infrastructure.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to influence senior and non-technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Define and assure backup, disaster recovery, and operational resilience strategies aligned to business RPO/RTO and regulatory expectations.
• Establish and enforce infrastructure security baselines and configuration standards aligned with ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, and internal risk frameworks.
• Drive service improvement through standardisation, automation, and Infrastructure-as-Code initiatives, improving stability, control, and operational efficiency.
• Manage third-party suppliers and strategic partners, including contract negotiation, SLA governance, and service performance reviews.
• Act as a senior escalation point and advisor, clearly articulating infrastructure risk, control posture, and resilience to senior leadership.

Skills

Team leadership

Regulated environment experience

Stakeholder engagement

Infrastructure governance

Automation / IaC

Risk management

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering

Tools

VMware vSphere

NSX

NetApp SAN/NAS/HCI

Job description

Bristol office, hybrid working (2 days a week onsite)

Leading a team of 11

About the job

A leading financial services business are looking for an experienced Data Center and Network Manager to lead a team responsible for the availability, resilience, and security of our enterprise hosting and network platforms within a regulated financial services environment. This is a hands-on technical management role with a strong leadership, governance, and operational resilience.

You will ensure that critical infrastructure services meet regulatory, security, and business continuity requirements, while acting as a trusted partner to senior technology, risk, and business stakeholders.

Data Center and Network Manager- What you will be doing:

• Lead, develop, and performance-manage a hosting and network engineering team, setting clear objectives and fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Own the operational governance of enterprise-scale on-premises and co-location hosting environments supporting business-critical financial systems.
• Provide oversight of virtualisation platforms (VMware vSphere, NSX), physical compute, and enterprise storage (NetApp SAN/NAS/HCI) through effective team leadership and vendor management.

Data Center and Network Manager- Key responsibilities:

• Define and assure backup, disaster recovery, and operational resilience strategies aligned to business RPO/RTO and regulatory expectations.
• Establish and enforce infrastructure security baselines and configuration standards aligned with ISO 27001, PCI-DSS, and internal risk frameworks.
• Drive service improvement through standardisation, automation, and Infrastructure-as-Code initiatives, improving stability, control, and operational efficiency.
• Manage third-party suppliers and strategic partners, including contract negotiation, SLA governance, and service performance reviews.
• Act as a senior escalation point and advisor, clearly articulating infrastructure risk, control posture, and resilience to senior leadership.

Data Center and Network Manager- About you:

• Proven experience managing hosting and network teams within regulated environments
• Strong understanding of enterprise hosting, data centre operations, and network governance at scale
• Demonstrated success in leading teams, improving operational maturity, and embedding effective controls
• Deep awareness of infrastructure risk management, audit readiness, and regulatory compliance
• Excellent communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to influence senior and non-technical audiences

Qualifications

• Desirable: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent professional experience
• Preferred certifications: VMware VCP/VCAP, Cisco CCNP, ITIL v4

Working Schedule

This role is based in Bristol head office. This role is permanent, full time, 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday.