Group IT Manager

Individual Restaurants,; Manchester; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Enhanced maternity, paternity and adop

50% off food and drink across our

Wagestream

Healthcare cover

The Drinks Trust

Opportunities to grow within a leading

Job summary

Individual Restaurants is seeking a practical, delivery-focused Head of IT Services who will own day-to-day IT across all sites and the support centre, delivering technology projects from new venue builds to upgrades. The role reports to the Fractional CTO who sets strategy and architecture direction.

You will run service delivery, project delivery, vendor management, and cyber/compliance, ensuring GDPR/PCI alignment and robust backups, with a hybrid mix of Manchester centre and site visits.

Qualifications

• Experience running IT in a multi-site hospitality, retail or leisure business.
• Comfort with Microsoft 365 and Azure in production.
• Practical experience with EPOS, WiFi, booking and payment systems.
• Confidence managing suppliers, MSPs, budgets and small teams.
• A pragmatic, solutions-focused approach and a service mindset.

Responsibilities

• Keep our IT services running reliably across restaurants and the support centre.
• Manage the service desk, incidents, changes and SLAs.
• Maintain business continuity, backup and recovery plans.
• Provide clear operational reporting to the Finance & Technology Director.
• Lead IT build-outs for new venues, from procurement to go-live.
• Deliver system upgrades and refreshes across EPOS, WiFi, booking and payments.
• Turn the Fractional CTO's strategy and roadmap into delivery plans and actions.
• Champion practical automation and Copilot use where it makes life easier for our teams.
• Manage day-to-day relationships with our IT suppliers, MSPs and partners.
• Own contract renewals, performance reviews and service-level management.
• Work with operations, marketing, finance and central teams to deliver practical solutions.
• Run our day-to-day cyber controls: patching, MFA, endpoint management, backups.
• Maintain operational alignment with UK GDPR, PCI DSS and Cyber Essentials.
• Act as first-line response for incidents; escalate strategy calls to the Fractional CTO.

Job description

This is a practical, delivery-focused role. You will own the day-to-day of our IT services across all our sites and the support centre, and you will deliver the technology projects on our roadmap, from new venue builds to system upgrades. Our Fractional CTO sets the technology strategy and architecture direction, and you will work closely with them to turn that into practical delivery.

What you will be doing

Service delivery

• Keep our IT services running reliably across restaurants and the support centre.
• Manage the service desk, incidents, changes and SLAs.
• Maintain business continuity, backup and recovery plans.
• Provide clear operational reporting to the Finance & Technology Director.

Project delivery

• Lead IT build-outs for new venues, from procurement to go-live.
• Deliver system upgrades and refreshes across EPOS, WiFi, booking and payments.
• Turn the Fractional CTO's strategy and roadmap into delivery plans and actions.
• Champion practical automation and Copilot use where it makes life easier for our teams.

Vendors and stakeholders

• Manage day-to-day relationships with our IT suppliers, MSPs and partners.
• Own contract renewals, performance reviews and service-level management.
• Work with operations, marketing, finance and central teams to deliver practical solutions.

Cyber and compliance

• Run our day-to-day cyber controls: patching, MFA, endpoint management, backups.
• Maintain operational alignment with UK GDPR, PCI DSS and Cyber Essentials.
• Act as first-line response for incidents; escalate strategy calls to the Fractional CTO.

Technology plays a key role across our restaurants, from the kitchen to the front of house, and you will have real scope to shape how it runs day to day.

In return, you will receive:

• Salary £60k to £70k, reviewed annually.
• Hybrid working, mix of Manchester support centre and site visits, with flexibility around how you arrange your week.
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave.
• 50% off food and drink across our restaurants (for you and up to 8 guests).
• Wagestream, early access to earned wages.
• Healthcare cover and access to The Drinks Trust (hospitality industry charity offering financial and wellbeing support).
• Opportunities to grow within a leading hospitality group.

Our process

We use a structured interview process with a diverse panel. We will share the questions in advance so you can prepare on your own terms. Expected stages: a 30-minute screening conversation, then a 60 to 90 minute interview with the hiring manager and Finance & Technology Director, then a final-stage meeting with our Fractional CTO. We will give feedback at every stage.

Adjustments

We want this process to be accessible. If you would benefit from adjustments at any stage, questions in advance, an interview in writing, scheduling around caring responsibilities, or anything else, We will work with you.

Joining us

Individual Restaurants is committed to building a team that reflects the communities we serve. We particularly welcome applications from people currently underrepresented in technology and hospitality leadership.

If you are interested in making technology work simply and effectively in a hospitality business that cares about its food and its teams, we would love to hear from you.

You will bring:

• Experience running IT in a multi-site hospitality, retail or leisure business.
• Comfort with Microsoft 365 and Azure in production.
• Practical experience with EPOS, WiFi, booking and payment systems.
• Confidence managing suppliers, MSPs, budgets and small teams.
• A pragmatic, solutions-focused approach and a service mindset.
• Comfort working alongside a Fractional CTO on strategy and translating it into delivery.

Nice to have:

• Direct experience in a Manchester-area hospitality or leisure operator.
• New site opening or mobilisation experience.
• Prior exposure to Copilot, Power Platform or other practical automation.
• ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials or PCI DSS operational delivery experience.

Don't tick every box? Apply anyway. We hire for judgement and trajectory as well as track record.

When you join Individual Restaurants, you're not just joining one team. You're joining a collection of industry-leading restaurants, all with a stellar reputation for quality service and exceptional food. Explore roles across our collection of 30+ restaurants, including Piccolino, Restaurant Bar & Grill and Riva., At Individual Restaurants we create more than great food. We deliver memorable experiences. Our portfolio includes Piccolino, Restaurant Bar & Grill and Riva, and our restaurants are built on care, craft and exceptional service.