IT Business Partner

Arla Foods Limited; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading food manufacturer in the UK is seeking an IT Supply Chain Market Partner to enhance collaboration between IT and Supply Chain. The role includes monitoring IT performance, managing incidents, and ensuring compliance across sites. The ideal candidate will have strong experience in service operations and a proactive approach to stakeholder management. This position offers a competitive salary, hybrid working, and additional benefits such as a company car and healthcare.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Company car

26 days holiday & bank holidays

Bonus up to 20%

BUPA Healthcare

Hybrid & flexible working

Pension contribution

Life assurance

Free onsite gym

Qualifications

• Experience in Manufacturing / Supply Chain operational contexts.
• Strong background in service operations and SLA management.
• Skills in maintenance and security coordination.
• Effective in operational reporting and stakeholder communication.

Responsibilities

• Monitor site IT performance and advise leadership effectively.
• Align maintenance plans with IT security and compliance.
• Facilitate quarterly reviews for operational health.
• Translate site feedback into actionable improvement requests.

Skills

Stakeholder management

Operational reporting

IT services support

Incident management

Tools

SAP

Network services

Job description

Do you enjoy bringing Supply Chain and IT closer together to improve site performance, stability and customer satisfaction?

Our Market Partners are a key element between Arla sites and IT. Advising leadership on IT health, coordinating escalations, and turning feedback into improvements that keep production and logistics running reliably.

How You Will Make an Impact

As the IT Supply Chain Market Partner for Arla UK, you will own collaboration and governance with UK Supply Chain and site management. You’ll monitor operational IT performance across sites, act as an escalation point for incidents, ensure audit‑ready controls, and translate site feedback into actionable improvements for our IT Product teams. You will be based at Arla House in Leeds or an Arla production site, with regular UK travel and occasional international travel.

• Monitor site IT performance end to end; advise leadership with concise status, risks and action plans; act as escalation point to restore incidents quickly with product teams, vendors and local support.
• Align site maintenance plans with IT security (patching, vulnerability remediation, backup / restore validation) and production windows; ensure audit-ready documentation and close compliance findings.
• Facilitate quarterly reviews with Market SVP / SC Lead and Site Directors, presenting OT / IT health, KPIs, SLAs, risks and mitigation progress.
• Capture site feedback, translate into improvement requests for product teams, track delivery and verify outcomes; promote standardisation.
• Support readiness and execution for major changes / rollouts, coordinating cutover and hypercare, and confirming site acceptance.

This role sits within Arla IT & Digital’s Supply Chain IT Product area and reports to the Senior Manager, IT SC Market Partner.

What Will Make You Successful

To be successful in the Market Partner role, you will need to act as a true partner, taking stakeholder concerns as your own and collaborating across the organization to resolve them. The ideal candidate will have strong experience and understanding of :

• Manufacturing / SC operational contexts and the IT services that support them (network, SAP, workplace, local support).
• Service operations and SLA management : incident, problem, change, and knowledge processes; escalation handling.
• Maintenance and security coordination : patching cycles, vulnerability follow-up, backup / restore, continuity planning.
• Operational reporting and stakeholder communication; ability to convert data into clear actions and decisions.

You will engage confidently with senior management and apply excellent interpersonal, stakeholder management, and facilitation skills.

You will communicate clearly to align diverse teams and influence decisions with evidence. You will work proactively and in a structured manner, anticipating risks, standardizing practices, and driving continuous improvement.

In your role you will work closely across sites and functions, embracing a steep learning curve with colleagues who will cheer, support, and challenge you.

What Do We Offer?

• Competitive salary (salary discussed at application stage)
• Company Car
• 26 days holiday & Bank holidays
• Bonus up to 20% (Personal and Business performance)
• BUPA Healthcare
• Hybrid & Flexible working
• Pension contribution matched up to 6%
• 4 x annual salary life assurance
• Free to use onsite Gym

Would You Like to Join Us?

To succeed in this role, you’ll need the flexibility to travel to our UK sites each week. This hands‑on presence is essential for building relationships, understanding site needs, and driving impactful improvements across our operations