IT Operations Lead

End; Washington; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

28 days holiday

Flexible working arrangements

Healthcare Cashback Plan

Generous staff discount

Opportunities for professional development

Job summary

Ashworth and Parker Limited in Washington is seeking an IT Technician to lead and manage a team supporting IT operations across retail locations. You will ensure the stability and efficiency of IT services while fostering strong collaborations with various stakeholders.

The ideal candidate has a proven leadership background in IT operations, excellent problem-solving abilities, and experience with retail IT technologies. The role includes flexible working options and generous employee benefits.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership experience within an IT operations or support environment.
• Strong knowledge of retail IT technologies (POS, networking, end-user devices, store systems).
• Experience managing service desks and ITIL-driven processes.

Responsibilities

• Lead the IT Technicians in supporting store technologies and business applications.
• Produce weekly and monthly performance reports.
• Manage daily IT operations for stability and efficiency.

Skills

Leadership experience

Retail IT technologies knowledge

Service desk management

Incident coordination

Infrastructure collaboration

Communication skills

Technical understanding

Education

Level 5 Professional qualifications

Job description

IT TECHNICIAN – FULL-TIME, WASHINGTON, TYNE & WEAR

Who We Are:

Inspired by a shared love of fashion, sneakers and the surrounding culture, END. was founded in Newcastle upon Tyne back in 2005. Bringing a combination of celebrated designers and emerging brands that were hard to come by outside of London, our first store in the UK nurtured a community of like-minded individuals who shared a passion within this ever-evolving culture.

Since then, END. has become a technology led retailer that provides a curated blend of menswear, womenswear, sneakers, homeware and lifestyle products for a global community.

At the core of everything we do as a brand is our customers. We recognise that it is our team and culture that makes the difference to our customers. With over 600 employees across our HQ, offices and retail locations, this customer centred approach continues to be a key focus for all END. staff.

As END. continues to grow with the culture, we want to ensure that all END. staff have a great experience at work and continue to contribute to our collective success.

We currently have an exciting opportunity within our Merchandising Team. You will be a visible team player, working with a variety of stakeholders across the wider organisation and forming strong working partnerships especially with the buying team. You will add gravitas, have innovative ideas and bring experience, energy and enthusiasm into the mix. You will provide strategic vision and focus but with an eye on the detail. You will be an ambassador and role model for the brand.

Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll be doing:

Key responsibilities

• Lead the IT Technicians supporting store technologies, business applications, handheld devices, networking equipment, and head-office IT systems.
• Produce Weekly and Monthly performance reports
• Manage daily IT operations to ensure stability, efficiency, and maximum system uptime.
• Ensure IT service desk performance meets agreed SLAs for incident response, issue resolution, and customer satisfaction.
• Collaborate with the Infrastructure Lead on all server, network, and cloud environment requirements.
• Provide full people management of the IT Operations Technicians team, including hiring, training, performance evaluations, and development planning.
• Oversee the design, improvement, and implementation of IT service management processes to ensure effective and consistent service delivery.
• Support technology and infrastructure rollouts across the retail estate, including new store openings and hardware refresh projects.
• Manage IT infrastructure to maintain high availability, reliability, and scalability aligned with business needs.
• Work closely with the Security Manager to maintain endpoint security, patch compliance, and adherence to cybersecurity policies and standards.
• Develop and manage the IT Operations budget, ensuring cost-efficient resource usage.
• Lead major incident response activities, coordinating swift resolution to minimize business disruption.
• Provide operational input into D365-related technical changes and system dependencies when required.
• Manage vendor relationships for IT hardware, telecoms, and service providers to ensure quality and timely service delivery.
• Oversee the full lifecycle of IT assets, including procurement, tracking, maintenance, and decommissioning.
• Ensure accurate and up-to-date documentation of IT systems, configurations, processes, and inventories.
• Execute change management activities such as device deployments, configuration updates, and controlled rollout of technical changes.

Who we’re looking for:

• Proven leadership experience within an IT operations or support environment
• Strong knowledge of retail IT technologies (POS, networking, end-user devices, store systems)
• Experience managing service desks and ITIL-driven processes
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate major incidents and ensure timely resolution
• Experience collaborating with infrastructure and security functions
• Excellent communication, people management, and stakeholder engagement skills
• Strong technical understanding across networks, endpoints, and operational system
• Strong communication and influencing skills. Able to exchange ideas and information effectively in a clear, concise and straightforward way. Working collaboratively with internal stakeholders including peers, senior leaders and team members and external stakeholders where required to achieve functional objectives.
• Level 5 Professional qualifications or extensive practical knowledge gained through experience

Besides a competitive salary and an engaging and inclusive work place we can offer you:

• 28 days holiday (including bank holidays)
• Flexible working - 3 days office working (Mon-Wed) 2 days home working (Thu-Fri)
• 40 Hours per week
• Holiday trading (Buy or sell 3 days)
• Your birthday off
• Access to Employee Assistance Programme
• Healthcare Cashback Plan
• Moments that matter gifts (Weddings and Babies)
• A pension that both you and the company contribute to
• Generous staff discount
• Opportunities for professional development and career progression

Don’t worry if you don’t hit every criteria, we’re always looking to uncover the next big thing, so if you have what it takes to be part of our future success, we want to hear from you.

Please note - for the successful candidate, any employment is conditional on you having the right to work in the UK in the role in which you are employed.