Director IT Operations

BME - Building Materials Europe; Amsterdam; On-site; EUR 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

High-impact role with executive visibility

International work environment

Opportunities for innovation and transformation

Job summary

A leading multi-country distribution organization is seeking a Group Director IT Operations to define and oversee their IT operations strategy. This role focuses on harmonization and operational excellence across a cloud-based infrastructure, ensuring high availability and security. The position involves leadership of IT professionals and collaboration with key stakeholders to drive cost efficiency and digital enablement. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in IT infrastructure, cloud transformation, and service management, with a strong emphasis on operational resilience and compliance.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of leadership experience in IT infrastructure & operations.
• Proven track record of leading cloud transformation and IT consolidation programs.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute the IT operations strategy aligned with business objectives.
• Oversee cloud infrastructure and on-premise environments for optimal performance.
• Ensure IT operations comply with data protection and cybersecurity regulations.

Skills

Leadership

IT Service Management

Cloud Transformation

Cost Optimization

Automation

Job description

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The Group Director IT Operations is a leadership role within a dynamic, multi-country distribution organization with more than €5bn in turnover and 12,000+ employees. Reporting directly to the Group Chief Digital & Information Officer (CDIO), the position is responsible for defining, implementing, and overseeing the IT operations strategy, ensuring high availability, performance, security, and scalability of the company’s IT infrastructure.

With a primary focus on harmonization, consolidation, and operational excellence, the role oversees a predominantly cloud-based infrastructure (MS Azure and on-premise solutions in local organizations) across eight European countries. The Group Director IT Operations leads a small team of IT professionals and collaborates closely with country IT leads, other group IT functions, and key business stakeholders to drive standardization, cost efficiency, and digital enablement.

Key Responsibilities:

IT Operations Strategy & Leadership

• Define and execute the IT operations strategy in alignment with the group’s digital transformation and business objectives.

• Lead the standardization and consolidation of IT infrastructure across the group, driving harmonization of cloud-based and on-premise environments.

• Foster a high-performance IT operations organization, ensuring operational excellence, business continuity, and resilience.

• Act as a strategic partner to the CDIO and country IT leaders, ensuring IT operations align with local and group-wide business needs.

Infrastructure & Cloud Operations

• Oversee cloud infrastructure (MS Azure) and on-premise environments, ensuring optimal performance, scaleability and cost efficiency.

• Lead the migration and modernization of legacy infrastructure, consolidating systems where appropriate.

• Define best practices for hybrid cloud operations, including governance, cost control, and security frameworks.

• Ensure a robust monitoring framework for proactive issue resolution and performance optimization.

Service Management & Operational Excellence

• Improve IT service management (ITSM) best practices to standardize support, incident, problem, and change management processes.

• Define and monitor SLAs and KPIs to ensure reliable and responsive IT services.

• Drive continuous automation, FinOps, AIOps, and self-service capabilities to enhance efficiency and reduce operational overhead.

• Establish an effective support model, ensuring high availability and rapid incident response.

Cybersecurity, Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure IT operations comply with data protection (GDPR), cybersecurity regulations, and industry standards.

• Partner with the CISO & the Group and local Security teams to implement and maintain a zero-trust security model.

• Oversee disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity (BC) strategies, ensuring resilience against cyber threats and operational disruptions.

• Define security baselines and ensure patching, vulnerability management, and compliance frameworks are strictly followed.

• Manage the IT operations budget, optimizing TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) while maintaining service quality.

• Drive contract negotiation, vendor selection, and service performance management for key cloud, data center, and network providers in close alignment with the CDIO and our owner Blackstone.

• Ensure cost-effective license management, cloud resource allocation, and procurement strategies.

Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement

• Work closely with country IT & Digital Directors, and operational teams to ensure IT operations support business growth and agility.

• Lead cross-functional initiatives for IT modernization, automation, and digital enablement.

• Act as a key advisor on emerging infrastructure and operations trends, influencing long-term IT strategy.

Key Qualifications & Experience:

Technical & Strategic Expertise

• 10+ years of leadership experience in IT infrastructure & operations within a multi-national, multi-site business.

• Proven track record of leading cloud transformation (MS Azure preferred) and IT consolidation programs.

• Strong knowledge of hybrid cloud, network architecture, IT security, and automation technologies.

• High level of experience with IT service management (ITIL), DevOps, and AIOps-driven operations.

• Hands-on expertise in cost optimization, performance engineering, and operational resilience.

Leadership & Business Acumen

• Experience in leading engineering teams, fostering a high-performance culture.

• Proven track record in driving standardization, harmonization, and operational efficiency in complex IT landscapes.

• Strong analytical and financial acumen to manage IT operations budgets and vendor contracts effectively.

What We Offer:

• A leadership role in a growing, pan-European distribution business.

• The opportunity to shape the IT operations strategy for a multi-billion euro company.

• A high-impact role with visibility at the executive level, reporting directly to the CDIO.

• An international work environment with opportunities for innovation and transformation.

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Director

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Information Technology and Engineering

• Industries

  Wholesale and Retail

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