Senior Manager, Infrastructure & Operations (Global)
Our manufacturing client is seeking a Senior Manager, Infrastructure & Operations with global experience to join their growing technology team. This person will lead a total team of 8-9 with 4 direct reports, 3 in the US and 1 abroad, and work with globally distributed team members, so previous experience working in a globally distributed team is necessary.
Reporting to the Global VP of Information Technology, the mission of the Senior Manager, Infrastructure & Operations is to provide a secure, reliable, and scalable technology foundation that enables the business to operate effectively and grow with confidence. This role ensures infrastructure, workplace platforms, and IT operations are delivered as high-quality services, grounded in ITIL 4 service management practices and continuous improvement, within a Microsoft 365–centric, hybrid (on-prem and cloud) environment. Success in this role requires balancing operational stability with modernization, embedding security and resiliency by design in partnership with the Information Security Officer, and building a high-performing Infrastructure & Operations team that the business can consistently rely on. If you have successfully cultivated the talents of your infrastructure team, and served as a true business partner, this may be the best role for you!
DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
People Leadership & Capability Development
- Directly manage infrastructure, network, and operations staff; set clear expectations and accountability.
- Develop team capability through coaching, performance management, training, and career development.
- Foster a culture of ownership, operational discipline, and collaboration across IT towers.
- Identify skill gaps and succession risks and actively build bench strength within Infrastructure & Operations.
Infrastructure & Platform Ownership
- Own the end-to-end infrastructure stack, including on-prem compute and storage, networks, identity services, and cloud platforms.
- Lead the evolution of a hybrid infrastructure model, balancing on-prem and cloud services to meet reliability, performance, scalability, and cost objectives.
- Define and maintain architecture standards, patterns, and guardrails for infrastructure and workplace technologies.
- Ensure backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity capabilities are designed, documented, tested, and aligned with organizational requirements.
Workplace & Microsoft 365 Platform
- Own the Microsoft 365 tenant and digital workplace experience, including Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, and related collaboration services.
- Oversee endpoint management and device lifecycle processes using modern management approaches (e.g., Intune / Endpoint Manager).
- Ensure consistent onboarding/offboarding, device compliance, and configuration baselines across the organization.
- Drive adoption, reliability, and usability of M365 services to support productivity and collaboration.
IT Operations & Service Management (ITIL 4)
- Lead IT operations using ITIL 4 practices, including incident management, request fulfillment, change enablement, problem management, knowledge management, and service level management.
- Establish, track, and report operational KPIs and SLAs, using data to drive continual service improvement.
- Standardize operational processes, documentation, and runbooks to reduce risk and dependency on individual contributors.
- Drive automation, monitoring, and proactive operations aligned with ITIL 4 value streams.
- Own relationships with infrastructure, cloud, and managed service providers.
- Manage contracts, licensing, and asset inventories, including Microsoft licensing and M365 services.
- Plan and manage operational budgets, including forecasting, renewals, and cost optimization initiatives.
Infrastructure, Operations & Security Partnership
- Implement infrastructure and operational controls that align with information security policies, standards, and risk decisions.
- Partner closely with the Information Security Officer on the design and rollout of security controls related to infrastructure, cloud platforms, identity, endpoints, and workplace technologies.
- Ensure infrastructure and operations teams adhere to approved security baselines, configurations, and change practices.
- Support security risk assessments, audits, and reviews by providing technical and operational input.
- Act as an escalation point for operational security issues, coordinating response and remediation with the Information Security Officer and third-party providers as appropriate.
Cross-Functional Partnership
- Partner with Applications, Data & Analytics, Security, and PMO to support project delivery, platform changes, and service transitions.
- Ensure infrastructure and operational readiness for go-lives through structured change enablement and release coordination.
- Serve as an escalation point for complex operational, availability, or service‑impacting issues.
REQUIREMENTS:
Technology Leadership
- 10-12+ years of progressive experience in infrastructure, systems engineering, or IT operations roles with a minimum of 3+ years in a team leadership position.
- A strong background operating in hybrid environments, combining on‑prem infrastructure with cloud platforms (Azure strongly preferred).
- Experience in Operations Technology within a manufacturing environment (chemical manufacturing ideal).
- A history of improving operational maturity, service reliability, and delivery outcomes in production environments.
- Have practical knowledge and skills for hands‑on involvement with Microsoft 365, including tenant administration, collaboration services, identity integration, and endpoint management.
- Strong working knowledge of ITIL 4 concepts and practices, with experience applying them in a production environment.
- Willing to travel 15-20% of the time.
- Willing to work in the office 2-3 days a week.
Interpersonal / Leadership Style
- Demonstrated ability to prioritize effectively and execute under pressure in a fast‑paced, operational environment (global experience preferred).
- A collaborative working style, with a track record of contributing to and leading within team‑oriented organizations.
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to explain technical concepts to non‑technical audiences.
- Highly self‑motivated and directed.
Education:
- Degree in Computer Science, Management Information Systems, Information Technology, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
Certifications (Preferred):
- ITIL 4 certification
- Microsoft Azure certifications preferred, Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert ideal
- Enterprise networking or infrastructure certification (e.g., Net+ or equivalent)