Senior Manager, Data Centre Operations

Senior Manager, Data Centre Operations

Location: London

Reporting to: Director, EMEA Data Centre Operations

Direct Reports: Data Centre Facilities Manager, Data Centre M&E Manager

Salary: £85,000–£100,000 + allowances & benefits (detailed below)

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Senior Manager, Data Centre Operations to lead the operational performance, service quality, and resilience of a major carrier-dense, globally connected data centre campus. The site supports mission-critical colocation services, high-density deployments, extensive interconnection ecosystems, and 24/7 operational demands.

This role oversees facilities operations, engineering/M&E teams, and incident management processes while ensuring excellence in service delivery and compliance with strict availability, safety, and security standards.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Oversee day-to-day data centre operations, ensuring consistent adherence to uptime, safety, and customer SLAs.
• Lead and develop the Facilities Manager and M&E Manager, providing strategic direction for engineering, maintenance, and site operations teams.
• Manage site operations across power, cooling, security, fire systems, critical infrastructure, and building services.

Infrastructure & Risk Management

• Ensure all critical systems are maintained to world-class standards, following rigorous preventive and corrective maintenance programmes.
• Lead root-cause analysis, incident response, and post-incident reviews for all operational events.
• Maintain operational risk registers, capacity planning, and resilience strategies.

Governance, Compliance & Standards

• Uphold compliance with required ISO standards, safety regulations, and internal operational frameworks.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives aligned with global data centre best practices.
• Work closely with compliance and security teams to maintain audit readiness.

Customer & Stakeholder Interaction

• Act as a senior operational point of contact for enterprise, cloud, and carrier customers.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders including engineering design, commercial, security, and IT teams.
• Support customer tours, technical clarifications, and operational reporting.

People Leadership

• Foster a high-performance culture within the operations team.
• Lead workforce planning, recruitment, succession planning, and skills development.
• Ensure teams adhere to safety, quality, and technical training requirements.

Standards & Compliance Requirements

Experience with the following standards is required or strongly preferred:

• ISO 27001 – Information Security Management
• ISO 20000-1 – IT Service Management
• ISO 22301 – Business Continuity
• ISO 9001 – Quality Management
• ISO 14001 – Environmental Management
• ISO 45001 – Occupational Health & Safety
• ISO 50001 – Energy Management

Engineering Practices & Technical Experience

Candidates must demonstrate strong engineering competence across the following data centre disciplines:

Electrical Systems

• HV/LV distribution systems, transformers, switchgear, busbars and panel boards
• UPS systems (static & rotary), battery technologies (VRLA, Lithium-ion)
• Generator systems, fuel delivery, and synchronisation controls
• Electrical Protection Systems (EPS), load testing and discrimination studies
• Grounding/earthing systems and power quality analysis
• Familiarity with N+1, 2N, and 2N+1 electrical architectures

Mechanical & Cooling Systems

• CRAC/CRAH units, chilled water systems, DX cooling and adiabatic cooling
• Chillers, pumps, cooling towers, heat exchangers and associated controls
• Hot/cold aisle containment and airflow management strategies
• Environmental monitoring and optimisation for PUE/energy efficiency
• Understanding of high-density deployments (liquid cooling beneficial)

Controls, Monitoring & Automation

• BMS, EPMS and PLC-driven controls
• Asset monitoring, alarm management, and remote telemetry
• Interpretation of trend data for predictive maintenance and incident analysis
• Familiarity with CMMS platforms for asset management and maintenance planning

Facilities, Safety & Critical Infrastructure

• Fire detection & suppression systems (VESDA, gas suppression, water mist)
• Access control, CCTV, mantrap systems, and physical security controls
• Compliance with electrical and mechanical safety legislation (UK-specific)
• Authorised Person experience (AP/CP) for HV/LV or mechanical systems desirable

Operational Engineering Practices

• Creating and reviewing Method Statements, Risk Assessments, and SOPs/EOPs
• Hands-on oversight of maintenance activities, change controls, and energised work restrictions
• Managing engineering vendors, SLAs, performance reporting, and site audits
• Strong understanding of resilience, redundancy, failover paths and fault-tolerant design

Skills & Experience Required

• 5+ years of data centre operations management experience within a critical-environment setting.
• Proven leadership of engineering, facilities or operations teams in a 24/7 environment.
• Strong technical understanding of electrical/mechanical systems, BMS/EPMS, and critical facility infrastructure.
• Demonstrated experience in incident management, root cause analysis and operational risk management.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement skills, with a customer-centric approach.
• Ability to operate effectively in high-availability, multi-site or campus-scale environments.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base Salary: £85,000–£100,000
• Annual Travel Allowance: £5,000 (paid monthly)
• Annual Car Allowance: £5,650 (paid monthly)
• Annual Bonus: Equivalent to 2.5× monthly salary, paid every May
• Private Medical & Dental Plan
• Pension:
• Year 1: 9% employer contribution
• Year 2: 10% employer contribution
• Year 3+: 11% employer contribution
• Additional benefits include life assurance, enhanced leave, wellbeing support, and professional development programmes.

Why Join Us?

This is a senior leadership opportunity within one of Europe's most interconnected and engineering-intensive data centre environments. You will shape operational strategy, drive engineering excellence, and ensure the resilience and performance of a globally significant critical infrastructure facility.

Apply Now!!!!