IT Operations Manager Job Description and Role Profile

This IT Operations Manager job description is for experienced IT operations leaders who oversee service delivery, infrastructure reliability and operational processes. Candidates with a background in managing technical teams, incident and change management, and operational performance should apply.

IT Operations Manager Job Profile

The IT Operations Manager is responsible for ensuring the stable and efficient operation of an organisation's IT infrastructure and services. This role focuses on operational governance, service delivery, capacity planning and continuous improvement to meet business needs.

The post-holder will lead a team of technical staff and collaborate with stakeholders across IT and the business to deliver agreed service levels, maintain compliance and support change while minimising operational risk.

IT Operations Manager Job Description

The IT Operations Manager oversees day-to-day IT operations, ensuring availability, performance and security of systems and services. They manage incident response and problem resolution, monitor operational metrics and enforce policies to maintain service quality and regulatory compliance.

This role requires coordination of planned changes and maintenance activities to reduce service disruption, together with responsibility for capacity planning and optimisation. The manager will maintain clear communication with business units and technical teams, prioritise operational work, and drive improvements in processes and automation to increase efficiency.

Reporting lines typically include senior IT leadership and cross-functional stakeholders. The role demands a pragmatic approach to risk management, vendor oversight and budgetary control to support reliable, scalable IT operations.

IT Operations Manager: Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the IT operations team, including recruitment, performance management and development.
• Own service delivery and operational performance against agreed service level agreements and key performance indicators.
• Manage incident, problem and request fulfilment processes to ensure timely resolution and root cause analysis.
• Coordinate change and release management to minimise service disruption and ensure appropriate approvals and testing.
• Maintain monitoring and alerting frameworks to detect and respond to performance or availability issues.
• Develop and maintain operational runbooks, procedures and documentation.
• Plan and manage capacity and performance to meet current and forecast demand.
• Oversee vendor and third party relationships, contracts and service levels.
• Manage operational budgets and resource allocation to optimise cost and efficiency.
• Ensure compliance with relevant regulatory, security and audit requirements.
• Lead business continuity and disaster recovery planning, testing and improvements.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives, including automation, process optimisation and reduction of technical debt.
• Collaborate with project teams to ensure smooth transition of services from project to operations.
• Provide regular reporting to senior management on operational health, risks and improvement plans.

IT Operations Manager: Requirements and Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems or a related discipline, or equivalent experience.
• Proven experience managing IT operations, infrastructure or service delivery functions in a medium to large organisation.
• Strong knowledge of incident, problem and change management practices, preferably aligned to recognised frameworks.
• Experience leading technical teams with demonstrated ability to develop staff and manage performance.
• Understanding of networking, servers, storage and common enterprise infrastructure concepts.
• Experience in capacity planning, monitoring and performance optimisation.
• Demonstrable vendor management and contract oversight experience.
• Good financial awareness with experience managing operational budgets and cost control.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills with the ability to present operational status to senior leadership.
• Experience developing and delivering business continuity and disaster recovery plans.
• Analytical mindset with a focus on problem solving and continuous improvement.
• Familiarity with information security and compliance requirements relevant to IT operations.
• Professional certifications such as ITIL or other relevant qualifications are desirable.