Head of Infrastructure & Operations

After more than 60 years away from Formula One, Aston Martin is back on the grid for 2021. Based in Northamptonshire, Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team has almost 500 passionate people at its heart, making a team with both a rich heritage and a fresh perspective – bringing new energy to the sport with a determination to shake up the order and compete at the sharp end.

 

The Aston Martin era represents the beginning of a new journey for us, but the racer’s attitude and can-do approach remain central pillars in the team’s philosophy. The focus is always on improving performance and delivering results. With fresh investment and energy, the stage is set to build on Aston Martin’s rich history in motorsport and establish Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team as a competitive force in the years ahead.

 

To succeed on this mission, the team is looking for talented individuals who share our passion for racing and hunger for competition. It’s a stimulating and rewarding place to work, with pure racing at the core of everything we do. We are building for a strong future and every member of the team will play an important role in our success.

 

We are a brave and united team who value authenticity, honesty, and are never afraid to question conventions. We embrace these values in ways that reflect our modern world. If you share our racer’s spirit and want to contribute to the next chapter in Aston Martin’s glorious history, please apply and join one of the most exciting projects in Formula One.

 

Purpose

 

At AMF1 we are devoted to making the car go faster. Our prime focus is to deliver services and solutions which make a real difference to our performance on track and are a key contributor to the car’s evolution.

The Head of Infrastructure & Operations (I&O) is responsible for the delivery of all IT infrastructure and related operations to enable business capabilities and services across the enterprise. The successful candidate will be experienced in leading cloud adoption, including establishing governance mechanisms, cost and growth management, delivering migration projects and defining the I&O team operating model.

An immediate priority will be to implement an augmented infrastructure and security design for the company’s new headquarters which are due to be handed over Feb 2023. The design has recently been validated to ensure AMF1’s infrastructure and cyber security posture can mature at pace. To complete this task, this role will need to work closely with Security and the broader IT leadership team to assess opportunities and balance risk with decision making. The successful candidate will be instrumental in co-ordinating the migration of a data centre, Comms rooms etc. during Q1 2023, with the aim of supporting a seamless migration to the user community.

 

The successful candidate will be expected to introduce innovative, differentiating infrastructure – with a focus on cloud, touch less & self-serve capabilities – that promote stability, performance and reliability to the technical estate, whilst enhancing employee productivity. A strong leader is required to provide direction, clear comms and dedicated support to a talented team who are eager to grow both their skills and behaviours.

 

 

Primary Responsibilities

 

 

  • Works with the IT senior leadership team on the service portfolio and governance required to prioritise resources, including budget.
  • Builds successful stakeholder relationships with other IT and business leaders by developing a clear understanding of business needs, acting as a trusted advisor, and ensuring cost-effective delivery of IT services to meet those needs.
  • Collaborates with the Security Architect to ensure I&O embrace and apply security strategy.
  • Defines, develops and manages a comprehensive and integrated monitoring and alerting toolset, based on best-practice processes, disciplines and related toolsets.
  • Operates a formal governance mechanism to establish and monitor effective controls for the processes and functions performed by I&O teams (patching, alerts, incident management, change control).
  • Leverages influencing and negotiation skills across IT and the enterprise to enable cost-effective and innovative shared solutions in the achievement of business goals.
  • Provides direction on what emerging technologies should be incorporated into I&O products and services to successfully deliver overall IT strategy.
  • Champions I&O involvement in the IT organisation's innovation efforts and its role in experimenting with new solutions to take advantage of business opportunities.
  • Provides strategic direction and oversight for the full life cycle of design, development, operation and support of infrastructure.
  • Directs the development of an I&O sourcing strategy and provides input to the strategic vendor and partner relationship management.
  • Works with the CIO, IT leadership team and HR to develop and execute workforce plans that ensure I&O can supply skilled resources to meet current and future demand.
  • Develops the maturity of I&O to improve efficiency, deliver new innovations and increase collaboration with other business areas (e.g., through Agile and DevOps).
  • Drives the adoption of (and commitment towards) service improvements.
  • Serves on IT planning and policymaking groups; drives the development of enterprise technology standards, governance processes and performance metrics.
  • Leads and develops a group of technical SMEs, evolving them in to a highly motivated, high performing team with no single points of failure

 

Skills & Knowledge Required

 

  • Exceptional leadership skills, with the ability to develop and communicate an I&O strategy and plan that inspires and motivates staff and aligns with the broader business strategy
  • Deep understanding of current and emerging I&O technologies and practices, and how other enterprises are employing them
  • Demonstrate experience of delivering hybrid cloud and on-premise infrastructure services including VDI
  • Recent and relevant leadership experience, responsibilities including strategy, budgeting and staffing in I&O teams
  • Experience of developing governance practices to track and measure the quality of services and maintain service improvement plans (particularly in relation to Cloud and DevOps)
  • Expertise in implementing ITIL best practice and pragmatic application of DevOps principles to create an agile & lean organisation.
  • Preferably proven experience or demonstrated capability in leading IT transformational initiatives in complex, dynamic environments during a transition from waterfall to agile ways of working
  • Preferably proven experience in supporting cloud-based ERP & PLM systems using Microsoft or equivalent technology
  • Exposure to contemporary WAN and LAN services
  • Ability to build consensus, making decisions based on many variables, and gain support for major initiatives.
  • Strong sense of self, ethics and effort, as well as the willingness to go the extra mile to achieve important goals.
  • Demonstrated ability to develop and execute a strategic staffing plan that ensures the right people are in the right roles at the right time, and employees are highly engaged and satisfied.
  • Ability to project potential resourcing shortfalls and develop plans to leverage short-term resource engagements in response.
  • Demonstratable experience of ITIL, successfully implementing and maturing ITIL processes in a mid-sized organisation
  • Demonstratable experience of administering and managing an Azure environment, including application migration, on-premises infrastructure retirement and decommissioning.
  • Some exposure to Azure analytics tooling, including Azure Data Factory, Azure Data Lake, Azure Event Hub, Azure Stream Analytics and Power BI.
  • Prior experience with integration tooling, including Kafka, Donodo, Rabbit MQ and familiarity with iPaaS, ETL, Data Virtualisation and API Gateway from an infrastructure and operational perspective. Strong third-party management skills, working closely with sourcing and vendor managers.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts and technologies to business leaders, and business concepts to the I&O workforce.
  • Solid understanding of risk, risk assessment and risk management to support a risk-based approach to the delivery of services.
  • A strong understanding of relationships with other IT functions, in particular the Architecture function, and how this can be leveraged to achieve maximum benefit through the delivery of strategic objectives.

 

The role will be based at the Silverstone Factory / Brackley premises however there may be a requirement to travel as and when requested to meet the requirements of the Company.

 

This job description reflects the major tasks to be carried out by the postholder and identifies the level of responsibility at which the postholder will be required to work. Subject to the discretion of the Company, the postholder will carry out the duties specified above together with such other duties or tasks for the Company as reasonably required.

You may also be required to perform additional duties for the Company from time to time commensurate with your skills and experience.

 

Aston Martin Formula One Team is committed to attracting, recruiting and retaining the most talented individuals, regardless of age, disability, gender identity, gender expression, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion, belief, sex or sexual orientation. We strive to be a Team that reflects all the communities with which we engage around the world through diversity in the workplace and promoting an inclusive culture in which all team members are respected, empowered and valued.