Manager of IT Operations

The Manager of IT Operations owns the day-to-day health of our IT environment — ensuring stability, security, and operational excellence across infrastructure, applications, and support functions. This role leads the core rhythms of IT operations, including budgeting, billing, vendor management, and run-state performance, while driving process maturity and continuous improvement across the team. A defining characteristic of this role is the ability to create clarity in a complex, fast-moving environment. Our team operates across both run (operational) and project work simultaneously, and every team member carries a combination of both. You will be instrumental in building transparency, tooling, and prioritization cadences that allow the team to stay focused, balanced, and effective — ensuring the right work gets the right attention at the right time. Operational Leadership Lead incident management, problem resolution, and root‑cause analysis. Serve as the primary point of accountability for all run operations — ensuring IT services are available, performing, and properly supported Ensure high availability, performance, and reliability across all technology platforms. Develop, maintain and continuously improve IT service delivery standards, SLAs, KPIs and operational playbooks Manage and resolve escalated incidents and service disruptions with urgency and structured root-cause analysis Review the IT helpdesk function, ensuring tickets are triaged, routed, and resolved within defined response standards while balancing resource management with existing projects Conduct regular operational reviews to identify recurring issues, inefficiencies, and improvement opportunities Security & Risk Management Partner with internal and external security resources to maintain a strong security posture. Drive continuous improvement in operational discipline. Monitor security alerts and threat intelligence feeds; establish/enhance runbooks Manage backup and disaster recovery processes, including regular testing and documentation of recovery procedures Review and update infrastructure documentation including network diagrams, system inventories, and configuration baselines Partner with managed service providers and vendors to maintain service levels and contractual compliance Budget, Billing & Vendor Management Own and manage the IT operational budget, including monthly spend tracking, variance analysis, and forecasting Manage vendor invoices, software subscription renewals, and hardware procurement against approved budget Identify cost optimization opportunities across contracts, licensing, and cloud consumption Support annual IT budget planning by providing data-driven input on operational spend trends and preparing a bottom-up annual budget Ensure accurate tracking of licenses, subscriptions, and service agreements. Team Leadership & Delivery Management Coordinate resource allocation across operational work and project initiatives. Establish clear priorities, communication rhythms, and accountability structures. Foster a culture of documentation, process maturity, and continuous improvement. Cross‑Functional Collaboration Support delivery of technology initiatives by providing operational oversight and execution discipline. Communicate effectively with leadership on risks, timelines, and operational health. Required Qualifications 8–12 years of progressive IT experience, including leadership of technical teams. Strong background in infrastructure, cloud platforms (Azure preferred), networking, and security operations. Demonstrated success managing operational environments in a small or mid‑sized IT organization. Experience with budgeting, vendor management, and contract oversight. Ability to balance hands‑on problem solving with leadership responsibilities. Excellent communication, prioritization, and organizational skills. Preferred Qualifications Experience in distribution, manufacturing, or multi‑site environments. Familiarity with ERP systems (P21(preferred), Business Central, SAP, NetSuite, etc.). Exposure to ITIL, NIST CSF, or similar frameworks. Experience leading modernization or cloud migration initiatives. Operationally disciplined with strong follow‑through. Builder of teams, processes, and scalable foundations. Business‑focused mindset with the ability to influence across the organization. Growth‑oriented leader capable of evolving into a senor leadership role. #J-18808-Ljbffr