IT Core Platforms Manager in Southampton

DP World in the UK is at the heart of Britain’s trading future, providing world‑class port infrastructure, smart logistics solutions and the benefits of freeport status to our customers. An exciting opportunity has arisen within our UK Information Technology team for a UK IT Core Platforms Manager. This is a senior, business‑critical leadership role with responsibility for the reliability, performance and strategic direction of DP World UK’s core IT platforms.

The UK IT Core Platforms Manager plays a pivotal role in ensuring 24/7 terminal operations across DP World London Gateway and DP World Southampton, providing strategic leadership across Infrastructure, Network and Service Delivery functions. The role is accountable for operational stability, service performance, governance, budget management and long‑term platform strategy, ensuring IT capabilities continue to support terminal automation, growth and expansion. The vacancy is a UK role and may be based at either DP World London Gateway (Essex) or DP World Southampton. Regular travel between both terminals will be required to support cross‑terminal alignment, governance and delivery.

How you will contribute:

• Provide senior leadership and governance across UK Infrastructure, Network and Service Delivery teams, ensuring a single, aligned operating model that supports 24/7 terminal operations.
• Act as the senior accountable owner for all UK Core IT Platforms, ensuring high availability, resilience, performance and scalability across infrastructure, networks and end‑user services.
• Set clear priorities across business‑as‑usual operations, projects and expansion initiatives, ensuring effective resource allocation and delivery aligned to business objectives.
• Establish and maintain standardised IT platforms, architectures and operating principles across both UK terminals, driving consistency, efficiency and cost optimisation.
• Oversee disaster recovery, business continuity and high‑availability strategies, ensuring robust cross‑terminal resilience and regular validation of recovery capability.
• Ensure effective 24/7 operational support coverage with clear ownership, escalation models and service performance standards.
• Define, monitor and report on IT KPIs, providing performance transparency to senior management and driving continuous improvement.
• Own and manage the Core Platforms budget, including financial planning, cost control, supplier management and optimisation of operational and project spend.
• Lead strategic initiatives across cloud adoption, virtualisation, platform modernisation and emerging technologies, aligned to long‑term terminal automation plans.
• Manage third‑party suppliers and service level agreements, ensuring delivery against contractual and commercial expectations.
• Provide senior stakeholder engagement across UK leadership, DP World Head Office IT and Regional Cybersecurity teams to ensure alignment with global standards and governance.
• Represent the Core Platforms function at senior management and governance forums, articulating platform performance, risks and future requirements.
• Drive continuous improvement across people, processes and technology while fostering collaboration and strong leadership across teams.

What you will bring:

• Extensive experience in senior IT leadership roles within complex, enterprise environments.
• Proven accountability across multiple technical domains including infrastructure, networks and service delivery.
• Strong experience operating within 24/7 operational environments where system resilience and availability are business critical.
• Deep understanding of hybrid data centre environments, cloud platforms, virtualisation, disaster recovery and high‑availability architectures.
• Strong background in IT governance, audit alignment, risk management and service performance management.
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing IT strategy aligned to business growth, automation and expansion.
• Solid financial management experience including budget ownership, cost control, procurement and vendor management.
• Experience working with ITIL‑based service management frameworks and structured project delivery methodologies.
• Ability to operate confidently at senior management level, influencing stakeholders and aligning IT strategy to business objectives.
• Excellent leadership, communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to lead and develop multi‑disciplinary teams.

Compensation: DP World offers exciting and challenging roles within a growing international organisation. We strive to hire and develop the right people, locally and globally, stimulating personal growth and self‑development within an informal and inclusive working environment. We offer a market‑competitive compensation package.

About DP World: Trade is the lifeblood of the global economy, creating opportunities and improving the quality of life for people around the world. DP World exists to make the world’s trade flow better, changing what’s possible for the customers and communities we serve globally. With a diverse, professional workforce of more than 103,000 people across 75 countries, DP World is driving trade further and faster towards a seamless, future‑ready supply chain. Our portfolio spans Ports and Terminals, Marine Services, Logistics and Technology, united by global infrastructure and deep local expertise. The DP World family includes Syncreon, Imperial and P&O, delivering integrated end‑to‑end supply chain solutions that are redefining global trade. Through continued investment in innovation – from intelligent logistics systems to advanced automation – we are shaping the future of the industry.

DP World is committed to the principles of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO). We believe that a diverse workforce is central to our success, and we make recruitment decisions based on experience and skills. We value authenticity and welcome you to bring your whole self to work. We can’t wait to meet you.