IT Operations Functional Lead - Perm

London-based | Early-stage growth opportunity

My Financial Services/Insurance Client is looking to appoint an IT Operations Functional Lead to build and lead a new BAU IT operations capability from the ground up. This is a hands‑on, high‑impact role suited to someone who wants to take ownership, create structure, and establish the processes, controls and supplier relationships needed to support a fast‑growing, data‑rich business.

The business currently relies heavily on development, product and third‑party resources to support day‑to‑day IT activity. This role will create the dedicated operational function required to support BAU service delivery, improve control, and allow technical teams to focus on strategic delivery and product development.

The Role

You will be responsible for establishing and running the core IT operations capability, covering service desk, operational controls, supplier management, platform monitoring, cyber hygiene and day‑to‑day service performance. There are no direct reports initially, with delivery largely through third parties, but the function is expected to grow over time.

Key Responsibilities

• Build and establish a BAU IT operations function, including basic processes, controls and service management disciplines.
• Set up and oversee service desk capability, ensuring effective handling of day‑to‑day IT requests and operational issues.
• Work with third‑party providers to manage service requests, new starter processes, user administration and broader operational hygiene.
• Deploy and manage tooling for platform monitoring across multiple time zones, likely covering an 8am to 8pm UK operating window.
• Own core cybersecurity operations, including joiners, movers and leavers, incident response processes and essential security controls.
• Ensure backup testing, operational resilience and basic IT control activities are embedded and working effectively.
• Hold third‑party service providers accountable for quality, responsiveness and service delivery outcomes.
• Create a scalable operating model that can evolve as the business grows and internal capability develops.

The Candidate

This role would suit an ambitious IT operations professional who has operated as a strong “number two” and is now ready to step up into a role with genuine ownership. You will be hands‑on, commercially aware and comfortable building structure in an environment where not everything is already defined.

• Strong experience in IT operations, service management or infrastructure operations within a growing or change‑led environment.
• Proven ability to establish processes, controls and operational disciplines from a relatively blank sheet of paper.
• Experience managing third‑party technology providers and driving accountability for service delivery.
• Good understanding of service desk operations, operational tooling, monitoring, backup testing and cyber hygiene.
• Financial services, insurance, fintech or other data‑rich sector experience would be highly advantageous, although insurance experience is not essential.
• Ambitious, proactive and keen to take ownership of a newly created role with the scope to grow over time.

Location and Working Pattern

The role will require regular attendance at London‑based offices, working closely with internal stakeholders and external technology partners. The wider technology team currently includes contractors based in Eastern Europe, so the successful candidate will need to be comfortable operating across distributed teams and time zones.