Director of Professional Services in Leeds

Director of Professional Services, Remote Working with limited travel to offices locations in the UK, up to £160,000 base + Bonus + Benefits. Technology Operations | Business Transformation | Service Excellence Location: UK-wide – flexible location, with travel to key business locations as required The opportunity: Transform a large-scale technology operation, challenge the status quo and build a first-class customer delivery function. Are you a senior technology operations or professional services leader who knows how to turn underperforming operations into high-performing, customer-focused teams? Do you thrive on identifying what isn't working, challenging established thinking and implementing meaningful change that delivers measurable business results? This is an opportunity to make a genuine impact. We are seeking an exceptional Director of Professional Services to lead and transform a substantial technology operations function within an ambitious, technology-led business. With approximately 100+ people across the function, this is a significant leadership opportunity for someone who can combine strategic vision with the practical ability to make things happen. The business has reached a pivotal point. Its technology, people and customer delivery capabilities provide a strong foundation, but there is a clear opportunity to raise standards, improve quality, streamline processes and create a more joined-up, efficient and responsive operation. This isn't a role for someone who simply maintains the status quo. It's for a leader who can see the bigger picture, get under the skin of an operation, identify opportunities for improvement and bring people with them on the journey. If you have the experience, commercial judgement and leadership ability to turn complexity into clarity and improvement into measurable results, we'd like to hear from you. The challenge You'll take ownership of a broad technology operations and professional services function responsible for helping new clients successfully onboard, implementing and deploying technology solutions, and providing ongoing technical support. You'll have the opportunity to assess how the function operates today, identify where performance and quality can improve, and develop a clear plan to transform service delivery. Working closely with senior leadership and colleagues across Product, Change and Infrastructure, you'll break down silos, improve collaboration and ensure the business operates as one joined-up team. Your mission will be to build a more effective, accountable and customer-focused operation that supports the company's continued growth. What you'll be responsible for Operational transformation and continuous improvement Conduct a thorough assessment of existing operations, processes, workflows and service delivery performance. Identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, duplication and opportunities to improve quality, productivity and customer outcomes. Challenge established ways of working constructively, replacing outdated processes with simpler, smarter and more scalable alternatives. Develop and deliver a practical transformation roadmap, prioritising improvements that create measurable business value. Embed a culture of continuous improvement, ownership and accountability throughout the function. Technology operations and service delivery Lead the end-to-end delivery lifecycle, including client onboarding, technical implementation, deployment and ongoing support. Improve the consistency, quality and reliability of service delivery, ensuring clients receive an excellent experience. Establish clear operational standards, performance measures, service levels and reporting. Use data, customer feedback and operational insight to identify issues early and drive sustainable improvements. Ensure processes are robust, repeatable and capable of supporting increasing business and client demands. Leadership and organisational development Lead and develop a substantial team of approximately 100+ people, creating clarity of purpose, strong accountability and a shared commitment to excellence. Build an engaged, high-performing culture that embraces change rather than resists it. Develop leadership capability within the function, empowering managers to take ownership and deliver results. Communicate change effectively, winning support from colleagues at all levels and ensuring improvements are adopted in practice. Balance the need for decisive action with the ability to understand the operation, build trust and bring people on the journey. Cross-functional collaboration Bring Product, Change, Infrastructure and operational delivery teams closer together. Remove organisational barriers that slow down delivery, compromise quality or create unnecessary complexity. Improve communication, decision-making and accountability across functions. Ensure technology decisions, change initiatives and operational processes work together to deliver better outcomes for clients. Act as a trusted partner to the CEO and senior leadership team, providing clear insight into performance, risks and opportunities. Commercial performance and customer experience Improve operational efficiency, resource utilisation and cost effectiveness without compromising service quality. Translate operational improvements into tangible commercial benefits. Strengthen client satisfaction, delivery consistency and the overall customer experience. Introduce meaningful KPIs and management information to demonstrate progress and maintain momentum. Ensure the function is equipped to scale as the business grows. What we're looking for We're interested in what you've achieved, how you lead and the impact you've made — not simply the titles you've held. You'll ideally bring: Significant senior-level experience in Professional Services, Technology Operations, Service Delivery, Technical Operations or a similar operational leadership environment. A proven track record of transforming complex operations, improving service quality and delivering measurable performance improvements. Experience leading sizeable teams, ideally around 100 people or more, through periods of change and improvement. Strong knowledge of client onboarding, technical implementation, technology deployment, service management or ongoing technical support. The ability to analyse existing processes, identify root causes and turn improvement opportunities into practical, deliverable action plans. Experience working across Product, Change, Infrastructure, Technology and customer-facing teams. Strong stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to challenge constructively, influence senior leaders and build relationships across the business. A hands-on, commercially minded leadership style, combining strategic thinking with a willingness to get into the detail. The ability to establish accountability, improve performance and create a culture in which people take ownership of outcomes. Excellent communication skills and the credibility to influence at executive level while engaging effectively with operational teams. What kind of leader will thrive here? You'll be someone who: Sees possibilities where others see problems. You can quickly understand a complex operation and identify where meaningful improvements can be made. Turns strategy into action. You don't stop at recommendations or presentations; you deliver change and measure the results. Challenges constructively. You're comfortable questioning established processes and assumptions while building trust and bringing people with you. Connects the dots. You understand that great service delivery depends on Product, Technology, Change and Operations working together. Raises standards. Quality, consistency, accountability and customer experience are non-negotiable. Develops people. You create the conditions for managers and teams to perform at their best, take ownership and embrace improvement. Balances pace with judgement. You know when to act decisively, when to listen and how to deliver sustainable change without destabilising the operation. Why consider this opportunity? This is a chance to take on a substantial leadership position where your experience can make a visible difference. You'll have the opportunity to work closely with the CEO and senior leadership team, influence how a critical part of the business operates, and build a stronger platform for service excellence and future growth. For the right person, it offers the opportunity to demonstrate what outstanding operational leadership looks like: better processes, stronger teams, higher quality and happier customers. Interested? If you're an experienced Director of Professional Services, Director of Technology Operations, Head of Service Delivery or senior transformation leader who knows how to improve complex operations and deliver lasting change, we'd welcome a confidential conversation