Technical Operations Team Lead in Whitehall

Digital Print Services (DPS) is part of Internal Products at the Financial Times and is responsible for managing and supporting the end‑to‑end processes, systems, and services that enable the daily production and publication of the FT's print products. The team owns a range of business‑critical applications, integrations, workflows, and operational processes that underpin the print publishing lifecycle. We are accountable for ensuring the successful delivery of daily print production while driving improvements that enhance reliability, efficiency, and resilience.

Your responsibilities

• Service Leadership and Strategy
  • Ensure successful delivery of the FT's daily print publishing operation, coordinating people, processes, systems, and partners to meet production deadlines and business commitments.
  • Own the performance, reliability, and continuous improvement of Digital Print Services, ensuring agreed service levels and operational expectations are met.
  • Shape the strategic direction and long‑term priorities of the Digital Print Services team, ensuring services continue to meet the evolving needs of the business.
  • Balance day‑to‑day operational requirements with longer‑term initiatives that improve service resilience, efficiency, and sustainability.
  • Use service metrics, operational insights, and stakeholder feedback to identify improvement opportunities and inform priorities.
  • Lead service improvement activities, identifying opportunities to streamline processes, reduce operational risk, and enhance the overall user experience.
  • Support decision‑making around service operations, tooling, automation, monitoring, and workflow enhancements.
  • Work with stakeholders across Editorial, Production, Operations, Technology, and external partners to ensure print services remain reliable, effective, and aligned with business priorities.
  • Promote the adoption of tools, processes, and practices that improve service quality, operational visibility, and team effectiveness.
  • Encourage collaborative problem‑solving and a culture of continuous improvement across the team.
• People Management and Team Development
  • Manage and support a team of Digital Print Services specialists through regular 1:1s, feedback, coaching, and career development conversations.
  • Support performance reviews, development planning, and continuous learning opportunities across the team.
  • Create an inclusive, supportive, and psychologically safe environment where team members can thrive and perform at their best.
  • Mentor individuals at different stages of their careers and help create opportunities for growth, increased responsibility, and leadership development.
  • Support recruitment, onboarding, cross‑functional secondments, internships, and knowledge‑sharing initiatives where appropriate.
  • Ensure workloads are balanced and sustainable, while maintaining high levels of service quality, responsiveness, and operational effectiveness.
  • Promote a culture of collaboration, accountability, continuous improvement, and customer‑focused service delivery.
  • Build and maintain a resilient, engaged team that can effectively support business‑critical print services and adapt to changing business needs.
• Service Delivery and Collaboration
  • Oversee the day‑to‑day operation of the print publishing process, ensuring critical production activities are completed successfully and on schedule.
  • Work closely with Editorial, Advertising, Production, and Operations teams to coordinate activities across the print production lifecycle.
  • Understand business priorities and align service delivery with organisational needs.
  • Coordinate team resources across operational support, service improvements, change initiatives, and project work.
  • Deliver business‑critical print services reliably and effectively, balancing operational demands with continuous improvement activities.
  • Maintain appropriate operational controls, procedures, and documentation across the print publishing process.
  • Facilitate service reviews, planning activities, change coordination, and prioritisation discussions.
  • Identify operational risks, dependencies, capacity constraints, and service gaps early, and work collaboratively to implement effective solutions.
  • Drive improvements to team processes, operational procedures, documentation, knowledge management, and service standards.
  • Promote automation and process optimisation opportunities that improve efficiency, reduce manual effort, and enhance service reliability.
• Communication and Stakeholder Management
  • Act as a key point of contact for Digital Print Services, building trusted relationships with stakeholders across the business.
  • Monitor vendor and supplier performance, ensuring third‑party services continue to meet operational and business requirements.
  • Provide clear communication and operational updates during production‑critical activities, service disruptions, and major incidents.
  • Communicate service performance, priorities, risks, planned changes, and operational challenges clearly to both technical and non‑technical audiences.
  • Ensure services continue to meet business requirements.
  • Manage relationships with external vendors, suppliers, and service partners where required, ensuring effective collaboration and service outcomes.
  • Represent the team in operational, project, and governance forums, advocating for service improvements and business needs.
• Operational Leadership, Incident Management and Escalation
  • Lead the operational response to issues that may impact print production schedules, publication deadlines, or delivery commitments.
  • Make informed decisions during production‑critical situations to minimise disruption and ensure the successful completion of print publishing activities.
  • Ensure appropriate business continuity, contingency planning, and recovery procedures are in place to support critical print operations.
  • Provide leadership and support during incidents, major operational issues, and periods of heightened business activity.
  • Act as an escalation point for service, operational, vendor, and people‑related issues.
  • Coordinate the response to incidents, service disruptions, and business‑critical issues, ensuring timely communication and resolution.
  • Lead post‑incident reviews and problem management activities, identifying root causes and driving preventative improvements.
  • Work with stakeholders and technical teams to make informed decisions on service risks, operational priorities, and recovery activities.
  • Maintain calm, effective leadership and communication during incidents and periods of operational pressure.
  • Ensure appropriate operational readiness, support arrangements, and contingency planning are in place to support critical print production activities.

Leadership experience we’re looking for

• Experience leading teams responsible for delivering time‑critical operational processes with immovable deadlines.
• Experience managing business‑critical services where reliability, service continuity, and operational excellence are essential.
• Experience leading operational, service delivery, technical support, production, publishing, or similar business‑critical teams.
• Strong coaching, mentoring, feedback, and people development skills, with a genuine commitment to helping others succeed.
• Experience managing operational priorities, service commitments, and competing business demands in a fast‑paced environment.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships across technical and non‑technical teams.
• Experience coordinating work across multiple teams, stakeholders, suppliers, and business functions.
• Experience working with external vendors, suppliers, or service providers to support operational delivery.
• A proven ability to drive service improvements, operational excellence, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Experience leading teams through incidents, operational challenges, and periods of change while maintaining focus and team wellbeing.
• Strong problem‑solving and decision‑making skills, with the ability to assess risks and make pragmatic decisions in complex environments.
• Experience building inclusive, engaged, and high‑performing teams.
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity, organisational change, and evolving business priorities.
• Experience working across editorial, production, operations, technology, or other cross‑functional environments would be advantageous.
• Experience with print production, publishing operations, media workflows, or other deadline‑driven business‑critical services would be highly advantageous.

Characteristics we value

• Strong collaboration and communication skills.
• Empathy, emotional intelligence, and a people‑first mindset.
• Pragmatism and good judgement when balancing operational, technical, and business needs.
• A strong sense of ownership, accountability, and attention to detail.
• Curiosity and a commitment to continuous learning and improvement.
• A genuine interest in helping others grow through mentoring, coaching, and knowledge sharing.
• Calmness under pressure and the ability to lead effectively during challenging situations.
• Resilience and adaptability in fast‑paced, deadline‑driven environments.
• A collaborative mindset and an ability to bring people together to solve complex problems.
• An appreciation for continuous improvement, operational excellence, and effective ways of working.
• An interest in journalism, publishing, editorial workflows, or newsroom technology is a plus.

Our technology

• AWS and cloud‑hosted services
• CI/CD pipelines and deployment tooling
• GitHub and version control systems
• AI‑assisted tools and automation technologies

Benefits

Our benefits vary by location, but we are committed to providing best‑in‑class perks across all our offices. These include generous annual leave, medical cover, inclusive parental leave packages, subsidised gym memberships and opportunities to give back to the community.

Accessibility

We are a disability‑confident employer and Valuable 500 signatory. Please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments or personalisation as part of the application process or to enable you to attend an interview.