At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead IT operations, ensuring reliable and secure services while managing a small team.
- Company: Wifinity, a tech company revolutionising connectivity for students and families.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, remote work flexibility, and an annual leave buy & sell scheme.
- Other info: Positive work environment committed to respect and dignity for all employees.
- Why this job: Join a scale-up with start-up values and make a real impact in tech.
- Qualifications: Hands-on Linux experience and strong IT operations background required.
The predicted salary is between 60000 - 75000 £ per year.
About us:
Wifinity was founded in 2007 to solve a problem—our armed forces were struggling with reliable connectivity. While living in barracks, often in remote locations, ordering a landline and booking in an engineer just wasn’t an option. And that problem isn’t exclusive to the military, either. Students living in University accommodation, families visiting holiday resorts, or living in shared accommodation and retirement communities. Conventional home broadband doesn’t always work for them. Wifinity is different. We offer the same benefits as traditional broadband, such as super-fast speeds, WiFi, and secure and private networks, but none of the downsides. We even offer Pay As You Go and flexible contracts, so customers only pay for what they need without hefty penalties or long contract terms. We take the complexity out of connectivity.
The opportunity:
The IT Operations Lead is responsible for the hands-on delivery, reliability, and security of Wifinity’s IT services and infrastructure. This is a deeply technical, player–manager role leading a small team of three, with significant personal involvement in M365, Linux systems, Nutanix-hosted infrastructure, cloud platforms, monitoring, incident management, and automation. The role ensures that core IT platforms and services are robust, well‑monitored, and operationally sound, supporting both corporate users and operational teams. While leadership and structure are important, this role is fundamentally hands-on, requiring strong individual technical contribution alongside team leadership.
Key areas of focus:
- Service Desk & End‑User/Endpoint Support: Own the end-to-end delivery of IT Service Desk services and act as a senior escalation point, frequently resolving issues hands-on. Ensure clear prioritisation, SLAs, escalation paths, and accurate documentation and drive pragmatic improvements to tooling, self-service, and knowledge base content. Endpoint device management including robust configuration of MDM, InTune and Conditional Access alignment to InfoSec policies.
- Asset management and optimisation: Including M365 Defender.
- IT Infrastructure – Physical: Hands-on ownership of on premise infrastructure predominantly hosted on Nutanix. Strong personal responsibility for Linux-based virtual machines and services running on the Nutanix platform. Design, build, patch, harden, and troubleshoot Linux systems in production environments. Manage compute, storage, networking, backups, and platform resilience within Nutanix. Own capacity planning, lifecycle management, and platform upgrades in line with operational demand. Work directly with hardware, datacentre, and support partners where required, while retaining internal technical ownership.
- IT Infrastructure – Cloud: Hands-on ownership of cloud infrastructure platforms (e.g. Azure / AWS). Operate cloud services using a Linux-first approach, aligned with on premise standards. Implement and maintain infrastructure as code, automation, and standardised builds. Own identity, access management and authentication, backups, disaster recovery, and cost optimisation and ensure M365 is optimal and fit for purpose.
- IT Monitoring & Observability: Own monitoring tools across infrastructure and services. Configure alerts, dashboards, and thresholds based on real operational needs. Use monitoring data to proactively identify issues and prevent outages and continuously improve visibility, reducing reactive incident load.
- IT Incident Management: Lead and actively participate in major and complex incident response. Coordinate resolution across IT, Network Operations, and third parties. Own root cause analysis (RCA) and follow-through of corrective actions and ensure incidents are genuinely fixed, not just closed.
- Software & License Management: Own software asset and license management across the estate. Maintain accurate inventories and ensure license compliance. Actively optimise spend through rationalisation and renewal reviews and work closely with Finance and Procurement on renewals and budgeting.
- Leadership & Ways of Working: Lead a small team of 3 through direct involvement, mentoring, and coaching. Balance delivery discipline with pragmatism - fix problems properly, not cosmetically. Maintain high standards of documentation, runbooks, and operational hygiene. Collaborate closely with Business Systems, Network Operations, and Information Security. Execute against the IT operational plan, while remaining responsive to real-world issues.
About you:
You will be highly technical with the ability to interface with the business. You will be joining a scale-up business that strives to keep its start-up values. You value being genuinely impactful at work and are able to be pragmatic when solving business issues. You are excellent at working with people and always strive to provide a customer driven approach. You are a 'Translator', you can take a complex business problem from a non-technical stakeholder and turn it into a clear, scalable technical solution.
Your experience:
- Strong, demonstrable hands-on Linux experience in production environments.
- Strong, demonstrable experience of managing and optimising an M365 tenant, particularly within an E5 licence tier.
- Broad IT operations background across infrastructure, service desk, and incidents.
- Practical experience with cloud platforms, automation, and monitoring tools.
- Comfortable acting as both technical lead and individual contributor.
- Understanding of security, resilience, and operational risk.
- Calm, methodical, and comfortable operating in live, operational environments as well as experience leading a small team/Line Management.
It would be nice to also have…
- Experience in a Telco or service-provider environment is desirable but not essential.
- Experience of Nutanix, DNS, SharePoint, JIRA Service Desk as well as ITIL Foundation qualification, CompTIA Linux+ certification or similar.
We offer a competitive salary and benefits package which includes an ‘Annual Leave Buy & Sell Scheme’, in addition to a remote first working environment, allowing our employees more flexibility when it comes to the importance of a healthy work / life balance.
Please be aware that the successful applicant to this role will receive an offer which is subject to the satisfactory completion of a basic level DBS check.
At Wifinity we are committed to providing a positive environment in which individuals do not encounter bullying or harassment on the basis of protected characteristics which are identified by law (including sexual harassment). We are committed to treating candidates and employees with courtesy, dignity and respect.
This advert can be available in other formats (upon request) for those who require it, please contact jobs@wifinity.co.uk for assistance.
IT Operations Lead employer: Wifinity
Contact Detail:
Wifinity Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land IT Operations Lead
✨Tip Number 1
Network, network, network! Get out there and connect with people in the industry. Attend meetups, webinars, or even just grab a coffee with someone who works at Wifinity. Building relationships can often lead to job opportunities that aren’t even advertised.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! If you’ve got hands-on experience with Linux, M365, or cloud platforms, don’t be shy about it. Create a portfolio or a GitHub repository showcasing your projects and contributions. This gives potential employers a taste of what you can bring to the table.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for the interview like it’s a big game day. Research Wifinity, understand their services, and think about how your skills align with their needs. Be ready to discuss specific examples of how you’ve tackled challenges in IT operations before.
✨Tip Number 4
Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen by the right people. Plus, it shows you’re genuinely interested in joining the Wifinity team. So, get that application in and let’s make it happen!
We think you need these skills to ace IT Operations Lead
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV is tailored to the IT Operations Lead role. Highlight your hands-on experience with Linux, M365, and cloud platforms. We want to see how your skills match up with what we're looking for!
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Your cover letter is your chance to shine! Use it to explain why you're passionate about connectivity and how your background makes you a perfect fit for Wifinity. Keep it engaging and personal – we love a good story!
Show Off Your Technical Skills: Don’t hold back on showcasing your technical expertise! Mention specific projects or experiences where you've led teams or solved complex problems. We’re all about that hands-on approach, so let us know what you've done!
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply through our website for a smoother process. It helps us keep track of applications and ensures you don’t miss out on any important updates. Plus, it’s super easy!
How to prepare for a job interview at Wifinity
✨Know Your Tech Inside Out
Make sure you brush up on your Linux systems and M365 knowledge. Be ready to discuss specific projects you've worked on, especially those involving Nutanix and cloud platforms. The more hands-on experience you can share, the better!
✨Showcase Your Leadership Skills
As an IT Operations Lead, you'll be managing a small team. Prepare examples of how you've successfully led teams in the past, focusing on mentoring and coaching. Highlight your ability to balance technical tasks with leadership responsibilities.
✨Be Ready for Incident Management Scenarios
Expect questions about how you've handled major incidents in the past. Think of specific examples where you coordinated responses and conducted root cause analyses. This will show your problem-solving skills and your calmness under pressure.
✨Demonstrate Your Customer-Centric Approach
Wifinity values a customer-driven mindset. Prepare to discuss how you've translated complex technical issues into clear solutions for non-technical stakeholders. This will highlight your communication skills and your ability to make a real impact.