Cloud Operations Manager

The Cloud Operations DevOps teams are Responsible and Accountable for Sage’s online Product portfolio. The teams ensure our Products and Services are constantly available for our customers to use to run their businesses. The Cloud Operations Manager position is fully accountable for ensuring their products provide our customers with an outstanding customer experience by ensuring they remain available, secure and performant. These products are global in terms of Sage’s organisation, the customers can be based anywhere in the world and the Cloud Operations team will be distributed across Sage’s global locations. This role is required to lead a team of Live Service Specialists and be a fully-fledged member of the Cloud Operations Senior management team.

This is a people lead role and may also be a technical lead. The Cloud Operations Manager leads a team of Cloud Ops Specialists, is an active member of the Cloud Ops senior management team and a member of product management leadership teams. A key task in this role is to provide direction and input into the strategy to deliver a world class online service. You’ll be accountable for critical online services, provide best value to Sage, and optimum service availability ensuring the customer experience is protected and realise the benefits of new technologies. All our online services operate in the Cloud and this experience is crucial. Management, Cloud and DevOps experience is required for this role. Using cutting-edge technology, the Cloud Operations manager must ensure their services are designed and deployed to be best in class and future proofed against the changing technical landscape. The Cloud Ops Manager works closely with product delivery teams and their Cloud Operations team, influencing their approach and design of deploying, administering, monitoring and improving their service. This is done in in collaboration with security & architecture experts.

Innovation is critical to the success of our products and the Cloud Operations Manager must drive innovation and automation throughout the team. The role involves leading a highly skilled DevOps team based in different locations globally, to deliver exceptional targets for customer satisfaction, availability, performance, information security, employee satisfaction and stakeholder satisfaction. The Manger is also responsible for leading the Sage business during high pressure major incident scenarios, balancing technical resolution and stakeholder communication. Key to the role is influence and collaborating with various product delivery teams and the ability to prioritise effectively. The Cloud Ops Manager must have the ability to build relationships and influence at all levels of the organisation including senior stakeholder management. Generate, share and present comprehensive and detailed reports about team performance, and mission-related objectives and goals. You will work closely with Architecture and Engineering teams to promote DevOps culture and ensure high delivery standards. You have the ability to deal with Commercials and Senior stakeholders across the business. You may have people management experience to inspire and grow a team of talented DevOps engineers, ensuring accountability for team members, and providing regular feedback on performance. You will also provide continuous feedback to project teams to facilitate greater efficiencies and economies. This is a 24/7 operation that requires the manager to lead major service incidents that may arise.

- Lead a highly skilled a Cloud Operations team based in different locations with a DevOps mind-set to deliver exceptional targets for customer satisfaction, availability, performance, information security, employee satisfaction and stakeholder satisfaction.
- Fully accountable for ensuring our Products provide our customers with outstanding customer experience, ensuring they remain available, secure, performant.
- Active member of the Cloud Ops Senior management team
- Ensure their services are designed and deployed to be best in class and future proofed against the changing technical landscape. Deliver service plans to achieve ISO standards and ensure documenting processes is part of the DNA of the global team
- Work closely with product delivery teams, influencing their approach and design by deploying, administering, monitoring and improving their services, improving the customer experience.
- Responsibility for budgets, costs savings and cross charging.
- Drive innovation and automation throughout their team
- Ability to deal with Commercials and Senior stakeholders across the business.
- Lead the Sage business during high pressure major incident scenarios, balancing technical resolution and stakeholder communication.
- Lead the prioritization, design and implementation solutions and services to simplify customer experience, mitigate risk, improve usability and to impact Sage’s goals.
- Reporting about team performance, mission-related objectives and goals
- Work with architecture & security to set technical standards & strategic direction
- Understand all services from a customer and commercial perspective building relationships with key stakeholders.

Skills, know-how and experience: Must have:
· Exceptional customer focus and understanding how their actions directly impact the experience our customers receive
· Ability to build relationships and influence at all levels of the organization including senior stakeholder management.
· Proven experience working with Commercial and Product teams
· Experience of the DevOps environment, leading by example to influence peers and stakeholders.
· Excellent Communication, Presentation, Influencing and Interpersonal Skills. Proficiency in English language, verbal and written with ability to build relationships and influence at all levels of the organisation including senior stakeholder management.
· Experience working with ITIL; Change Control, Incident Management etc
· Strong technical background · Experience with large scale global Products, services and security.
· Broad range of experience in topics related to the responsibilities of the Operations department.
· Decision-making, Conflict resolution and Prioritisation skills
· Ability to analyse, assess and make informed technical decisions quickly
· Knowledge of working with budgets, costs savings and cross charging. Preferred:
· It is preferable, but not essential, that the post holder be educated to degree level in a relevant subject OR has deep knowledge in area of expertise
· Previous People leadership skills · Previous experience of the DevOps environment working with Agile methodologies & SDLC functional disciplines.
· Experience with Task automation, CI/CD implementation, increasing efficiencies, costs savings and reducing error in an online environment
· Experience in cloud technologies (Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services)
· Experience in Web/Cloud based technologies (HTML, CSS, Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, .NET, etc.) or Saleforce’s Force.com platform
· Knowledge of Linux or Windows Server operating systems, preferably in an online, customer facing environment
· Knowledge of database design, replication and administration (MySQL, MSSQL & NoSQL etc)