IT Infrastructure Manager

The role will oversee the smooth delivery of our portfolio of business-critical core infrastructure projects, reporting to the Head of IT Infrastructure.  This role will also work closely with various other teams in technical services to ensure strategic and tactical projects and initiatives are identified, planned and implemented accordingly. 

Candidates for this role must have proven, hands-on experience project managing complex infrastructure projects, and effectively coordinating BAU support activities. As Infrastructure Manager, you will also assume line management responsibility for a team of Infrastructure Engineers located at two sites as well as remote workers.

You will have a strong technical background and be able to talk confidently to and effectively lead engineers in their day-to-day technical activities. You will also be expected to liaise effectively with third party suppliers in delivering first class service. We require that the Infrastructure Manager will not only be capable of planning and managing our infrastructure initiatives, but able to assist with technical activities as well.

As infrastructure manager, you will be able to balance delivery pressures and help assess priorities as required. You will be from an infrastructure background having knowledge of hardware, virtualisation, networking, and cloud offerings.

This is a great opportunity for a self-driven individual to make their mark in a rapidly evolving environment.

What does the job involve?

• You'll have overall responsibility for the support, provision, and enhancement of our group IT infrastructure
• Producing project plans for complex technical projects as well as coordination of activities identified for each project within agreed timescales and budgets
• Line Management for a team of skilled Infrastructure Engineers responsible for the delivery of projects as well as support of existing networks and infrastructure systems
• Managing infrastructure and systems monitoring mechanisms used throughout the group
• Production of associated KPI’s which give an indication of performance, capacity, availability and quality of infrastructure and associated systems and hardware
• Ensure a high quality of service and availability for Infrastructure services, and that support requests are dealt with effectively
• Responsible for ensuring infrastructure expenditures align with the budget

About you:

• You'll be experienced in managing a team, mentoring and supporting development of skills
• Have knowledge and hands-on experience with a variety of infrastructure technologies
• A solid understanding of recognised project management methodologies as well as proven experience project managing infrastructure projects
• Proven experience managing technical support and escalation processes both internally and with third parties

Technical skills:

• Broad VMware stack knowledge - VCF, VCDR, VMC, and related technologies
• Dell VXRail, or similar hyperconverged solutions
• Familiarity with AWS, Azure and GCP cloud infrastructure highly advantageous
• Environment monitoring and alerting solutions such as SolarWinds, OpsGenie, Zabbix
• SD-WAN & SASE networks.  Fortinet firewall product experience advantageous. 
• iSCSI SAN technology with ideally NetApp experience
• Familiarity with M365 suite and management
• Microsoft Server operating systems and the configuration and management of core components such as AD, ADFS, DNS, DHCP, DFS, IIS, etc.
• Linux server configuration and management
• Cisco networking, ISE and DNAC

Other knowledge and skills:

• Change planning, management and implementation, ideally gained within an Agile environment
• Effective and proven line management experience
• Structured, self-starting, flexible and enjoy working in fast paced environments
• Effective communication skills, both written and verbal
• Service focussed approach when responding to incidents, problems, change & projects
• Performance & Capacity planning experience
• Disaster Recovery planning and implementation experience

About us:

AJ Bell is one of the fastest-growing investment platform businesses in the UK offering an award-winning range of solutions that caters for everyone, from professional financial advisers, to DIY investors with little to no experience. We have over 484,000 customers using our award-winning platform propositions to manage assets totalling more than £76.2 billion. Our customers trust us with their investments, and by continuously striving to make investing easier, we aim to help even more people take control of their financial futures.

Having listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in December 2018, AJ Bell is now a FTSE 250 company.

Headquartered in Manchester with offices in central London and Bristol, we now have over 1300 employees and have been named one of the UK's 'Best 100 Companies to Work For’ for six consecutive years.

What we offer:

• Starting salary £65,000 - £75,000 (DOE)
• Generous holiday allowance increasing up to 31 days with service, plus bank holidays
• Holiday buy/sell scheme
• Hybrid working policy
• Casual dress code
• Discretionary bonus
• Contributory pension scheme
• Healthcare Cash Plan
• Dedicated time for proof-of-concepts and assessing new tech
• Support to attend conferences, events, and meet-ups
• Buy as you earn share scheme
• Free annual share scheme
• Paid study support for qualifications
• Enhanced maternity/paternity scheme from day one
• Bike loan
• Season ticket loan portal
• Discounted PMI and Dental
• On-site gym and personal trainer led classes
• Paid volunteering opportunities, free social events and more

AJ Bell is committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and all employees are empowered to bring their whole self to work.

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, pregnancy, religion, physical and mental disability, marital status and any other characteristics protected by the Equality Act 2010. All decisions to hire are based on qualifications, merit and business need.