Head of DC Operations – Critical Infrastructures (M/F)

Head of DC Operations (M/F)

Paris region

Your mission

In an environment where the availability and reliability of infrastructures are essential, Isatalent is seeking a Head of DC Operations to lead the operations of its data centers in the Paris region.

Reporting to management, you will be responsible for operational performance, service continuity, and infrastructure reliability. You will supervise site managers and work closely with central expertise teams, clients, and maintenance partners.

In a context of company growth and operational demands, you will play a key role in harmonizing practices, structuring activity management, and supporting change within the teams.

Your objective: to build a consolidated operational vision, manage risks, and unite teams around common requirements for performance, security, and service quality.

Important – Nature of the profile sought

We are looking for a professional in technical data center operations (Data Center Operations / Critical Facilities), not an IT Systems Director or IT Infrastructure Director.

Concrete experience in the operational management of critical physical infrastructures is essential: electrical installations (high/low voltage), UPS, generators, cooling systems (HVAC), preventive and corrective maintenance, incident management, and service continuity.

Profiles exclusively focused on IT, systems, networks, cloud, hosting, or IT project management do not align with the scope of this position.

Your responsibilities

Lead multi-site operations strategy and performance

• Develop a short and medium-term operational roadmap, defining priorities, action plans, and the necessary human and financial resources.

• Define and harmonize the management methods for operational activities across all sites.

• Consolidate and evolve KPIs and dashboards, particularly concerning infrastructure availability, maintenance, client communication, and procedure adherence.

• Analyze results, identify performance gaps, and lead corrective actions.

• Produce structured reporting for management and inform strategic decisions.

Manage site managers and support transformation

• Supervise and support site managers in leading their activities and developing their skills.

• Provide operational and technical expertise to challenge choices, priorities, and action plans.

• Foster team autonomy, accountability, and cooperation.

• Organize resource allocation and monitor workload plans.

• Support the reorganization of the scope, harmonize practices, and contribute to the integration of new sites.

• Work transversally with the Head of Expertise and other company functions.

Ensure infrastructure reliability and manage risks

• Ensure the availability, resilience, and operational continuity of critical infrastructures.

• Oversee preventive, corrective, and regulatory maintenance, as well as work, extensions, retrofits, and changes carried out in an operational environment.

• Take over and consolidate the mapping of operational and technical risks, particularly single points of failure (SPOFs) and critical obsolescence.

• Prioritize risks, define treatment plans, assess financial and human impacts, and identify necessary investments.

• Manage major incidents, escalations, root cause analyses, and the follow-up of corrective and preventive actions.

• Ensure compliance with security, conformity, and service continuity requirements.

Develop client relations and partnerships with maintenance providers

• Ensure adherence to contractual commitments, SLAs, and quality standards expected by clients.

• Enhance the quality of operational communication and trust with client contacts.

• Develop a constructive and partnership-based relationship with maintenance providers and suppliers.

• Improve intervention coordination, commitment tracking, and service quality.

• Identify areas for progress and lead actions to improve partner performance.

Manage budgets and continuous improvement

• Develop and monitor OPEX and CAPEX budgets for the scope.

• Arbitrate maintenance, renewal, and investment priorities based on risks, capacities, and client commitments.

• Ensure compliance with applicable regulatory, environmental, HSE, ICPE (Installations Classées pour la Protection de l'Environnement) requirements, and ISO standards.

• Deploy homogeneous standards, procedures, and work methods.

• Contribute to improving the energy performance of facilities, particularly PUE, and to controlling operating costs.

Your profile

Education and experience

• Higher education, ideally Master's degree level (Bac +5), such as engineering or a specialized Master's in electrical engineering, energy, climate, industrial maintenance, or operations management. A Bachelor's degree (Bac +3) may be considered given particularly strong experience.

• Significant experience in the operation, maintenance, or technical management of critical infrastructures.

• Significant experience in managing managers, multi-site operational leadership, or a comparable operational responsibility role.

• Proven experience in a critical environment operating 24/7, with strong demands for availability, security, and compliance.

• Experience in major incident management, budget management, risk management, and driving operational transformations.

Technical skills

• Good understanding of data center operational challenges and comprehension of electrical, mechanical, HVAC, fire protection, building management systems (BMS/GTB), and control systems architectures.

• Proficiency in managing preventive, corrective, and regulatory maintenance.

• Knowledge of SLAs, availability KPIs, capacity, service quality, and energy performance.

• Ability to analyze and challenge technical risks, maintenance plans, and investments.

• Proficiency in OPEX/CAPEX budget management and applicable regulatory requirements.

Personal qualities

• Leadership and ability to manage experienced managers.

• Technical credibility and sense of responsibility.

• Ability to structure an organization, harmonize practices, and drive change.

• Aptitude to unite teams and develop cross-functional cooperation.

• Decision-making, arbitration, and prioritization skills.

• Composure in crisis situations, rigor, and results-orientation.

• Client focus and ability to build lasting partnership relationships.

Languages: Fluent French and professional English, both spoken and written.

Success factors

In the first few months, your objectives will include developing a clear operational roadmap, consolidating indicator-based management, prioritizing risks, and defining the necessary resources for their treatment.

You will also contribute to strengthening managerial cohesion, harmonizing practices between sites, and supporting the organization's evolution towards sustainable performance and continuous improvement.

Do you wish to apply your expertise in critical infrastructures to a demanding environment with a strong managerial, strategic, and transversal dimension?

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