Data Centre Manager
Posted 3 hours 39 minutes ago by UK Power Networks
£70,000 - £80,000 Annual
Permanent
Full Time
I.T. & Communications Jobs
Suffolk, Ipswich, United Kingdom, IP4 4SL
Job Description
This Data Centre Manager position will report to the Network Capability Manager and will work within the Strategy Regulation and Support Services directorate based in our Ipswich office. You will be a permanent employee.
You will attract a salary of up to £80,000 - Depending on skills, qualifications and experience and a bonus of 7.5%. This role can also offer blended working after probationary period (6 months) - 3 days in the office and 2 remote
Close Date: 06/02/2026
We also provide the following additional benefits
You will be the central point of accountability for UKPN's OT data centres located across London and the South East. This newly created role is designed to bring clarity to the management of these vital assets, improving operational efficiency and streamlining decision making. By coordinating across a wide range of internal teams and external partners, the manager will ensure seamless collaboration and alignment, becoming the single point of authority for all matters relating to the data centres, covering Operational Technology (OT), Information Technology (IT), facilities management, building management systems and physical security. In the role you will embed yourself in daily operations, with opportunity for long term planning, forecasting and new ideas.
In its initial phase, the role will focus on leading the implementation of UKPN's newly reviewed data centre strategy and operating model. While supported by the UKPN technology management and current programme team, the Data Centre Manager will take ownership of changes to processes, governance, and ways of working, promoting them into daily operations. An important part of your role will be on asset management and security, raising standards, enhancing accountability, and ensuring resilience across the estate. This is a unique opportunity to establish a new way of working that strengthens operational excellence, safety and partner trust.
This is an exciting time to join UKPN as a Data Centre Manager. With the progression and support of the UKPN technology team and programme, your role will have the space and opportunity to shape how the data centre estate evolves, raising standards towards Tier 4 classification, with respect to infrastructure and communication capabilities. By combining foresight into emerging demand with proactive preparation, the role will ensure the design and architecture of the data centres remain robust, flexible, available and scalable, through for example, the exploration of automation opportunities. You will also have responsibility for shaping the future direction of the data centres, aligning planning and forecasting with UKPN's long term strategy, which places a strong emphasis on sustainability and Net Zero practices, embedding these principles into the planning and management of the estate.
This role requires strategic vision to shape long term strategy, architecture and design while maintaining a strong operational focus to ensure capabilities are available, facilities are managed effectively, issues are addressed promptly, and standards are consistently upheld. In practice, this means balancing direct involvement in daily operations with the responsibility to influence and define the future direction of UKPN's data centres.
Dimensions
You will bring experience across the full data centre lifecycle, including strategy, architecture, design, deployment, and operation, alongside a track record in run and change and transformation thereof. You will help embed UKPN's newly defined operating model, establishing new behaviours and ways of working that foster accountability, operational discipline, and continuous improvement.
You will be someone who knows what "good" looks like and can uphold and raise standards across the estate, ensuring compliance and excellence in all aspects of data centre operations. This includes driving higher expectations internally and with suppliers to meet UKPN's ambition for capability and resilience/security, while also applying tecno economic thinking to improve efficiency and cost effectiveness without compromising performance.
UKPN aspires to be recognised as an industry leader in operational technology. The role holder must possess the capability to lead with vision and motivate teams to achieve this objective, creating sustainable and long term value and ensuring the functional and non functional capabilities of our mission critical infrastructure.
Skills & Knowledge
You will attract a salary of up to £80,000 - Depending on skills, qualifications and experience and a bonus of 7.5%. This role can also offer blended working after probationary period (6 months) - 3 days in the office and 2 remote
Close Date: 06/02/2026
We also provide the following additional benefits
- Reservist Leave - Additional 18 days full pay and 22 unpaid
- Personal Pension Plan - Personal contribution rates of 4% or 5% (UK Power Networks will make a corresponding contribution of 8% or 10%)
- Tenancy Loan Deposit Scheme, Season Ticket Loan
- Tax efficient benefits: Cycle to Work, Home & Tech, and Green Car Leasing Schemes
- Occupational Health support
- Switched On - scheme providing discount on hundreds of retailers' products
- Discounted gym membership
- Employee Assistance Programme
You will be the central point of accountability for UKPN's OT data centres located across London and the South East. This newly created role is designed to bring clarity to the management of these vital assets, improving operational efficiency and streamlining decision making. By coordinating across a wide range of internal teams and external partners, the manager will ensure seamless collaboration and alignment, becoming the single point of authority for all matters relating to the data centres, covering Operational Technology (OT), Information Technology (IT), facilities management, building management systems and physical security. In the role you will embed yourself in daily operations, with opportunity for long term planning, forecasting and new ideas.
In its initial phase, the role will focus on leading the implementation of UKPN's newly reviewed data centre strategy and operating model. While supported by the UKPN technology management and current programme team, the Data Centre Manager will take ownership of changes to processes, governance, and ways of working, promoting them into daily operations. An important part of your role will be on asset management and security, raising standards, enhancing accountability, and ensuring resilience across the estate. This is a unique opportunity to establish a new way of working that strengthens operational excellence, safety and partner trust.
This is an exciting time to join UKPN as a Data Centre Manager. With the progression and support of the UKPN technology team and programme, your role will have the space and opportunity to shape how the data centre estate evolves, raising standards towards Tier 4 classification, with respect to infrastructure and communication capabilities. By combining foresight into emerging demand with proactive preparation, the role will ensure the design and architecture of the data centres remain robust, flexible, available and scalable, through for example, the exploration of automation opportunities. You will also have responsibility for shaping the future direction of the data centres, aligning planning and forecasting with UKPN's long term strategy, which places a strong emphasis on sustainability and Net Zero practices, embedding these principles into the planning and management of the estate.
This role requires strategic vision to shape long term strategy, architecture and design while maintaining a strong operational focus to ensure capabilities are available, facilities are managed effectively, issues are addressed promptly, and standards are consistently upheld. In practice, this means balancing direct involvement in daily operations with the responsibility to influence and define the future direction of UKPN's data centres.
Dimensions
- Direct reports: The Data Centre Analyst & Data Centre Resilience Lead
- Budget: None directly but influencing organisational spend of c£10m.
- Lead the final stages of implementing UKPN's reviewed data centre strategy and operating model.
- Take ownership of new roles, responsibilities, processes, governance, and ways of working, ensuring they are embedded into daily operations.
- Develop capability and capacity plans for all data centres, considering Infrastructure, Applications, Networking, Facilities, and Physical Security.
- Forecast future requirements to ensure we can meet non functional demands, for example scalability and resilience.
- You will maintain an onsite presence across UKPN's data centres to oversee daily operations and ensure situational awareness around all OT, IT, facilities, building management systems and security.
- You will oversee the asset management lifecycle for all hardware and software within the data centres
- You will oversee data centre access, supplier access - conducting regular audits to safeguard personnel security.
- Be the escalation point for issues, both run and change, ensuring resolution and minimal disruption.
- Review existing supplier relationships and service performance against SLAs, ensuring alignment with UKPN's raised standards for resilience and security.
- Lead contract reviews and renegotiations to meet evolving requirements, cost effectiveness and ongoing technology refresh and modernisation.
- Improve accountability with suppliers through clear performance metrics, escalation processes, and governance forums.
- Oversee all projects within the data centres, ensuring collaboration across teams and alignment with strategic goals, design principles and codes of practice.
- Contribute to organisation wide programmes and projects where data centres have impact or influence, providing expertise to ensure delivery.
- You will lead responses to major incidents and disaster recovery situations, ensuring timely resolution and minimal service disruption.
- You will maintain the Data Centre Risk Register, ensuring updates in coordination relevant governance forums, including Cyber GRC.
- Establish and chair data centre governance forums to ensure efficient decision making and accountability.
- Provide accurate, holistic reporting on the status of on prem data centres to senior leadership and partners.
- Manage projects to enhance functional capability as well as efficiency, reliability, security, and cost effectiveness across the data centre estate.
- Promote a culture of proactive risk mitigation/control.
- Communicate the strategic importance of data centres across UKPN through leadership engagement and internal channels.
- You will report on the delivery of data centre workloads and understand the pipeline of need that will need to take account future planning/roadmap, to enhance functional and/or non functional realisation of the data centres.
- You will be the single point of authority for all matters relating to data centres, promoting trust and clarity.
- Mentor junior team members on data centre operations and management, building internal capability.
You will bring experience across the full data centre lifecycle, including strategy, architecture, design, deployment, and operation, alongside a track record in run and change and transformation thereof. You will help embed UKPN's newly defined operating model, establishing new behaviours and ways of working that foster accountability, operational discipline, and continuous improvement.
You will be someone who knows what "good" looks like and can uphold and raise standards across the estate, ensuring compliance and excellence in all aspects of data centre operations. This includes driving higher expectations internally and with suppliers to meet UKPN's ambition for capability and resilience/security, while also applying tecno economic thinking to improve efficiency and cost effectiveness without compromising performance.
UKPN aspires to be recognised as an industry leader in operational technology. The role holder must possess the capability to lead with vision and motivate teams to achieve this objective, creating sustainable and long term value and ensuring the functional and non functional capabilities of our mission critical infrastructure.
Skills & Knowledge
- Knowledge of Data Centre Infrastructure & Systems including; HPE Hardware, HPE iLO, VMWare, StableNet Network Monitoring, HPE OneView, HPE SAN Technology, SSH, RDP, Windows Server, RHEL Server and VSphere.
- Expertise in Data Centre Operations, including:
- Power, cooling and environmental building management . click apply for full job details