Summary/Objective
The Senior Critical Operations Manager is the senior operational leader for the data centre campus, responsible for the day‑to‑day performance, safety and reliability of all mission‑critical operations. Reporting to the Site Director, this role oversees the Critical Operations Manager, Assistant Critical Operations Manager, and the Facilities Management team including the 24/7 workforce to ensure consistent, safe and resilient operation of all critical infrastructure.
The Senior Critical Operations Manager is accountable for driving operational excellence across all shifts, strengthening concierge‑level customer service delivery, leading incident and risk management, and ensuring all critical systems achieve 100% uptime. The role is also responsible for uplifting and maintaining operational processes, procedures, policies and document control, and will participate in, and at times lead—operational readiness activities in partnership with the Readiness/Operational Projects function.
Responsibilities:
- Lead the overall critical operations and set a strong safety‑first culture across all shifts.
- Provide day‑to‑day leadership to COM, ACOM, FM and 24/7 technical teams.
- Ensure uninterrupted operation of all mechanical, electrical, fire life safety and control systems.
- Act as the Site Director’s operational delegate when required.
- Lead incident and problem management, including escalation and communications.
- Oversee quality of PIRs/RCAs and ensure corrective actions are completed.
- Maintain the site risk register and ensure risks are identified, reviewed and mitigated.
- Govern change control to ensure safe planning, approvals and rollback strategies.
- Oversee maintenance planning and execution, including MOPs/SOPs/EOPs and permits.
- Prioritise and schedule planned works and operational projects.
- Ensure accurate reporting on incidents, risks, maintenance and operational performance.
- Manage contractors and vendors, ensuring safety, quality and SLA/KPI compliance.
- Maintain and improve operational processes, procedures and documentation.
- Ensure operational readiness for new systems, upgrades and transitions.
- Act as a senior operational contact for customers and lead communications during updates or incidents.
Qualifications:
- 7–10 years’ leadership in mission-critical operations with demonstrated ownership of 24/7 environments.
- Strong technical understanding of electrical, mechanical, fire life safety and control systems in data centres or equivalent critical facilities.
- Proven incident leadership, including high-quality PIR/RCA delivery and action close-out.
- Deep governance across maintenance planning, change control, permit-to-work, risk assessments and method statement review.
- High customer service capability; confident presenting operational updates and managing planned works communications.
- Strong contractor and vendor management capability with a focus on safety, performance and continuous improvement.
- Competent with CMMS, monitoring platforms and incident/change/problem management systems.
- Excellent organisation, prioritisation and decision-making across competing live-site demands.
- Advanced written and verbal communication skills suitable for executive and customer audiences.
Required Education & Experience
- Significant experience leading multidisciplinary technical teams in 24/7 mission‑critical environments.
- Demonstrated experience managing incidents, risks, maintenance and planned works in live environments.
- Proficiency in operational reporting, stakeholder communication and customer engagement.
- Strong working knowledge of CMMS, monitoring systems, and incident/change/problem management systems.
- High competency with Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams).
Security Clearance Requirement
- Must be able to attain and hold NV1 security clearance.
Equal Opportunity Employer
STACK provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.
