Head of Platform & Operations

Arriva is a leading European passenger transport partner, operating in 11 countries across the UK and Europe.  The company employs around 35,000 people, delivering more than 1.5 billion passenger journeys connecting people and communities safely, reliably and sustainably.

We have strong roots dating back to 1938, an ambitious growth and sustainability agenda, and a continuously developing relationship with I Squared Capital – a global infrastructure investment fund manager - who acquired Arriva in 2024.

We are seeking an experienced and forward-thinking Head of Platforms and Operations to lead the design, delivery, and optimisation of our core technology platforms, across on premise, cloud and hybrid environments, sustaining Arriva’s technical backbone and ensuring seamless technical operations to support the business. They will provide strategic and operational leadership across, Solutions Architecture, Site Engineering, Technical Services and Platforms, ensuring the reliable, secure and efficient delivery of services. 

This is a critical role in the IT Corporate Services function and will play a key part in a broader effort to streamline and centralise IT resources, to ensure alignment with business objectives and deliver long-term value. To encourage collaboration, this role will be based out of our Sunderland office for 3 days a week, with the option for remote working on the remaining days.

Direct responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership

• Set the vision and strategy for platform and operations management, aligning with the company's overall business goals and IT strategy.
• Ensure that our platform and operations function deliver services that support the company's growth and innovation objectives
• Act as a role model for accountability and ownership, driving behaviours across the IT teams that reflect the Arriva company values
• Foster a collaborative team environment, driving cross functional engagement to encourage innovation and continuous improvement
• Build and lead a high-performing platform and operations team.
• Provide mentorship, guidance, and professional development opportunities to team members.

Platform Management

• Oversee the build, seamless operation and optimisation of our core IT platforms, ensuring they are scalable, reliable, and secure. (incl end user compute, storage, networking, container orchestration and middleware)
• Drive consistency and simplification through platform standardisation and rationalisation and ensure the adoption of best practices
• Evaluate emerging technologies and cloud solutions to improve agility, performance, and cost-efficiency.
• Define and execute the platform strategy, embedding DevOps principles, CI/CD automation, and infrastructure-as-code to accelerate delivery and improve service reliability.
• Forecast capacity requirements and optimise resource utilization across cloud and on- premise platforms and ensure that platforms and operations deliver measurable business value and meet key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Manage platform financial performance, driving cost optimisation and value realisation through data-led insights, rightsizing strategies, and effective budgetary control.

Solutions Architecture

• Lead the solutions architecture team in designing scalable, secure, and efficient IT solutions that align with business objectives and architectural principles.
• Ensure that architectural frameworks and standards are consistently applied across all solutions to maintain system integrity and performance.

Technical Services

• Oversee the Technical Services team ensuring effective management of:

• Microsoft 365 and collaboration platforms
• Network infrastructure (LAN/WAN, cloud connectivity)
• Data Centers and cloud hosting environments
• End User Compute and device lifecycle management
• Data platforms and infrastructure supporting analytics and reporting

• Champion automation, proactive monitoring, and continuous improvement to optimise operational reliability and ensure high availability and compliance

Project Management

• Oversee the end-to-end delivery of strategic IT initiatives, to scope, schedule, budget, and quality.
• Coordinate dependencies and collaboration across Transactional, Product, Security, Services and Platform teams to ensure seamless execution.
• Ensure alignment to project management methodologies and governance
   

Site Engineering

• Ensure the Site Engineering team provide effective and timely hands-on IT support in the resolution of IT issues across all Arriva locations.
• Accountable for ensuring field engineering activities are conducted safely, efficiently, and in compliance with regulatory standards and are in alignment to project management methodologies and governance
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance site reliability and performance

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Own and build relationships with infrastructure, cloud, and security vendors to secure optimal contracts, SLAs, and support agreements working collaboratively with other IT leaders.
• Work cross functionally with other IT leaders and key stakeholders across the group to ensure platform and operations services are fit for purpose and meet the needs of the business now and in the future.

Knowledge/Skills:

• 12+ years in platform engineering, IT operations, or related fields, including 5+ years in a leadership role.
• Demonstrated success in leading platform and operations teams and delivering high- quality services across complex environments.
• Hands-on expertise with major cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and container orchestration.
• Deep knowledge of network, compute, storage, and security architectures.
• Proven track record in DevOps, automation, and infrastructure as code.
• Strong incident management, disaster recovery, and performance-tuning experience
• Familiarity with compliance standards such as ISO 27001, GDPR, and SOC 2.
• Strong strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Proficiency in platform management and IT operations tools and methodologies.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g., Computer Science, Business Administration, Engineering). Advanced degree (e.g., MBA) is a plus.

Attributes:

• Innovative mindset with a passion for technology and operations management.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment. Strong leadership and team- building skills.
• Strategic thinker who balances innovation with operational rigor.
• Collaborative communicator adept at influencing senior stakeholders.
• Data-driven decision-maker with a bias for action.
• Resilient under pressure and skilled at crisis management.
• Passionate mentor committed to team growth and empowerment.

This job description sets out the main duties and responsibilities of the job-holder. It does not constitute an exhaustive or comprehensive description of duties and the job holder will be required to carry out any additional tasks as and when requested to do so by their manager.  Responsibilities and duties may also change in light of future business needs and personal development.

The closing date for applications is Friday 21st December 2025. Arriva Group reserves the right to close this vacancy early.