Head of Platform Operations

In order to be considered the following is required: 12+ years’ IT operations experience with at least 5 years in senior leadership roles Strong expertise across infrastructure (compute, network, storage, hybrid / cloud), PaaS platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP, Kubernetes, OpenShift) and application operations Proven track record in managing multi-cloud and hybrid enterprise environments Demonstrated experience in ITSM, AIOps, observability, and large-scale service delivery Knowledge of South African legal / regulatory frameworks and global best practices (POPIA, Cybercrimes Act, ISO 27001) Vendor / OEM management and contract execution experience Exceptional leadership, communication and client engagement skills SLA compliance across infrastructure, PaaS and application layers Mean time to detect (MTTD) and resolve (MTTR) incidents Service availability, reliability and performance improvements Customer satisfaction and value realization outcomes Cost optimization and resource utilization efficiency Team performance, skill maturity and retention Compliance audit success and risk mitigation effectiveness Duties & Responsibilities: Strategic & Operational Leadership: Define and execute platform operations strategy, covering infrastructure, PaaS and application operations Integrate operations across compute, storage, networking, PaaS layers and business-critical applications Represent Platform Operations in Service Management Centre (SMC) and across horizontal and vertical forums Align platform and application operations to strategic imperatives: growth, customer centricity, innovation, compliance and operational excellence Infrastructure & Platform Operations: Oversee all infrastructure operations (on-premises, hybrid, and cloud: Azure, AWS, GCP) Ensure uptime, scalability, and performance of infrastructure services Govern PaaS operations: container orchestration (Kubernetes, Docker, OpenShift), middleware, and integration platforms Establish resilient DR, BCP, and capacity management across infrastructure and platform layers Drive automation, observability, and AIOps-led monitoring across infrastructure and PaaS services Application Operations: Lead end-to-end application operations (AppOps), including deployment, lifecycle management, monitoring and performance optimization. Govern incident, problem, and change management for critical applications, ensuring minimal downtime Partner with development and DevOps teams for CI/CD pipelines, release management, and security compliance Drive business application adoption, value realization and performance improvements for clients Governance, Compliance & Risk: Establish policies, standards, and work instructions covering infrastructure, platform, and application operations Ensure compliance with South African legislation (POPIA, PFMA, FSCA/PA, Cybercrimes Act) and international standards (ISO 27001, ITIL 4) Govern data sovereignty requirements (e.g. SAPS data remaining within South Africa) Manage risk and issue registers, with proactive mitigation and escalation processes Stakeholder & Client Engagement: Serve as the senior operational leader for infrastructure, platform, and application matters across clients Support client executives in value realization forums, operational reviews and executive governance sessions Manage escalations with OEMs and partners (ScienceLogic, Motadata, Seceon, CorrServe, Resolve) Demonstrate measurable value outcomes (cost savings, performance improvements, SLA compliance) in client engagements People & Performance Leadership: Lead, mentor, and manage cross-functional teams (infrastructure engineers, platform specialists, application support teams, operations managers) Define clear RASCI matrices, balanced scorecards, and KPIs for each role under Platform Operations Foster a high-performance culture, embedding ethics and workforce framework across remote and onsite teams Ensure continuous learning, certification, and professional development Innovation & Continuous Improvement: Drive maturity through Foundation, Crawl, Walk, Run model Advance automation, self-healing, and autonomous IT practices Introduce and operationalize new service capabilities: CMDBaaS, Observability-as-a-Service, AIOps-as-a-Service, and Autonomous IT-as-a-Service Ensure cost efficiency, workload optimization, and continuous service improvements If you would like to email your CV directly – please send it to millerm@bedifferent.co.za  Information displayed above not limited to advertisement. Please consider your application as unsuccessful if you have not received a response within 14 days of submitting your application. However, please keep a lookout on our website www.bedifferent.co.za, for available positions which you may be suited for.