it infra systems operations team leader - emea

This position is part of the Global IT organization in the Infrastructure team. 

The IT Systems Operations Team Leader is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the IT infrastructure, ensuring system reliability, performance, and security across all IT and Industrial / Operational systems of IMERYS.

This role leads a team of IT professionals and collaborates with other IT departments and business stakeholders to align IT operations with business objectives. 

The team will be responsible for the following key areas:

• Support SysOps and IT-OT infrastructure in their regions (Run operation)
• Provide SysOps and IT-OT support in other regions during high-impact incidents that occur within their working hours (Run Operation)
• Assist with out of hours maintenance in regions that overlap with team normal working hours (Run Operation)   
• Ensure global alignment on SysOps and IT-OT infrastructure (Run Operation)
• Participate to delivery of projects when it is requested

The role reports to the regional IT Infrastructure Systems Manager.

Responsibilities

Team Leadership

• Lead, mentor, and manage a team of IT systems administrators and support staff.
• Oversee team presence, workload, and performance through weekly follow-ups and regular reviews.
• Assign resources to projects and tasks in collaboration with PMO sessions.
• Drive professional development through training, objective setting, and annual reviews.

Service Delivery & Systems Operations

• Ensure reliable, secure, and efficient operation of enterprise IT infrastructure.
• Manage incident response and problem resolution processes, adhering to SLAs.
• Provide support to regional managers during high-impact incidents and ensure "follow-the-sun" support for global Imerys infrastructure systems.
• Monitor and report on weekly KPIs, including:
• Backup failures and resolution times.
• Service delivery metrics and ticket resolutions.
• Patch management and administration.
• Monitoring tool KPIs (e.g. OpManager, Site24x7) for system availability, performance, and capacity.
• Oversee changes to infrastructure, assessing risks and minimizing business impact.
• Maintain up-to-date IT documentation, including operational manuals, inventories, and CMDB integrity, review and certify support documents provided by Infrastructure Architecture teams for conformity with SysOps standards.
• Supervise and execute routine maintenance, backups, patches, and system upgrades.
• Collaborate across teams to ensure minimal production impact during updates or system changes.

Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity

• Design, test, and execute backup and disaster recovery plans.
• Conduct hands-on disaster recovery drills and resolve backup issues to ensure readiness.

Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement

• Collaborate with IT teams, business units, and stakeholders to deliver effective IT services.
• Support regional managers during high-impact incidents and ensure "follow-the-sun" support for global systems.
• Travel to regional sites for hands-on operations, stakeholder meetings, and project support, sometimes on short notice.

Continuous Improvement

• Analyze KPI data to identify and implement operational improvements.
• Conduct Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for recurring incidents and identify corrective actions.
• Recommend and enforce optimized processes, solutions, and IT policies.
• Contribute to obsolescence management and implement emerging technologies.

Other Responsibilities

• Manage vendor relationships and contracts related to IT systems.
• Provide input on IT project planning and execution in alignment with SysOps standards.
• Ensure out-of-hours availability to address major incidents or emergencies as needed.
• Manage virtual IT resources, AWS accounts, containers, and orchestrators (training provided).

Qualifications & Experience

Essential

• 5+ years of experience in IT systems administration and operations and robust expertise in managing and optimizing enterprise-level IT infrastructure operations.
• 2+ years of team leadership or management experience
• Strong knowledge (hands-on and technical) of IT infrastructure, including networks, servers, and cloud technologies
• Understanding of virtualization technologies and cloud platforms (e.g., VMware, AWS, Azure)
• Experience with ITIL framework and IT service management principles
• Proficiency in IT monitoring and management tools
• Knowledge of automation and scripting languages (e.g., PowerShell, Python)
• Familiarity with cybersecurity best practices and risk management

Desirable

• Experience of working within a culturally diverse global company
• Conversant in French or another European language would be advantageous
• Knowledge of Imerys IT architecture and operations
•