THE BRIEF – TALENT ACQUISITION PROJECT
IT Operations Manager — South Africa | Remote
Build the operation. Raise the performance. Shape the future.
Are you an experienced IT leader who sees beyond the technology?
Can you take an established technical team, understand what a business and its clients actually need, and turn that understanding into a better-performing, scalable IT operation?
If you are a systemic thinker, a strong communicator and a decisive leader who is comfortable taking ownership — including challenging senior management when necessary — this could be the opportunity for you.
The opportunity
Our client is a UK-based Apple-focused technology and managed services business supporting demanding international clients, including organisations operating in highly regulated sectors.
The South African operation is established, with a team of seven experienced technicians. The next stage is about raising its performance and building the capability to scale.
We are looking for an IT Operations Manager to take full ownership of the South African technical operation.
This is a newly created leadership position. You will not simply be expected to manage the existing team and keep things running. You will have the authority and responsibility to challenge how the operation works, restructure where necessary, improve systems and processes, and create a high-performance culture based on outcomes rather than supervision.
You will work closely with the UK leadership team and have direct exposure to senior directors. You will be expected to understand the commercial and operational needs of the business, translate those needs into technical requirements and service-delivery models, and then make the decisions necessary to deliver them.
What you'll do
Lead and develop the technical operation
Take full responsibility for the performance, structure and development of the seven-person technical team.
You will:
• Set clear expectations around performance, accountability and service delivery
• Assess the team's existing capabilities and identify gaps
• Restructure roles, responsibilities and ways of working where required
• Coach, develop and challenge team members to achieve higher levels of performance
• Make personnel decisions, including recruitment, development and performance management
• Build a culture based on trust, ownership and measurable outputs rather than micromanagement
Improve service delivery
Understand what clients need and determine how best to organise the team and supporting systems to deliver it.
You will:
• Review existing MSP processes, workflows and service-delivery mechanisms
• Identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks and gaps in accountability
• Improve ticket management, escalation, SLA performance and resolution processes
• Establish appropriate operational measures and reporting
• Ensure the operation can scale without simply adding more people
• Introduce processes that make good performance repeatable and sustainable
Translate business needs into technology
This is not simply a technical management role.
You will need to understand why the client needs something, what business outcome they are trying to achieve, and then translate that into an appropriate technical solution and delivery model.
You will be expected to:
• Understand the commercial and operational context behind client requirements
• Translate business needs into technical requirements
• Determine how those requirements should be delivered
• Balance technical capability, client expectations, resources and commercial realities
• Make sound decisions without waiting for someone else to provide the answer
Own senior client relationships
You will be comfortable dealing directly with international clients and able to communicate confidently with both technical and business stakeholders.
You will:
• Act as a senior point of contact for key clients
• Understand client requirements and expectations
• Explain technical matters clearly to non-technical stakeholders
• Handle difficult conversations and service issues professionally
• Build confidence and trust through clear communication and decisive action
Work with UK leadership
You will work closely with the UK-based directors and leadership team to develop the South African operation.
This requires someone who is confident enough to challenge assumptions, question existing approaches and put forward a better solution when they believe one exists.
You will not be expected to agree simply because someone is senior.
You will be expected to bring sound judgement, evidence and a willingness to make decisions.
What you'll bring
We are looking for an experienced IT professional who has moved beyond purely technical delivery into genuine operational leadership.
You will ideally have:
• 7+ years' experience in IT, with substantial experience leading technical teams
• Experience working within an MSP or managed-service environment
• A strong understanding of IT service delivery, SLAs, ticketing and operational performance
• Experience managing and developing technical teams
• Experience working with international clients
• Strong understanding of the Apple enterprise ecosystem and MDM, ideally including Jamf, Intune or comparable platforms
• The ability to understand technical issues without needing to be the person who personally fixes them
• Experience improving processes, systems and team performance
• Strong commercial awareness and the ability to connect business requirements with technical delivery
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• The confidence to make decisions and take ownership of outcomes
• The confidence to challenge senior stakeholders constructively when you believe there is a better way
• A genuine can-do, solutions-oriented approach
Experience with ITIL, Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001, Autotask, Jira or similar service-management environments would be advantageous.
The person we're looking for
This role will suit someone who naturally asks:
"What are we trying to achieve, and what is the best way of organising people, technology and processes to achieve it?"
You are likely to be:
• Systemic — you see how people, processes, technology and clients interact
• Commercially aware — you understand that technology exists to serve a business purpose
• Decisive — you make informed decisions rather than waiting for instructions
• Assertive — you are prepared to challenge established thinking
• Collaborative — you can work effectively across South African and UK teams
• Accountable — you take ownership rather than looking for excuses
• Results-focused — you measure success by outcomes, not activity
• People-oriented — you know how to get the best from experienced technical professionals
• Adaptable — you can operate comfortably in a growing, changing business
Most importantly, you won't be joining to simply manage the status quo.
You'll be joining to make the operation better.
Why this role?
This is an opportunity to take genuine ownership of an established South African IT operation within a growing international technology business.
You will have:
• Full responsibility for the South African technical team
• Significant autonomy in how the operation is structured and managed
• Authority over personnel decisions
• Direct exposure to UK senior leadership
• The opportunity to shape systems, processes and service delivery
• The opportunity to build a high-performance team and create the foundation for future growth
• A genuinely international working environment
If you are ready to take ownership of an IT operation rather than simply manage one, we'd like to hear from you.
