Head of Infrastructure & Cloud Services

Department: Group TechnologyReports to: Director of Service Management & DevOpsLocation: JD Sports Fashion PLC, Balmoral House, Hollinsbrook Way, Pilsworth, Bury, BL9 8RR

About JD Group

JD Group is a leading global omnichannel retailer, bringing together some of the world's most recognised sports fashion and outdoor brands. Technology is central to how we operate, innovate and deliver exceptional experiences for our customers across our global business.

We are investing in the future of our technology landscape and have created an exciting new leadership opportunity for a Head of Infrastructure & Cloud Services to bring together Core Infrastructure, Cloud, Networks and Database Services into one integrated, high-performing capability.

The opportunity

This is an opportunity to shape the strategy, performance and future direction of JD Group's Infrastructure & Cloud Services across the UK and EU.

As Head of Infrastructure & Cloud Services, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across a complex, business-critical technology estate, ensuring our platforms are secure, resilient, reliable and ready to support the continued growth of our business.

Working through functional leaders, internal teams and strategic service partners, you will bring together multiple technical capabilities under a shared vision, with clear accountability, a joined-up roadmap and a strong focus on service excellence.

You will balance operational stability with meaningful transformation, driving modernisation, automation, AI-enabled operations, risk reduction and cost efficiency. You will also play a key role in translating Technology strategy into practical delivery plans, ensuring infrastructure and cloud investment creates measurable value for the wider business.

This role is ideal for an experienced technology leader who can combine broad technical understanding with strong people leadership, commercial awareness and the ability to deliver change at scale.

Key responsibilities

Strategic leadership and transformation

Lead the strategy, operational management and transformation of Core Infrastructure, Cloud, Networks and Database Services as one integrated capability.
Develop and deliver a multi-year transformation roadmap that balances service stability, risk reduction, modernisation, business priorities and measurable outcomes.
Lead and empower functional leaders, establishing clear ownership, accountability and shared objectives across all infrastructure and cloud disciplines.
Simplify and modernise the hybrid technology estate across people, processes and tooling, prioritising business value, security, resilience and cost effectiveness.
Translate Group Technology strategy into an integrated Infrastructure & Cloud Services roadmap, aligned with Enterprise Architecture, Cyber Security and wider technology standards.
Identify opportunities to introduce emerging technologies, AI-enabled operations and automation to improve operational insight, service quality, resilience and efficiency.

Service operations, resilience and risk

Own the operational health and performance of the infrastructure and cloud estate, ensuring services are secure, reliable, scalable, performant and recoverable.
Establish and maintain effective resilience, business continuity and Disaster Recovery capabilities, supported by regular testing and continuous improvement.
Drive proactive management of vulnerabilities, patching, technical debt, technology lifecycle risks, end-of-life and end-of-support exposure, control gaps and audit actions.
Ensure operational risks are identified, assessed and remediated in line with agreed Cyber Security, risk management and control standards.
Embed consistent service management practices, performance measures and governance across internal teams and external partners.
Maintain a strong focus on continuous improvement, operational effectiveness and the quality of services delivered to the business.

People leadership and partner management

Build an integrated leadership culture that encourages collaboration, shared accountability, continuous learning and high performance.
Develop functional leaders and teams, providing clear direction, supporting professional growth and building the capabilities needed for future technology demands.
Lead delivery through a blended operating model of internal teams, strategic partners and outsourced service providers.
Establish clear expectations, performance measures and governance for service partners, holding them accountable for service quality, resilience, security and delivery commitments.
Build effective working relationships across Technology, Enterprise Architecture, Cyber Security, Risk, Finance and business functions.

Commercial management and value delivery

Own budget stewardship, commercial performance and value delivery across infrastructure, cloud and outsourced services.
Work closely with FinOps to improve cloud cost transparency, reporting, forecasting and optimisation, while owning the platform and supplier decisions that drive measurable efficiencies.
Identify opportunities to optimise technology investment, simplify the estate and improve the balance between cost, performance, resilience and risk.
Develop clear business cases and investment recommendations, communicating costs, benefits, risks and trade-offs to support informed decisions.
Monitor service performance, supplier commitments and transformation benefits to ensure investments deliver tangible business outcomes.

Stakeholder engagement and influence

Act as a trusted senior technology leader, providing clear direction and expert guidance on infrastructure and cloud strategy, operational performance and transformation.
Translate complex technical issues, risks and investment choices into clear options and recommendations for technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Work collaboratively across the wider Technology function to ensure infrastructure and cloud services support business strategy, architectural principles, security requirements and future growth.
Build confidence in technology decisions through transparent communication, evidence-based recommendations and a clear focus on business outcomes.

What you’ll bring

Essential experience and expertise

Infrastructure leadership: Proven experience leading both the operation and transformation of a complex, business-critical infrastructure estate spanning Cloud, Networks and Database Services.
Leadership at scale: A strong track record of leading multidisciplinary technical teams through functional leaders, creating alignment and accountability across different areas of expertise.
Transformation delivery: Experience modernising large, distributed and highly available technology environments while maintaining operational stability and service continuity.
Cloud and hybrid platforms: Broad experience across cloud and hybrid infrastructure, including AWS, Azure and/or GCP, alongside network modernisation and enterprise database services.
Operational resilience: Strong experience in infrastructure security, vulnerability management, patching, technology lifecycle management, Disaster Recovery, recoverability and service resilience.
Risk and governance: Experience managing technology risk, audit and control remediation, technical debt and end-of-life or end-of-support exposure within established governance frameworks.
Partner and supplier management: Experience leading blended delivery models involving internal teams, strategic technology partners and outsourced service providers.
Commercial acumen: Strong financial and commercial management skills, including budget ownership, supplier performance, cost optimisation and demonstrable value delivery.
Technical credibility: Broad senior-level understanding of compute, storage, virtualisation, cloud platforms, networking, databases and resilience, with the ability to make informed decisions across disciplines.
Stakeholder engagement: Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders and collaborate effectively across technical and business teams.

How you’ll succeed

You will bring a strategic, collaborative and outcome-focused approach to leadership, combining the ability to see the bigger picture with a clear understanding of operational detail.

You will be comfortable navigating complexity, balancing competing priorities and making informed decisions within established Technology, Architecture, Cyber Security, Risk and investment frameworks.

Above all, you will be motivated by the opportunity to build an integrated infrastructure and cloud capability that enables business growth, strengthens resilience, improves efficiency and creates lasting value for JD Group.

Join JD Group and help shape the future of our Infrastructure & Cloud Services.