Group Manager Data Centre

Digital Reality

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Your role

The Data Center Group Manager ensures effective preventive and corrective maintenance, incident & problem management, and adherence to all Digital Realty processes, policies, and work instructions. The role carries full responsibility for people leadership across all direct and indirect staff in the Maintain & Operate organization.

Accountable for all preventive & corrective maintenance, incident management, and problem management across all assigned data centers;
Translate strategic operational objectives into executable plans for groups of sites;
Ensure SLA performance, operational efficiency, and full compliance with standards;
Provide input to strategic country-level plans (capacity, lifecycle, energy, staffing);
Lead and develop all managers and teams within Maintain & Operate;
Accountable for Health & Safety performance across all assigned data centers, ensuring required practices and reporting are implemented and maintained in line with the company’s global H&S vision and standards;
Responsible for aligning and upholding the principles outlined in the H&S Strategy, adhering to the ISO safety standards and continuous improvement through lessons learned;
Accountable for cost control at site and cluster level (OPEX and CAPEX assigned to operations);
Responsible for ensuring budgets are managed in line with yearly financial targets and objectives, under the direction of Finance and Group Manager Market Operations or Director Operations, with proactive;
Responsible for representing Operations with customers, auditors, and suppliers, while escalating to the Group Manager Market Operations or Director Operations when issues are strategic or reputational;
Accountable for SLA delivery across sites and ensuring consistent performance across all assigned data centers;
Responsible for customer engagement in critical situations and supporting the Group Manager Market Operations or Director Operations during executive customer reviews.

What you’ll need

10+ years in senior management within mission-critical operations, preferably multi-site data centers;
Master’s or bachelor’s in engineering (Electrical/Mechanical/Industrial) or Business Administration with technical focus;
Strong knowledge of core DC infrastructure (UPS, generators, switchgear, chillers, CRAC/CRAH, cooling towers, structured cabling);
Proven experience leading managers and technical specialists, ensuring performance and succession;
Advanced ITIL knowledge with practical application in incident, problem, and change management;
Skilled in root cause analysis, preventive measures, and process standardization;
Financial acumen with OPEX/CAPEX budget ownership and cost optimization;
Experience developing and enforcing maintenance strategies and operational standards;
Ability to translate strategy into executable operational plans that improve reliability and efficiency;
Expertise in the operations of critical MEP infrastructure, including UPS Systems, emergency generators, various critical cooling systems, computer room air handlers and air conditioners, and electrical distribution;
Excellent understanding of various infrastructure redundancy configurations, and the related limitations of each;
A comprehensive understanding of critical environment management and the challenges of multi-tenant data center occupancy.