Head of Datacenter/Deliveries

Head of Datacenter/Deliveries

Worldline

Multiple Locations, Europe

The opportunity

To lead Worldline’s global data center strategy and operations, delivering consistently high availability, security, compliance, and efficiency across all sites. Establish and maintain a mature operating model for operational excellence, certification readiness, regulatory compliance across regions, and scalable business growth. Drive standardization, risk management, and continuous improvement across people, processes, technology and financials for over hundred rooms across multiple locations.

Day-to-day responsibilities

Strategic Vision, Governance and Compliance

• Develop and implement a global data center strategy aligned with Worldline’s business objectives, infrastructure strategy, risk appetite, and regulatory requirements;
• Define and maintain the data center operating model, including global standards, policies, governance framework, and performance metrics;
• Lead certification and compliance programs (ISO 27001, ISO 22301, ISO 50001, PCI DSS, GDPR), ensure audit readiness, and maintain regional certifications.

Operational Excellence, Reliability and Power/Cooling

• Oversee daily data center operations to ensure high availability, reliability, and performance;
• Drive capacity planning, power and cooling optimization, rack/cabling standards, and sustainability initiatives;
• Define and enforce SOPs for facilities, electrical, mechanical, and IT systems; manage incident, change, and problem management;
• Improve operational performance through enhanced uptime, MTTR, ticket resolution, and escalation processes.

Security, Risk Management and Compliance

• Ensure strong physical and cyber security across all sites, aligned with global policies and regional requirements;
• Manage regulatory risks, data protection compliance, and cross-border data flow requirements;
• Lead third-party risk management for vendors and service providers, ensuring contracts, SLAs, penalties, and exit strategies are defined (DORA);
• Maintain compliance with applicable standards and regional regulations.

Architecture, Standards and Deployment

• Define and enforce data center architecture standards for new sites and expansions, aligned with cloud/hybrid strategies, virtualization, DCIM, automation, and monitoring;
• Collaborate with architecture teams to ensure alignment with infrastructure strategy and planning;
• Lead consolidation and optimization initiatives to improve cost efficiency and resilience;
• Drive DR/BCP exercises, ensuring failover capabilities, testing, and documented RPO/RTO objectives.

People, Change Management and Vendor Management

• Build and lead a high-performing data center operations team; develop talent and establish a performance-driven culture;
• Define roles, training plans, succession planning, and career development paths;
• Manage vendor relationships, contracts, negotiations, performance reviews, and risk assessments;
• Foster collaboration with IT, Security, Facilities, Compliance, Legal, and Real Estate teams.

Financial Management and Budgeting

• Own the data center operations budget, optimize CAPEX/OPEX, and justify investments through ROI and business impact;
• Drive cost transparency, lifecycle planning, energy efficiency initiatives, and cost optimization.

Stakeholder Engagement and Reporting

• Provide regular reporting to the Head of Hosting on performance, risks, compliance readiness, and strategic initiatives;
• Prepare executive dashboards and management reports to support data-driven decisions and regulatory readiness.

Who are we looking for

Qualifications and Experience

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Electrical/Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Information Technology, Facilities Management, or related field. Master’s degree preferred;
• Experience: 12+ years of experience in data center or IT infrastructure operations, including 5+ years in senior leadership roles managing multi-site/regional environments;
• Certifications & Standards:
  • Data center: Uptime Institute, BICSI, DCIM certifications;
  • ISO standards: ISO 27001 Lead Auditor/Implementer, ISO 22301, ISO 50001;
  • Security & compliance: PCI DSS, CISSP/CISM, CISA, GDPR knowledge, and experience with regulatory audits;
  • ITIL or regional certifications are a plus.
• Technical Expertise: Strong knowledge of data center infrastructure (power, cooling, racks, cabling), DCIM tools, virtualization, hybrid cloud platforms, ITIL processes, DR/BCP, automation, monitoring, energy management, and sustainability programs;
• Regional Experience: Ability to operate across multiple regions with strong regulatory awareness and cultural sensitivity;
• Languages: Fluent English required; additional languages are an advantage;
• Mobility: Willingness to travel regularly and support international assignments.

Skills and Competencies (KSAs)

• Strategic thinking and business acumen, with the ability to translate strategy into actionable initiatives;
• Strong leadership skills focused on team development, performance management, and succession planning;
• Executive communication and stakeholder management skills, including the ability to influence senior leadership;
• Strong risk management, decision-making, and data-driven approach;
• Vendor management, contract negotiation, governance, and oversight capabilities;
• Change management, process optimization, continuous improvement, and program/project management skills;
• Strong negotiation skills, resilience, and crisis management capabilities.