Regional Director of Operations

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Regional Director of Operations based in Netherlands.

• Provide strategic direction across EMEA site management, facility and IT infrastructure, logistics, asset and inventory, and service operations.
• Lead and develop the regional operations organization, including Data Centre, Logistics, and Asset & Inventory leadership.
• Build organizational capability and establish consistent operational standards, processes, and procedures across the portfolio.
• Maintain accountability for the four core operational priorities: safety, security, service availability, and efficiency.
• Review and approve high-risk activities, including power outages, major project works, capacity upgrades, customer fit-outs, deployments, and equipment refreshes.
• Ensure facilities remain compliant with applicable local and regional regulations, safety requirements, standards, and contractual obligations.
• Establish and monitor operational KPIs to assess regional performance, service health, risk, and continuous improvement.
• Support site teams in delivering reliable operations and minimizing downtime through effective risk assessment, planning, and mitigation.
• Manage critical incidents, escalations, faults, change processes, and post-incident reviews across business-critical environments.
• Manage senior relationships with key third-party providers, including colocation providers, IT integrators, OEMs, and subcontractors.
• Ensure service providers and operations teams are equipped to meet customer contractual SLAs and service expectations.
• Identify and resolve operational bottlenecks while embedding productivity and efficiency into day-to-day processes.
• Drive energy-efficiency initiatives and contribute to improvements in data centre design and operational practices.
• Own the mitigation and reduction of operational risks recorded in regional risk registers and contribute to reducing technical debt.
• Sponsor regional projects and initiatives while supporting other functions in achieving broader organizational objectives.
• Represent operations in relevant external forums, including environmental agencies and authorities having jurisdiction.
• Act as a senior escalation point for operational teams, providing guidance, coaching, and support during complex situations.
• Build strong relationships with customers, vendors, technology providers, and internal leadership across EMEA.
• Promote a culture of accountability, teamwork, trust, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.

• Extensive professional experience in data centre facilities, IT infrastructure, or another highly critical operational environment such as nuclear, aerospace, petrochemical, or pharmaceutical settings.
• Demonstrated experience leading data centre operations, IT infrastructure, or operations engineering teams.
• Proven ability to establish, implement, and manage operational processes within live, business-critical environments.
• Extensive real-time incident and fault management experience, including business continuity, risk management, change control, and post-incident analysis.
• Strong experience managing third-party suppliers against demanding service-level agreements.
• Strong technical understanding of electrical systems, mechanical cooling, fire and life safety, IT/OT systems, or data centre compute, storage, and network infrastructure.
• Strong project management capabilities and the ability to coordinate multiple complex initiatives simultaneously.
• Electrical or mechanical qualification, ideally at degree level or equivalent professional experience, or an IT qualification at degree level or equivalent experience.
• Relevant professional membership, such as IET, IMechE, or CIBSE, is advantageous.
• Relevant IT, data centre, or AI infrastructure certifications, including those associated with major technology providers, are beneficial.
• Strong understanding of health and safety, ISO standards, regulatory requirements, and compliance within data centre environments.
• Comprehensive understanding of customer installations and the contractual frameworks supporting data centre services.
• Ability to lead or contribute effectively to incident investigations, post-incident reviews, and formal incident reporting.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft 365 and common operational business tools.
• Experience working with multiple internal and external stakeholder groups across geographically distributed environments.
• Strong leadership and people-management capabilities, with a focus on building capable, accountable, and engaged teams.
• Calm and decisive approach under pressure, with the ability to provide confidence and direction during incidents and operational challenges.
• Strong ownership mindset, personal