Head of IT Operations & Crisis Management

Head of IT Operations & Crisis Management at Santander UK

Santander (www.santander.com) is evolving from a global, high-impact brand into a technology-driven organisation, with its people at the heart of this journey. Together, they are driving a customer-centric transformation that values bold thinking, innovation, and the courage to challenge what’s possible.

This role offers driven professionals a chance to grow, learn, and make a real difference. Santander's mission is to help more people and businesses prosper, embracing a strong risk culture where all professionals are expected to take a proactive and responsible approach toward risk management.

Santander Technology and Operations is the division accountable for the run and change of technology and operations at Santander UK. They believe in technology aligned with business requirements, bringing value to users, people, and communities while fostering individual creativity. The team develops and/or implements financial solutions across a broad spectrum of technologies on both on-premise and cloud-based platforms.

The Difference You Make

The Chief Information Office is seeking a Head of IT Operations & Crisis Management to be based out of Unity Place, Milton Keynes. This pivotal role involves leading, managing, and continuously improving end-to-end Technology Operations, Incident Management, and Crisis Management across the bank. The goal is to ensure the stability, resilience, and recoverability of critical business services during technology incidents, major disruptions, and enterprise crisis events.

This new position integrates Technology Incident Management, Major Incident Management, Disaster Recovery, and Service Introduction with Business Incident and Crisis Management coordination. This reflects the growing convergence between technology resilience, business continuity, and regulatory expectations.

The Head of IT Operations & Crisis Management is accountable for end-to-end service availability, operational risk management, incident and problem management, infrastructure operations, and adherence to regulatory, operational resilience, and security requirements expected of a Tier 1 UK financial institution. Furthermore, the role ensures that technology-led incidents and wider business crises are managed in a coordinated, decisive, and regulatorily robust manner, with clear ownership, escalation, communication, and recovery outcomes.

This role is critical in ensuring that technology services are reliable, scalable, and compliant, acting as a central authority during high-severity incidents and crisis events. It ensures alignment between Technology, Business, Risk, Communications, and Executive leadership. Santander is shaping its work through innovation, cutting-edge technology, collaboration, and the freedom to explore new ideas.

• Accountable for the stability, availability, and resilience of the Bank’s live technology estate, maintaining operational performance across a large, complex, and evolving environment.
• Act as the senior operational authority during major incidents and crisis events, leading both technical resolution and enterprise-wide impact management.
• Ensure coordinated, decisive response across Technology, Business, Risk, and Communications functions, with clear command, escalation, and accountability.
• Own technology service continuity, disaster recovery, and permit-to-operate readiness, embedding recovery and resilience by design.
• Lead operational integration activity associated with the Bank’s acquisition integration and broader organisational convergence, balancing service stability with transformation delivery.
• Oversee infrastructure and platform operations across hybrid and outsourced environments, holding third parties and Group partners accountable for performance and resilience outcomes.
• Strengthen operational risk management, regulatory engagement, and assurance, representing Technology Operations confidently with regulators and senior governance forums.
• Drive operational efficiency and financial discipline across a leaner operating model, managing budgets, resource allocation, and cost-performance trade-offs.
• Embed robust service introduction, change governance, and operational readiness to ensure new and transformed services enter production safely and sustainably.
• Build, reshape, and lead high-performing multi-disciplinary teams, uplifting capability, managing workforce change, and fostering an action-oriented culture of ownership and accountability.

What You’ll Bring

Santander values its people as its greatest strength, believing every individual contributes unique perspectives. They empower teams by valuing who they are and what they bring.

The following requirements are essential for success in this role:

• Extensive leadership experience across enterprise-scale IT Operations within a mid-to-large regulated financial services organisation.
• Proven authority in leading major incidents and crisis events, managing both technical restoration and wider business impact under executive and regulatory scrutiny.
• Strong understanding of operational resilience, disaster recovery, high-availability architectures, and hybrid operating models, including outsourced and offshore environments.
• Experience operating within, or alongside, large-scale integration or organisational transformation programmes while maintaining service stability.
• Demonstrable capability holding third-party providers accountable for operational performance within complex multi-sourced delivery models.
• Credible regulatory engagement experience, with the confidence to represent Technology Operations in formal regulatory and senior governance settings.
• Financial and commercial acumen to manage significant operational budgets while delivering efficiency and performance improvements.
• Track record of reshaping and leading sizeable operational teams, attracting and developing talent within changing organisational structures.
• Enterprise leadership capability, able to align operational strategy with wider business priorities and organisational change agendas.
• Clear, authoritative communicator who translates technical risk and operational performance into concise, decision-ready insight for senior stakeholders.

We Value Your Impact

At Santander, your contribution matters. They recognize the difference employees make every day, ensuring they feel valued, supported, and rewarded. Recognition goes beyond pay; it includes pride in work, impact on customers and communities, and opportunities for personal and professional growth.

• 30 days’ holiday plus bank holidays (increases to 31 days after 5yrs service), with option to purchase up to 5 contractual days per year.
• £8,500 car allowance per year.
• Company funded private medical insurance for you and your family.
• Company funded Health screenings every two years.
• Protection for you and your family, with company-funded death-in-service benefit and income protection insurance, and discounted rates for additional life assurance and critical illness cover.
• Share in Santander’s success by saving or investing in their share plans.
• Access to staff versions of Santander products like Edge Current Accounts and Credit Cards with no fees, plus other deals and discounts.
• Competitive rewards that reflect the real impact you make and the value you bring.
• Wellbeing support through partners across physical, mental, social, and financial pillars (apps, discounted gym, online classes, flexible healthcare, mental health support).
• Support for every life stage (menopause, pregnancy, parenthood) with enhanced family leave, childcare options, and tailored wellbeing support.
• Time to give back through volunteering opportunities.
• Global growth opportunities to shape your career and learn new skills across their international network.

Ready to Be Recognised? It Starts With You.

Santander is proud to be an inclusive organisation that provides equal opportunities for everyone, regardless of age, gender, disability, civil status, race, religion, or sexual orientation. They are committed to creating an accessible, fair, and welcoming recruitment experience for all candidates.

To support employees in thriving at work and home, while delivering for customers, roles are site-based with a hybrid working pattern. Colleagues are expected to attend the office at least 12 days per month (pro-rata for part-time roles). Applicants should consider travel distance, time, and cost to their chosen office location(s).

Every individual must have the right to work in the UK to commence employment with Santander. If a working visa/permit is required, this will not influence the application decision. However, if the right to work is not obtained, Santander will not proceed with the application. Relocation packages may not be available, but Santander will cover employer mandatory government fees for visa sponsorship, with personal employee immigration and relocation costs potentially being the applicant's responsibility.

Key skills/competency

• IT Operations Leadership
• Crisis Management
• Incident Management
• Disaster Recovery
• Operational Resilience
• Regulatory Compliance
• Financial Services Experience
• Infrastructure Operations
• Stakeholder Management
• Team Building & Leadership