Cloud Services Team Leader

JOB PURPOSEWe are seeking an experienced and dynamic Team Leader to take full ownership of the Cloud Services Infrastructure across our Paragon Infrastructure Hosting estate, covering the UK, Ireland, Luxembourg, and India. This is a key leadership position, responsible for ensuring the robustness, performance, and security of our Cloud Infrastructure platforms and associated monitoring tools.The Cloud Team Leader will oversee a multi-cloud environment spanning Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). This role leads a team of cloud engineers to support design, deploy, secure, and optimise enterprise-grade cloud solutions. The leader ensures that cloud infrastructure supports business continuity, scalability, and innovation while maintaining governance, compliance, and cost efficiency.Key Accountabilities & ResponsibilitiesLeadership & Team Management- Lead, coach, and develop a distributed team of cloud engineers and administrators across Azure, AWS, and OCI. - Serve as a senior escalation point for cloud platform issues, ensuring swift resolution and knowledge sharing. - Drive team engagement, skills development, and succession planning to build a high-performing culture. - Foster collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement within the cloud services function. - Partner with Infrastructure, Security, and Application teams to ensure cohesive operations and service delivery.Cloud Architecture & Strategy- Deliver on Paragon’s multi-cloud strategy aligned with enterprise architecture and business goals. - Design scalable, secure, and resilient hybrid and multi-cloud solutions. - Lead cloud migration, modernization, and automation initiatives using Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC). - Establish and maintain cloud architecture standards, design patterns, and best practices. - Support innovation by evaluating emerging cloud technologies and services.Operations & Service Delivery- Ensure the operational health and performance of all cloud environments, maintaining high availability and disaster recovery readiness. - Oversee configuration, release, and performance management across multi-cloud platforms. - Implement and manage Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) using Terraform, ARM Templates, CloudFormation, and OCI Resource Manager. - Demonstrates strong understanding and practical knowledge of Kubernetes for container orchestration and deployment management. - Drive automation and integration of CI/CD pipelines using tools such as Azure DevOps, Jenkins, or GitLab CI. - Maintain accurate technical documentation, service records, and CMDB entries. - Manage on-call rotas for incident escalation and out-of-hours support when required.Security, Compliance & Governance- Embed security-by-design principles across all cloud services. - Partner with Information Security to ensure compliance with ISO 27001, SOC 2, GDPR, and internal security frameworks. - Manage identity and access control (Azure AD, AWS IAM, OCI IAM), encryption, patching, and monitoring policies. - Promote a DevSecOps culture, ensuring security controls are integrated into automation pipelines. - Ensure full auditability through tagging, logging, and monitoring of cloud resources.Cost Management & Optimisation- Monitor and optimise cloud usage and expenditure across platforms. - Implement cloud cost forecasting, budgeting, and showback models. - Recommend architectural or operational changes to enhance cost efficiency without compromising performance. - Provide cost analysis, optimisation reports, and budget forecasts to senior IT leadership.Leadership Competencies- Continuous Improvement: Identifies opportunities to enhance service delivery, performance, and cost efficiency. - Inspiring Trust: Demonstrates integrity, transparency, and respect; fosters a safe “speak up” culture. - Teamwork: Promotes collaboration across distributed teams and business units to achieve shared goals. - Accountability: Takes ownership of outcomes and delivers on commitments. - Customer Focus: Champions service excellence and delivers a superior experience to internal and external clients. - Developing Self & Others: Encourages professional growth through feedback, training, and mentoring.SkillsTechnical Skills & ExperienceCloud Platforms- Azure: ARM, AKS, App Services, Azure DevOps, Networking - AWS: EC2, S3, Lambda, CloudFormation, RDS, EKS, IAM, CloudWatch - OCI: Compute, Object Storage, Autonomous Database, VCN, Load Balancer, OCI IAMInfrastructure as Code & Automation- Proficiency with Terraform, Ansible, and other automation frameworks. - Experience implementing CI/CD pipelines (GitLab CI, Jenkins, Azure DevOps).Monitoring & Observability- Experience with Azure Monitor, CloudWatch, Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, or similar tools.Networking & Security- Strong understanding of VPNs, hybrid connectivity (ExpressRoute, Direct Connect, FastConnect), and firewalls. - Knowledge of security hardening, identity management, and compliance frameworks.Scripting- Strong scripting skills in PowerShell, Python, or Bash.Soft Skills- Strategic thinker with a hands-on, practical approach. - Excellent communicator able to influence technical and non-technical stakeholders. - Strong organisational and prioritisation abilities in a multi-site, multi-cloud environment. - Experience with ITIL processes and service management tools (e.g., Jira, ServiceNow). - Demonstrated ability to deliver service stability and client satisfaction in enterprise environments.Qualifications- 5–8 years experience in cloud infrastructure, DevOps, or systems engineering. - 3+ years experience managing or leading cloud-focused technical teams. - Proven success delivering multi-cloud projects at enterprise scale. - Preferred Certifications: - Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert - AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional - Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Architect Professional - Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) - ITIL Foundation or PMP (or equivalent project management qualification) - Equivalent experience may be considered in lieu of certifications.