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Vacancy Name Head of Platform
Vacancy No: VN2326
Employment Type: Permanent
Duration: NA
Location: Manchester, United Kingdom
Company Description
Xeinadin was established in 2019 when a number of leading business advisory and accountancy practices across the UK and Ireland came together to re-imagine the future of accountancy. Our collective mission to provide locally forged, trusted business advice to SMEs through forward-thinking, close-knit relationships remains pivotal to our growth. It's our people who drive our business forward, and we offer them future-focused career opportunities whilst supporting individual specialisms. Our regional offices of over 3000 colleagues operate collaboratively, combining collective expertise to maximise potential.
Description
Responsible for the secure, resilient and effective leadership of Xeinadin’s core technology platforms, including cloud infrastructure, Citrix and hosted desktop environments, network services, cyber security operations and platform engineering. The role is accountable for platform strategy, operational governance, supplier performance, budget ownership and technical leadership, while ensuring services are scalable, standardised, ITIL-aligned and fit for a professional services environment.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the Platform function, taking ownership of infrastructure, cloud, hosted desktop, Citrix, network, security operations and core technical platforms across Xeinadin.
- Own and develop the platform roadmap, ensuring technology choices support resilience, scalability, standardisation, technical debt reduction and future business growth.
- Provide senior leadership for platform engineering teams, setting direction, priorities, standards and development plans, including regular 1:1s, coaching and performance oversight.
- Own the Platform budget, forecasting and investment planning, challenging spend where necessary and ensuring value is delivered through suppliers, licences, infrastructure assets and transformation activity.
- Act as the primary operational interface with cloud infrastructure providers and managed platform partners, ensuring supplier performance, contractual obligations and improvement plans are actively managed.
- Lead private-to-public cloud migration activity, ensuring robust planning, secure design, controlled execution and effective in-life management of cloud services.
- Own Citrix and hosted desktop strategy and operations, including Virtual Apps and Desktops, profile management, user experience, application delivery and platform resilience.
- Understand and govern application layering technologies, application packaging, compatibility testing and deployment patterns across hosted desktop and cloud environments.
- Ensure accountancy and professional services applications are appropriately supported from a platform perspective, recognising the importance of tax, audit, payroll, practice management and client data workflows.
- Own network platform oversight across WAN, LAN, wireless, VPN, secure remote access and office connectivity, working with technical leads and third parties to improve stability and security.
- Drive cyber security operational effectiveness across platforms, including SOC engagement, vulnerability management, patching, hardening, monitoring, logging, backup, recovery and disaster recovery readiness.
- Ensure security is embedded into platform design, engineering standards, supplier delivery and operational change, working closely with Architecture, Security and third-party providers.
- Provide leadership for planned out-of-hours engineering and change activity, ensuring appropriate planning, risk assessment, communication, back-out arrangements and senior escalation are in place.
- Maintain detailed platform documentation, runbooks, standards, asset lifecycle plans and operational procedures to support consistency, auditability and knowledge transfer.
- Ensure platform operations are aligned with ITIL principles and IT governance procedures, including change control, incident support, problem management inputs, capacity, availability and continual improvement.
- Support acquisition integration and technology onboarding by assessing inherited environments and driving transition to standardised, secure Xeinadin platforms.
- Work collaboratively with Service Management, Architecture, PMO, Data Protection and business stakeholders.
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Key Requirements
- Significant experience leading infrastructure, platform, cloud or IT operations teams in a complex, multi-site environment.
- Significant experience with Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, hosted desktop platforms and end-user computing environments.
- Experience of private-to-public cloud migration, hybrid cloud operations and cloud infrastructure management, preferably in Microsoft Azure environments.
- Strong understanding of application layering, application packaging, compatibility testing and application deployment into hosted desktop or cloud platforms.
- Experience working with accountancy applications and professional services environments, including business-critical platforms used for tax, audit, payroll, practice management, document management or finance workflows.
- Strong knowledge of Microsoft 365, Entra ID / Active Directory, Windows Server, endpoint management, SaaS, IaaS and infrastructure monitoring.
- Good technical knowledge of WAN, LAN, wireless, firewalls, VPNs, secure remote access, internet connectivity and network security controls.
- Experience managing SOC, security operations, vulnerability remediation, patching, backup, disaster recovery and cyber risk reduction activities.
- Proven budget ownership, supplier management and commercial governance experience.
- Experience leading planned out-of-hours engineering, maintenance windows and technical change activity.
- Strong understanding of ITIL-aligned operating practices, IT governance, change control and continual improvement.
- Evidence of leading technical teams, developing people and creating clear ownership across internal and external resources.
- Innovative approach to technology, future-focused and ready to embrace AI.
- Experience managing strategic third-party suppliers including cloud infrastructure providers, SOC/security partners, network/connectivity suppliers, hosted desktop partners and managed platform providers.
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Additional Requirements
- Experience in a highly acquisitive organisation, including onboarding, rationalising and standardising legacy technology estates.
- Experience with accountancy platforms such as IRIS, CCH, Digita, Sage, Xero, Virtual Cabinet, Docusoft or similar business-critical applications.
- Microsoft Azure, Citrix, security, networking or ITIL certifications.
- Experience of regulated environments and audit/compliance requirements.
- Familiarity with COBIT, SFIA or other technology governance and capability frameworks.
- Experience with automation, monitoring, observability and infrastructure-as-code practices.
- Strong, visible leader who can set direction, create accountability and develop high-performing technical teams.
- Highly detailed, organised and methodical, with strong follow-through on risks, actions, documentation and governance.
- Able to communicate effectively with technical teams, suppliers, senior stakeholders and business leaders.
- Calm and decisive under pressure, particularly during major incidents, out-of-hours engineering activity and critical change windows.
- Commercially aware, comfortable owning budgets, challenging suppliers and balancing cost, risk, resilience and user experience.
- Pragmatic and outcome-focused, able to operate at both strategic and detailed technical levels.
- Collaborative approach with Service Management, Architecture, Security, PMO and business teams while maintaining clear platform ownership.
Model
Hybrid
Salary
Competitive
Benefits
- Company Pension Scheme
- 25 days of annual leave + bank holidays
- Additional annual leave days from certain levels of seniority
- Ability to buy up to 5 days of annual leave to reach a maximum of 30 days per annum
- Business closure over Christmas*
- Life Assurance x4 annual salary
- Enhanced family leave policies
- Enhanced Company Sick Pay
- Employee Assistance Programme – 24/7 support, free and confidential
Corporate Discounts Platform
Flexible Benefits platform with ability to opt-in to various insurances (level of seniority dependent & self-funded at corporate rates) such as:
- Critical Illness Cover
- Cash plan
- Cycle to work
- Eye care
- Dental
*subject to exceptions and business needs
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