IT Operations Manager (Hands-On)

We are seeking a technically strong IT Operations Manager who remains hands-on while leading the technical direction and daily operations of our managed services team.

This is not a purely managerial role. You will still build, troubleshoot, design and improve environments - while ensuring service standards remain high and engineers are aligned.

The Role

You will take ownership of technical operations across:

• Managed IT support clients
• Microsoft 365 and Azure environments
• Server and virtualised infrastructure
• Backup and disaster recovery platforms
• Firewalls and networking
• 3CX telephony systems

You will work closely with the Data Centre Manager to ensure performance, resilience and scalability across hosted and colocation platforms.

This role suits a senior technical engineer ready to step into leadership - or an existing operations lead who still enjoys being technically involved.

Key ResponsibilitiesTechnical (Primary Focus)

• Design, implement and maintain Microsoft 365 and Azure environments
• Administer Windows Server, Active Directory and Group Policy
• Oversee virtualisation platforms and server infrastructure
• Configure and manage firewalls and core networking
• Maintain backup and disaster recovery systems
• Support and manage 3CX VoIP deployments
• Lead technical escalations and complex issue resolution
• Ensure patching, security hardening and system integrity
• Conduct disaster recovery testing and infrastructure reviews

You will be expected to actively participate in technical delivery - not just delegate.

Operational & Team Leadership

• Provide guidance and technical oversight to engineers
• Manage escalations and quality control
• Improve documentation and operational standards
• Monitor ticket flow and SLA performance
• Support recruitment and mentoring of technical staff
• Collaborate with the Data Centre Manager on infrastructure planning

Technical Skill Requirements

Strong working knowledge of:

• Microsoft 365 (Exchange, SharePoint, Teams, Entra ID)
• Microsoft Azure
• Windows Server & Active Directory
• Hyper-V / VMware
• Firewalls (configuration and security policy management)
• Networking fundamentals (VLANs, routing, switching, VPNs)
• 3CX or similar VoIP platforms
• Backup & Disaster Recovery solutions

You should be confident logging into a firewall, diagnosing a routing issue, reviewing Azure policies or troubleshooting AD replication - without relying entirely on others.

• 5+ years in an MSP or multi-client IT environment
• Experience handling technical escalations
• Previous team lead or supervisory experience preferred
• Experience working in structured environments with documentation and standards

DSM Group is a growing IT Support and Infrastructure provider delivering managed IT services, hosted platforms, backup solutions and secure colocation from our purpose-built eco data centre in Peterborough.