Head of IT Operations

At Places Leisure, we hire people, not just numbers. If you’re interested in one of our roles, we encourage you to apply—you could be exactly who we’re looking for. While experience matters, we’re most interested in individuals who live our People Promises: those who do the right thing, are enthusiastic and eager to grow, believe in community spirit, show respect, and enjoy their work.

As part of one of the UK’s leading social enterprises, we’re dedicated to creating active, healthy, and inclusive communities for both our customers and colleagues. We value kindness, honesty, and teamwork, and we strive to make Places Leisure a supportive and enjoyable place to work for everyone.

More about your role

We are looking to report a Head of IT Operations on a permanent basis. Reporting to the Director of IT for Leisure Operations, you will be responsible for overseeing and managing all aspects of the organisation’s IT infrastructure, systems and technology operations.

On a daily basis, you will be responsible for overseeing the Technology Support Team. This will include resolving technical issues, investigating root causes, future‑proofing systems, and conducting technology research. In addition, you will play a key role in overseeing the management, maintenance, and optimisation of the company’s IT infrastructure, including servers, various cloud platforms, corporate and public networks.

The ideal candidate will be able to work out of our Camberley Office around 3 days a week. At Places for People, we are committed to a safe working environment so a basic DBS check is mandatory. For more information, download a copy of the job description.

• Experience as a Head of IT Operations (or equivalent)
• A proven track record of leading / managing teams
• Experience dealing with an organisation’s infrastructure
• Understanding of the leisure industry

• Competitive salary, with a salary review yearly
• Pension with matched contributions up to 7%
• Excellent holiday package – 35 days annual leave with the option to buy or sell leave
• Cashback plan for healthcare costs – up to £500 saving per year
• Bonus scheme for all colleagues at 2%
• Training and development
• Extra perks including huge discounts and offers from shops, cinemas and much more.

If you meet the criteria and are ready to make the next step in your career then click apply. You will be redirected to our careers site where you can discover more about the role, read a full job description and apply directly to us.

As part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we offer a guaranteed interview to candidates who are disabled, neurodiverse, or have served in the Armed Forces, provided they meet the essential criteria for the role. If you would like to be considered under this scheme, please indicate this in your application. We are dedicated to creating a supportive and accessible recruitment process for all.

We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application or interview experience, please let us know. We’re happy to work with you to ensure you have the opportunity to perform at your best.

If you are a Places for People customer and you’re looking for support with your application, please contact our skills and employment team on skillse

We understand the importance of a supportive and inclusive work culture so please talk to us at interview about flexibility you may need. We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want, but we promise not to judge you for asking. For this role we are open to discussing the possibility of reduced hours, flexible start and finish times or compressed hours.

If you are a recruitment agency please note we operate a PSL and do not take cold calls.

At Places for People, safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. We are committed to creating safe communities for our customers and colleagues by protecting children, young people, and adults at risk from harm, abuse, and neglect. We follow robust safeguarding policies and procedures, ensuring all employees, volunteers, and contractors uphold the highest standards of safeguarding and accountability. Our recruitment process includes pre‑employment checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks where applicable, to promote a safe and secure working environment.

By joining Places for People, you are expected to contribute to our safeguarding culture, following our policies and reporting concerns to protect those in our communities.