Head of IT Operations (Riga)

Location: Baltics Corners

About the Company
Our client is a fully licensed EU bank that provides modern banking infrastructure for  Fin Tech companies, payment institutions, e-commerce businesses, and other digital-first companies .

Combining traditional banking expertise with a Fin Tech-native approach, the bank provides solutions including  Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), e-commerce acquiring, payment infrastructure, safeguarding accounts, lending, and business banking services .

About the Role
As  Head of IT Operations , you will own the Bank's production infrastructure, IT service management, operational resilience, and end-user technology environment.

In a highly regulated banking environment, you will ensure critical technology services remain  secure, available, resilient, and compliant . The role combines infrastructure leadership, IT operations, cybersecurity controls, business continuity, vendor management, and regulatory engagement.

You will work closely with Engineering, Information Security, Risk, Compliance, and business stakeholders to ensure the Bank's technology environment can reliably support its continued growth.

Responsibilities

Own the Bank's  production infrastructure , including servers, networks, cloud and on-premise environments, infrastructure architecture, and capacity planning;

Lead  IT Service Management (ITSM)  processes, including incident, problem, and change management in line with ITIL principles;

Establish and maintain effective  on-call, escalation, and major incident management  structures;

Own system reliability and operational resilience, including  monitoring, alerting, disaster recovery, business continuity planning, and regular testing ;

Take responsibility for infrastructure and operational security controls, including  patch management, vulnerability management, access controls, and infrastructure hardening ;

Ensure IT operations meet relevant  banking, regulatory, audit, and ICT risk requirements , including DORA and applicable local regulatory requirements;

Coordinate IT-related regulatory and audit activities, including communication with auditors and regulators, evidence collection, remediation planning, and implementation of corrective actions;

Manage relationships with  infrastructure, data centre, cloud, software, and licensing vendors , ensuring appropriate service levels, controls, and commercial oversight;

Own end-user IT services, including  helpdesk, workplace technology, device management, and employee IT support ;

Define and monitor operational performance and service availability through relevant SLAs, KPIs, and operational metrics;

Partner closely with Engineering and other technology teams to ensure controlled and reliable production deployments and ongoing system stability;

Lead and continuously improve IT operational processes, documentation, controls, and ways of working.

Requirements

Strong experience in  IT infrastructure and operations leadership , ideally within banking, financial services, Fin Tech, payments, or another highly regulated environment;

Proven experience managing  business-critical production environments  across cloud and/or on-premise infrastructure;

Strong knowledge of  IT Service Management and ITIL-aligned practices , particularly incident, problem, and change management;

Solid understanding of  networking, servers, cloud infrastructure, monitoring, capacity planning, and operational security ;

Hands-on experience with  disaster recovery, business continuity, operational resilience, and recovery testing ;

Strong understanding of infrastructure security controls, including patching, vulnerability management, identity/access management, and security remediation;

Experience working with  IT audits, regulatory requirements, and evidence-based technology controls ;

Knowledge of ICT risk and regulatory frameworks relevant to EU financial institutions, including  DORA , would be highly valuable;

Experience managing technology vendors, third-party providers, contracts, and service levels;

Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to work effectively across Engineering, Security, Risk, Compliance, Audit, and senior leadership;

Professional working proficiency in  English .

Key Competencies

Operational Ownership  - takes responsibility for stable, secure, and reliable technology services;

Risk & Resilience Mindset  - balances operational performance with security, regulatory, and business continuity requirements;

Leadership & Decision-Making  - creates accountability and stays decisive during critical situations;

Stakeholder Collaboration  - works confidently across Engineering, Security, Risk, Compliance, auditors, and external partners

The Employer Offers

Modern office in the centre of Riga with a hybrid working model;

Opportunity to directly contribute to the Bank's technological development and future digital initiatives;

Dynamic working environment with a supportive management team that values innovation;

Collaborative, supportive, and innovation-driven working environment;

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