Head of Infrastructure & Cyber Security

Elevation Recruitment Group are partnering exclusively with PA Media Group to recruit a Head of Infrastructure & Cyber Security
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PA Media Group is one of the UK’s most trusted content, data and technology businesses, with a heritage spanning more than 160 years. Today, the Group operates a portfolio of leading brands across news, imagery, sports data, streaming and marketing services, delivering business-critical digital products and services to customers in the UK and internationally.

Technology plays a central role in the Group’s continued success. PA Media Group is now entering the next phase of its technology evolution, investing in modern infrastructure, cyber security, cloud technologies, AI and engineering capability to ensure the organisation is well positioned for future growth.

This appointment represents an opportunity to join the Technology Leadership Team at a pivotal point in that journey.

The current Head of Infrastructure & Cyber Security is leaving the business after many successful years to pursue a long-held personal ambition of opening his own business. Having built a highly respected and stable function, he will remain with the organisation until the end of the year to support a smooth handover.

As PA Media Group continues to invest in its technology strategy, this role presents an exciting opportunity to build on those strong foundations. Alongside leading an experienced Infrastructure, Service Delivery and Cyber function, the successful candidate will play a key role in driving the next phase of the organisation’s technology evolution, with responsibility for infrastructure strategy, cyber security, cloud transformation, operational resilience and technology operations across the Group.

Working closely with the CTO and wider Technology Leadership Team, you’ll help shape the future direction of the technology function while supporting the organisation’s continued growth and transformation.

Reporting to the CTO and working alongside the wider Technology Leadership Team, you will lead Infrastructure, Service Delivery and Cyber Security across the Group. You’ll inherit an experienced leadership team and approximately 40 technical specialists.

• Own and deliver the Group Infrastructure roadmap across cloud, on-premise infrastructure, networking, workplace technology and Service Delivery.
• Lead infrastructure modernisation, including cloud adoption, data centre consolidation and removal of end-of-life technology.
• Drive operational excellence across highly available, business-critical digital services.
• Optimise infrastructure performance, resilience and reliability.
• Support technology due diligence and infrastructure integration as the Group continues to grow through acquisition.

• Lead the Group’s cyber security strategy and improvement programmes.
• Drive progress towards ISO
  27001 certification and wider cyber governance initiatives.
• Champion security-by-design principles across technology operations.
• Build a cyber-aware culture through education, engagement and collaboration.
• Ensure effective governance, reporting and risk management at executive level.

Whilst maintaining the high levels of reliability the business is known for, you’ll lead the next phase of infrastructure modernisation, helping the organisation embrace cloud technologies, AI-enabled operations and automation.

• Champion automation and AI across Infrastructure and Service Delivery.
• Introduce modern operational tooling, observability and predictive monitoring.
• Reduce manual effort and improve operational efficiency through intelligent automation.
• Embed Fin Ops principles to optimise infrastructure and cloud expenditure.
• Challenge traditional ways of working, creating a faster, more proactive and efficient infrastructure function.

This role is as much about leadership as it is technical capability.

• Lead a multidisciplinary management team across Infrastructure, Networks, Cyber Security and Service Delivery, creating an environment where experienced technical specialists continue to…