Overview and what we offer
- Location - Manchester
- Refer a friend for £600 bonus which is unlimited!
- Generous holiday entitlement
- Day off for your birthday
- Hotel and airline discounts
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Destination Sports Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees
Who we are and what we do
Destination Sport is a global leader in sports travel, trusted by 150+ sporting organisations worldwide. We deliver a range of specialist services via our portfolio of market-leading brands, including elite travel management, fan experiences, mass participation experiences and youth tours. We’re a multi-award-winning business with a global team of 400+ staff positioned across four continents, who handle over 100,000 journeys each year at over 2,800 sporting events.
Role Overview
The IT Infrastructure Manager is responsible for the overall management of IT infrastructure and services, ensuring availability, integrity and security. This is a hands-on role working closely with suppliers and stakeholders, requiring flexibility due to the size of the team.
Responsible for
Management of Infrastructure
Act as SME across core infrastructure including Microsoft 365, Azure, 8x8, firewalls, servers, and security/configuration tools (Defender, Intune, Conditional Access, Mimecast, Meraki, SOC monitoring, backups).
Also responsible for patching (Ivanti Neurons, Intune), vulnerability scanning and pen testing, software asset management, third-party/cloud services and company websites. Ensure all systems are documented and maintained.
Note: Some out-of-hours work is required due to time zones, changes and incidents.
Strategic & Project Support
Support the Head of IT with infrastructure strategy and implementation. Provide technical guidance across the IT team.
IT Support Team Management
Oversee day-to-day activity of the IT support team, including ticket allocation and SLA performance.
Coach, mentor and develop team members.
Ensure clear documentation of incidents and resolutions.
Monitor performance and escalate issues where required.
Manage hardware/software lifecycle and inventory.
Enforce IT policies and security standards.
Work with stakeholders to resolve technical needs.
Drive continuous improvement and identify/manage risks.
Risk, Compliance & Governance
Support compliance with ISO27001, ISO27701, Cyber Essentials Plus, PCI/DSS and data protection regulations.
Identify and manage infrastructure risks (e.g. backups, patching, capacity, firewall rules, monitoring, system availability), ensuring risks are logged, maintained and mitigated in line with business appetite.
Supplier Management
Support management of outsourced services including Microsoft/Azure consultancy, pen testing, protective monitoring, application support, hosting and 24/7 IT support.
Focus on supplier performance, technical delivery and change management.
Essential Experience
- Proven experience in a similar role with strong ownership of IT services
- Ability to translate business requirements into effective IT solutions
- Good understanding of IT Service Management (ITIL beneficial)
- Receptive to feedback with a proactive approach
- Strong problem-solving and change delivery skills
- Experience managing and mitigating risk
- Highly organised with strong prioritisation skills
- Experience working with IT suppliers
- Strong communication across stakeholders and users
- Commitment to accurate documentation
- Experience of change management
Essential Technical
- Hands-on infrastructure background
- Strong Microsoft 365 knowledge (tenancies, Teams, SharePoint)
- Strong Identity & Access Management experience
- Strong knowledge of Intune/Endpoint Manager, Defender, Purview
- Working knowledge of Azure (hosting, security, networking)
- Good Windows Server and domain management knowledge
- Experience managing backup solutions
- Solid networking knowledge (firewalls, switches, TCP/IP)
Desirable
- Experience integrating systems post-acquisition
- Experience supporting multi-site, remote environments
- Exposure to 24/7 or global operations
- Supplier management experience with risk awareness
- Knowledge of ISO27001, ISO27701, Cyber Essentials, PCI DSS, GDPR
- Understanding of data protection regulations
