Technical Operations Manager

Job description

About Allica Bank Allica is the UK’s fastest growing company - and the fastest-growing financial technology (Fintech) firm ever. Our purpose is to help established SMEs, one of the last major underserved opportunities in Fintech. Established SMEs are the backbone of local communities - representing over a third of our economy - yet have been largely neglected both by traditional high street banks and modern fintech providers. Role Description We are looking for a hands-on and forward-thinking Technology Operations Manager to own and evolve our Technology Operations capability. This is a leadership role with delivery accountability. You will lead our service desk team, drive the Joiners, Movers and Leavers (JML) process through robust endpoint configuration and deployment, and build intelligent automation that reduce toil and elevates the colleague experience. This role suits a technically sharp operator with growth mindset, someone who can define the strategic direction and debug an endpoint script when needed. You will be visible in the office, close to colleagues and stakeholders, and integral to scaling our technology operations as Allica scales. Principal Accountabilities Service Desk Leadership - Lead, coach and develop the service desk team, setting clear objectives, SLAs and quality standards. - Act as escalation point for complex or sensitive issues, ensuring swift and colleague-centric resolution. - Define and report on service KPIs and KRIs - Foster a culture of continuous improvement Endpoint Management - Own the end-to-end configuration, deployment and lifecycle management of macOS and Windows endpoints across the business. - Maintain and evolve MDM/UEM tooling to enforce security policies aligned with regulatory expectations and internal controls. - Ensure device build are consistent, auditable and compliant with Allica’s security standards and data-protection obligations. - Partner with the Security team to embed endpoint hardening, patching cadences and vulnerability remediation into BAU operations Joiner, Movers & Leavers Process - Lead the technology component of the JML lifecycle – provisioning, access management, and deprovisioning – ensuring zero gap coverage. - Work cross-functionally with people and Security to ensure access rights are granted and revoked accurately and on time. - Maintain complete audit trails for all JML activity to support regulatory and audit requirements. - Continuously improve JML workflows to reduce manual effort and time-to-productivity for new joiners. Automation & Service Improvement - Identify and prioritise high-volume, repetitive service desk queries and build automation (e.g. self-service portals, runbooks, scripts, workflow tools) to resolve them at scale. - Champion a shift-left approach – empowering colleagues to self-serve safely and reducing ticket volumes without compromising security. - Evaluate and implement tooling that improves operational efficiency, from TSM platforms to AI-assisted support capabilities. - Document operational processes and ensure knowledge is captured, maintained and accessible to the team. Stakeholder management & Governance - Build trusted relationships with business stakeholders across Operations, Finance, Product and other internal functions. - Manage relationships with technology suppliers and service providers, ensuring effective service delivery and value for money. - Contribute to technology risk and controls framework, support internal and external audits as required Personal Attributes & Experience - Proven experience leading an IT service desk or technology operations team in a regulated environment (financial services or fintech). - Strong hands-on technical expertise in endpoint management using MDM/UEM platforms. - Deep understanding of the JML lifecycle and associated access management controls. - Demonstrable experience building automation or scripting solutions to reduce manual service desk effort. - Strong grasp of ITSM principles and experience with platforms such as Jira Service management or equivalent. - Excellent analytical, problem-solving, prioritisation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to balance business impact, risk, and operational priorities. - Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a collaborative approach to working across technical and business functions. - A genuine growth mindset: curious, adaptable and comfortable in a fast-scaling environment. Desirable - ITIL v4 Foundation certification or higher. - Experience supporting FCA, PRA, Operational Resilience, and financial services regulatory requirements. - Experience with AI-assisted service desk or chatbot automation. - Microsoft certifications relating to Microsoft 365, Security, Identity, or Endpoint Management. Working at Allica Bank At Allica Bank we want to ensure our employees have the right tools and environment in which to succeed in their role and in support of our customers. Our employees are at the heart of everything we do, so our benefits are designed with you in mind: - Full onboarding support and continued development opportunities - Options for flexible working - Regular social activities - Pension contributions - Discretionary bonus scheme - Private health cover - Life assurance - Family friendly policies including enhanced Maternity & Paternity leave Don’t tick every box? Don’t worry if you don’t have all the skills or requirements listed on the job description. If you think you’ll be a good fit, we’d still love to hear from you! Flexible working We know the ‘9-to-5’ isn’t right for everyone. That’s why Allica Bank is fully committed to flexible and hybrid working. Please let us know what is best for you and, if we can, we will do our best to accommodate. Diversity We’re a diverse bunch here at Allica, with all kinds of experiences, backgrounds and lifestyles. Our openness and differences make us stronger, and we want everybody to feel comfortable bringing as much of themselves to work with them as they like.