Head of Cloud, Platforms

Role Overview

The Head of Cloud, Platforms & Security is accountable for the reliability, scalability, and security of rag & bone’s technology foundation. This leader ensures that all business-critical systems operate with maximum uptime, resilience, and performance, enabling seamless retail, e-commerce, and enterprise operations.

This role sits at the intersection of infrastructure, security, and modern platform engineering, driving a shift from traditional IT operations to a highly automated, AI-enabled, and resilient digital backbone.

The ideal candidate combines operational rigor with forward-thinking innovation, leveraging automation and AI to scale capabilities without proportional cost increases, while delivering an exceptional employee experience.

Key Responsibilities

Platform Reliability & Resilience

• Own end-to-end availability and performance of all business-critical systems (POS, eCommerce, ERP, integrations, networks).
• Define and enforce SLOs/SLAs for uptime, latency, and incident response.
• Lead the design and implementation of resilient architectures (failover, redundancy, disaster recovery).
• Establish proactive monitoring, observability, and incident management practices.

Cloud & Infrastructure Strategy

• Own and evolve the cloud strategy (Azure-first), ensuring scalability, cost optimization, and security.
• Drive adoption of platform engineering principles (self-service infrastructure, standardized environments).
• Modernize infrastructure toward API-driven, composable architecture aligned with the Data Hub vision.
• Continuously optimize cloud spend vs performance.

Network & Store Connectivity

• Ensure reliable, secure, and high-performance connectivity across all retail stores, offices, and distribution environments.
• Own vendor relationships for ISP, SD-WAN, and network services.
• Minimize downtime through redundant connectivity and intelligent failover strategies.
• Deliver consistent in-store experience supporting POS, clienteling, and omnichannel services.

Security & Risk Management

• Lead enterprise-wide cybersecurity strategy, including identity, endpoint, network, and cloud security.
• Ensure compliance with audit requirements, and data protection standards.
• Drive continuous improvement in threat detection, response, and employee security awareness.
• Partner with leadership to manage risk posture and incident readiness.

IT Operations & Vendor Management

• Oversee IT operations including service desk, infrastructure support, and managed services.
• Manage strategic vendors and partners to ensure performance, accountability, and cost efficiency.
• Establish clear KPIs and SLAs across all external providers.
• Drive a culture of operational excellence and continuous improvement.

Employee Experience & Support Excellence

• Own the end-user technology experience across corporate and retail.
• Drive improvements in:
  • CSAT (Customer Satisfaction)
  • Ticket resolution times and SLA compliance
• Deliver modern, frictionless tools and support aligned with a digital-first workplace.
• Elevate IT from a support function to a product-oriented service organization.

AI, Automation & Future-Ready Operations

• Lead the adoption of AI and automation across IT operations (AIOps, self-healing systems, intelligent support).
• Reduce manual effort through:
  • Automated provisioning and deployments
  • Intelligent incident management
  • AI-powered service desk capabilities
• Build a scalable operating model that supports growth without linear cost increases.
• Stay at the forefront of emerging technologies to continuously evolve the platform.

Key Success Metrics

• System Availability / Uptime (%)
• Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) & Resolve (MTTR)
• Store connectivity uptime
• CSAT (Employee Experience)
• Ticket SLA compliance
• Cloud cost efficiency (cost vs usage)
• Security posture & audit outcomes
• Automation rate / reduction in manual operations

Qualifications & Experience

Required

• 10–15+ years in IT infrastructure, cloud, and security leadership roles
• Proven experience managing enterprise-scale cloud environments (Azure preferred)
• Strong background in networking and distributed retail environments
• Deep expertise in IT operations, incident management, and reliability engineering
• Experience managing third-party vend