Vantage is committed to being a workplace of inclusion, equity, respect and acceptance. We celebrate diversity and intentionally seek out opportunities to learn from one another's experience.

Vantage Data Centers powers, cools, protects and connects the technology of the world's well-known hyperscalers, cloud providers and large enterprises. Developing and operating across North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Vantage has evolved data center design in innovative ways to deliver dramatic gains in reliability, efficiency and sustainability in flexible environments that can scale as quickly as the market demands.

Site Operations Department

The Site Operations Department is responsible for the overall health and wellbeing of all mechanical and electrical systems, building maintenance, customer service and performance of all data modules at each campus. The teams are staffed 24 x 7 on site with Critical Facilities Engineers (CFEs) on each shift.

These teams are the face of Vantage to our customers and the first line of defense regarding the uptime of our campus as well as the general health of our customer installations. Using a Critical Maintenance Management System (CMMS) to plan and track needed work, each campus Site Operations department manages all preventative and corrective maintenance on-site for our campuses located throughout North America.

Our culture expects and rewards operations teams that engage directly with the customers and the facility infrastructure. These teams do most of the work themselves versus calling out constantly to vendors. As a result, we provide superior service that is faster and more cost effective. We prove that service through transparent reporting on all key performance metrics gives the customers the ability to focus on their operations without having to manage the performance of the facilities.

Position Overview

The Senior Vice President, Operations will play a critical role in our organization, overseeing the strategic direction and operational management of our data centers. This position is responsible for leading operational excellence across data center operations, reliability engineering, physical security, customer experience, network operations and lease management across the North American region.

This role serves as the liaison for all 24x7 operational activities across the managed nationwide data centers with executives and department heads to ensure appropriate communications with all interested and vested parties and has the responsibility for overall availability and reliability to meet or exceed defined service levels of data center operations. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of leadership in a fast-paced, high-growth environment and the ability to drive operational excellence across multiple locations.

This position will be based on-site at our office in Sterling, VA. Travel is required (see Job Requirements).

Essential Job Functions

• Strategic Operations Management:

  • Responsible for the day-to-day operations of our North American Data Center Operations.

  • Oversee the management, budget, KPIs, and administration of site operations functions at all North American properties with a safety-first approach.

  • Develop and implement strategies to enhance operational performance across all data center campuses, driving continuous improvement initiatives and maintaining high standards of operational excellence.

  • Ensure availability and capacity targets are achieved and maintained for data centers and technical infrastructure for all Vantage Data Center facilities.

• Team Leadership and Development:

  • Lead a team of technical directors through complex projects, fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture, and managing matrixed reporting relationships.

  • Oversee a diverse and skilled team of Senior Directors, Directors, Managers, and facility engineers, fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture, and managing matrixed reporting relationships to optimize team efficiency and effectiveness.

  • Encourage and foster a team-oriented environment through positive feedback, mentorship, and performance management.

  • Evaluate and manage performance reviews for the team. Seek out input from others and provide feedback and coaching to lead individuals as well as the team.

  • Work with peers to determine appropriate team performance goals and manage those to completion.

• Budgeting and Financial Management:

  • Create and manage annual operating expense budgets and capital expenditures, monitoring and updating monthly forecasts to meet and exceed financial targets, and ensuring cost-effective use of resources while maintaining high service levels.

  • Continuously monitor and update monthly forecasts to meet and exceed financial NOI targets, ensuring cost-effective use of resources while maintaining high service levels.

  • Work with Finance and Management to participate in the preparation of operational expenses and capital portions of the budget.

• Operational Excellence and Maintenance:

  • Manages nationwide data center operations of the 24x7 data center environment. Identifies and implements critical metrics necessary to manage and monitor the performance of overall operations including: capacity, availability, budget, and inventory. Oversees all electrical and mechanical infrastructure such as UPS systems, generators, fire suppression systems, DC power systems, and HVAC systems in order to achieve 100% availability. Translates business server, storage, and networking requirements into specific Data Center needs (space, racks, power, AC, cabling) with cost estimates. Has responsibility for meeting established Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

  • Hold teams accountable for preventive and corrective maintenance of facility equipment, both critical and non-critical.

  • Protect and improve the value of assets, ensuring that building machinery and systems meet or exceed their expected life.

  • Demonstrate the ability to understand the engineering design and operational aspects of the base building systems and can recognize system performance deficiencies and respond to operational and emergency situations.

  • Oversee the management of unplanned emergency events and ensure robust risk mitigation strategies are in place, partnering with the Reliability Engineering team to identify and remediate risks.

  • Ensure that major projects performed at the campuses are properly planned, executed, and closed out in accordance with best current practices in our industry.

  • Defines policies, procedures, and standards related to performance, capacity, availability, continuity, and security.

• Customer Service and Satisfaction:

  • Develop and maintain elite customer service for all the company's customers.

  • Ensure customers are satisfied and any issues with their services are resolved quickly and efficiently.

  • Ensure a consistent and exceptional customer experience across all campuses, addressing and resolving any service issues promptly to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction and retention.

• Collaboration and Relationship Management:

  • Partner with the Reliability Engineering team to identify and remediate risks and ensure successful commissioning activities enabling turnover to production of new facilities without outstanding issues.

  • Collaborate closely with Design, Engineering, and Construction teams to ensure timely and cost-effective delivery of new facilities, ensuring that construction projects are executed without sacrificing maintainability or site availability, and facilitating successful commissioning activities and seamless turnover to production.

  • Develop and maintain strong relationships with vendors and service providers, negotiating contracts and agreements to ensure the timely delivery of goods and services, and monitoring vendor performance to ensure compliance with company standards.

  • Foster inter-departmental relationships across the organization to understand the roles & responsibilities of each department, exchange information, align on goals and objectives, and partner on improvement needs.

• Performance Monitoring and Reporting:

  • Implement key initiatives and process improvements to drive desired outcomes across the organization such as the implementation of Service Now FSM, time tracking integration between tools, and implementation of automation, machine learning, and AI.

  • Establishes key KPI, SLA's, metrics and measurements demonstrating area health. Communicates through operational reviews. Measures and tracks against industry benchmarks and standards

  • Using knowledge of the systems in place coupled with performance data collected, evaluate performance of systems and suggest cost-effective improvements to improve service and operating efficiency.

  • Responsible for all key performance indicators reporting internally to the Site Operations team and to the executive team.

  • Organize administrative functions related to site operations, such as work orders, maintenance activities, budgets, and ordering supplies.

  • Maintains documentation and diagrams capturing all essential parameters of Data Center operations.

  • Creates and delivers presentations to leadership team, company meetings, and conferences. Represents Vantage Data Centers at conferences and seminars.

• Physical Security Management:

  • Ensure the physical security of all data center sites, implementing and maintaining security protocols to protect infrastructure and data.

  • Oversee security operations, including access control, surveillance systems, and incident response.

  • Additional duties as assigned by Management.

Job Requirements

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Business Administration, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.

Experience:

• Minimum of 15 years of experience managing large (250 ) technical teams in a facility/plant engineering and maintenance environment.

• Minimum of 10 years of direct managerial experience with strong interpersonal skills.

• Proven track record of leading large-scale, multi-site operations in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.

• Must have prior demonstrable experience in delivering large initiatives through cross functional collaboration.

Skills:

• Strong understanding of data center infrastructure, reliability engineering, security, and customer experience management.

• Must be well versed with innovations in the market place with regard to data center facilities.

• Excellent strategic thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.

• Proven capabilities in developing teams, coaching, and skill mentoring.

• Excellent team management and leadership skills, customer/business support experience with highly technical, engineering-oriented organizations/environments.

• Ability to develop and communicate relevant department metrics, SLA and performance reports to executive management.

• Exceptional verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills to technical and non-technical audiences, with the ability to build relationships and influence at all levels of the organization.

• Proficiency in MS Office, Outlook, Word, Excel, and building automation systems.

• Travel required is expected to be up to 50% but may increase over time as the business evolves.

Physical Demands and Special Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to handle, or feel objects; reach with hands and arms; climb stairs; balance; stoop or kneel; talk and hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

We operate with No Ego and No Arrogance. We work to build each other up and support one another, appreciating each other's strengths and respecting each other's weaknesses. We find joy in our work and each other, actively seeking opportunities to inject fun into what we do. Our hard and efficient work is rewarded with an above market total compensation package. We offer a comprehensive suite of health and welfare, retirement, and paid leave benefits exceeding local expectations.

Throughout the year, the advantage of being part of the Vantage team is evident with an array of benefits, recognition, training and development, and the knowledge that your contribution adds value to the company and our community.

Don't meet all the requirements? Please still apply if you think you are the right person for the position. We are always keen to speak to people who connect with our mission and values.

Vantage Data Centers is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Vantage Data Centers does not accept unsolicited resumes from search firm agencies. Fees will not be paid in the event a candidate submitted by a recruiter without an agreement in place is hired; such resumes will be deemed the sole property of Vantage Data Centers.