Global Head of Cloud & Data Center (Infrastructure)

About the role

SGS, a global testing, inspection and certification company, is looking for a Global Head of Cloud & Data Center (Infrastructure) within Global IT Production, reporting to the Global Head of IT Production. The role owns the reliability, security, governance and operational excellence of the company's global hybrid Cloud and Data Center platforms, combining about 70% leadership and governance with 30% high-level technical and architectural authority. It is a senior infrastructure leadership role focused on production readiness.

Key responsibilities

• Own global Cloud and Data Center production platforms (Azure-first, hybrid connectivity, on-premises) and act as single point of accountability for stability, availability and resilience, including SLAs, SLOs and compliance.
• Define cloud and infrastructure governance (landing zones, networks, RBAC, security, policies), production reference architectures and deployment standards, aligned with Enterprise Architecture and Security.
• Own availability, performance, capacity planning and incident management, embed SRE practices (SLOs, error budgets, post-incident reviews) and act as senior escalation authority for major incidents.
• Ensure security, audit and regulatory compliance, apply Zero Trust at the infrastructure layer and enforce ITIL-based change management.
• Own the global production budget, lead FinOps initiatives (cost transparency, optimization, reservations, waste reduction) and report to executives on cost, efficiency and risk.
• Drive Infrastructure-as-Code and change-as-code standards, CI/CD patterns for infrastructure, monitoring, observability and service health reporting.
• Define data center strategy (modernization, consolidation, migrations), govern hybrid connectivity and network services, and ensure DR, backup and resilience.
• Lead global Cloud and Data Center teams and manage strategic vendors and partners.

Required profile

• 10+ years in infrastructure, cloud or platform environments.
• 5+ years leading global or multi-regional infrastructure teams.
• Proven experience operating mission-critical, highly available production environments.
• Solid background in operational excellence, incident management and change control.
• Ability to operate at senior leadership level under high operational pressure.
• Preferred: exposure to AWS and/or GCP in large enterprises, and experience in regulated industries or complex global organizations.

Required skills

• Strong expertise in Azure governance and hybrid infrastructure.
• Preferred: Azure Architect (AZ-305) and/or Azure Administrator (AZ-104) certification, ITIL Foundation certification, and FinOps experience or certification.

What we offer

• A flexible schedule and hybrid work model.
• Continuous learning through SGS University and Campus.
• A multinational environment with colleagues from various continents.
• A comprehensive benefits platform.