Head of Workplace

Required Experience

• Several years of experience in Workplace, Infrastructure, Identity, Endpoint Management, or similar IT leadership roles.

• Proven experience leading international or distributed technical teams.

• Experience managing teams across different countries, cultures, and time zones.

• Strong background in team transformation, operational process improvement, service management, and organizational change.

• Hands-on technical knowledge in:

• Active Directory

• Microsoft Entra ID, formerly Azure AD

• PKI

• Remote Desktop Services / Terminal Server environments

• Microsoft 365

• Microsoft Intune

• Identity and Access Management

• Experience with hybrid Microsoft environments and modern workplace architectures.

• Strong understanding of ITIL-based processes such as incident, change, problem, request, and access management.

• Experience in security hardening, compliance, risk management, and audit support.

• Proven ability to manage technical roadmaps, operational risks, technical debt, and transformation initiatives.

• Experience working with business units, country organizations, and local IT teams in a global operating model.

Required Skills & Competencies

Technical Skills

• Strong architectural understanding of Microsoft workplace, identity, endpoint, and collaboration technologies.

• Ability to assess complex environments and define practical target architectures.

• Strong knowledge of hybrid identity, endpoint security, authentication, access control, and compliance management.

• Ability to translate technical requirements into scalable, secure, and supportable workplace solutions.

• Strong troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and escalation management capabilities.

• Experience with automation, standardization, monitoring, and operational optimization.

• Good understanding of security-by-design, least privilege, lifecycle management, and governance principles.

Leadership Skills

• Ability to lead, coach, and develop technical teams.

• Strong decision-making and prioritization skills.

• Experience driving cultural, technical, and operational change.

• Ability to build accountability, transparency, and ownership within the team.

• Ability to manage conflicts, align stakeholders, and drive decisions.

• Strong focus on performance management, capability development, and team maturity.

• Ability to operate effectively in a global and matrixed organization.

Communication & Stakeholder Skills

• Clear, structured, and professional communication style.

• Ability to explain complex technical topics to management, business stakeholders, and non-technical audiences.

• Strong documentation and presentation skills.

• Ability to work effectively with business units, countries, local IT teams, security teams, vendors, and senior management.

• Strong service mindset with the ability to balance business needs, security requirements, standardization, and operational feasibility.

• Fluent English; additional languages are an advantage.

Key Success Factors

• Stabilize and mature global workplace operations.

• Build a high-performing, accountable, and collaborative global Workplace team.

• Improve process discipline, service transparency, and operational quality.

• Define and execute a modern workplace technology roadmap.

• Strengthen identity, endpoint, collaboration, and access management security.

• Reduce operational complexity through standardization, automation, and documentation.

• Improve cooperation with business units, countries, and local IT organizations.

• Act as a trusted technical and managerial leader for workplace services.

• Enable the business with secure, reliable, and scalable workplace solutions.

• Lead, manage, and develop a global Workplace team of 11 employees across different countries and time zones.

• Define clear roles, responsibilities, objectives, and performance expectations within the team.

• Drive team transformation, including capability building, upskilling, accountability, and operational ownership.

• Establish a strong culture of ownership, collaboration, transparency, and continuous improvement.

• Foster a strong “one team” mindset across the Workplace and Infrastructure departments.

• Act as an escalation point for critical workplace, identity, endpoint, access management, and collaboration-related topics.

• Support change management and guide the team through organizational, technical, and process-related transformation.

2. Workplace Architecture & Technical Ownership

Provide technical leadership and architectural direction for core workplace technologies, including:

• Active Directory Architecture:Domain/forest design, GPO strategy, OU structure, delegation, replication, security hardening, and privileged access concepts.

• Microsoft Entra ID / Hybrid Identity:Hybrid identity, synchronization, Conditional Access, MFA, identity protection, enterprise applications, and integration between on-premises and cloud identity platforms.

• PKI Infrastructure:Certificate authority architecture, certificate lifecycle management, templates, renewal, revocation, governance, and integration with workplace and security services.

• Remote Desktop Services / Terminal Server Environments:Architecture, operation, performance, licensing, access control, session security, and modernization of remote desktop environments.

• Microsoft 365 Services:Governance and administration of Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, collaboration services, retention, security, and user enablement.

• Microsoft Intune / Endpoint Management:Endpoint strategy, device enrollment, compliance policies, configuration profiles, application deployment, patching, endpoint security, and automation.

• Identity & Access Management:Joiner/mover/leaver processes, role-based access, least privilege, privileged access concepts, access reviews, approval workflows, and account governance.

3. Operations & Service Delivery

• Ensure reliable day-to-day operation of workplace services with a strong focus on availability, performance, security, and user satisfaction.

• Establish and continuously improve key operational processes, including incident, request, change, problem, access, and knowledge management.

• Define and monitor KPIs, SLAs, OLAs, service quality metrics, and operational dashboards.

• Ensure proper documentation of systems, standards, work instructions, and operational procedures.

• Drive automation and continuous improvement to increase efficiency, reduce manual effort, and improve service quality.

• Ensure consistent service delivery across countries while respecting local operational requirements.

• Improve transparency on workload, priorities, risks, service quality, and operational performance.

4. Security, Compliance & Governance

• Ensure workplace services comply with internal security policies, audit requirements, and industry best practices.

• Work closely with Information Security on identity protection, endpoint security, conditional access, privileged access, and compliance topics.

• Support ISO 27001-aligned operational controls, documentation, and evidence collection where applicable.

• Ensure secure configuration and lifecycle management of workplace platforms.

• Manage risks related to legacy technologies, technical debt, misconfigurations, unsupported systems, and process gaps.

• Strengthen the security posture of identity, endpoint, collaboration, and access management services while ensuring auditability, traceability, and regulatory readiness.

5. Transformation & Process Improvement

• Lead the transformation of the Workplace function from reactive operations toward proactive, standardized, secure, and service-oriented delivery.

• Improve process maturity across global teams and ensure consistent execution.

• Standardize workplace services, tools, policies, operational models, and support processes across countries.

• Drive automation, self-service, and modern endpoint management practices.

• Support the transition from legacy workplace infrastructure to modern cloud-based and hybrid workplace solutions.

• Identify service gaps, technical debt, process weaknesses, and improvement opportunities.

• Establish clear ownership models for platforms, services, processes, and operational tasks.

• Promote knowledge sharing, documentation discipline, and cross-training within the team.
   

6. Business Enablement, Stakeholder & Vendor Management

• Act as an enabling function for different business units and countries, ensuring workplace services support business operations, local requirements, and global standards.

• Collaborate closely with business stakeholders, country IT teams, local management, and relevant IT functions to understand requirements and translate them into scalable workplace solutions.

• Balance global standardization with country-specific operational, regulatory, and business needs.

• Build trusted relationships with stakeholders and ensure clear communication on priorities, risks, roadmap items, service status, and improvement initiatives.

• Manage vendors, service providers, and technology partners related to workplace services.

• Participate in global infrastructure, workplace, security, and transformation projects.

• Provide technical input for budgeting, licensing, sourcing, roadmap planning, and investment decisions.

• Ensure workplace services contribute to business productivity, operational resilience, and employee experience.