Vice President of Critical Operations

About Prime Data Centers

Prime Data Centers develops, acquires, and operates data centers for some of the world's largest enterprises. A private firm owned by a group controlling $6 billion in assets, with a 15-year tenure in technology and real estate development, Prime provides customers with ownership options and dynamic leasing models, defining a true corporate partnership.

About the role

We are seeking a Vice President of Critical Operations (Europe) to set the strategy for, and lead the operational, reliability, and performance dimension of, our European data centre portfolio. In this role you will define the long-term critical operations strategy and own the operating model that keeps multi-hundred-megawatt facilities available around the clock across multiple countries and regulatory regimes, from commissioning handover and ramp-up through steady-state operations, lifecycle maintenance, and continuous improvement.

Data centre operations are unlike conventional facilities management. Uptime commitments, dense and rapidly changing power and cooling loads, tightly coupled electrical and mechanical systems, constrained grid capacity, and customer-defined SLAs leave no room for avoidable downtime. You will give executive leadership and customers confidence that every site is safe, resilient, compliant, and performing as promised, and you will be the person who sees risks to uptime before they become incidents.

What you'll do

Strategy

• Develop and execute a multi-year critical operations strategy for Europe, aligned to the capacity pipeline, customer demand, and company growth plans
• Define and own the critical operations standards and governance framework across all European sites, adapting global standards to national and EU regulatory requirements
• Define the regional operating model, including in-house versus outsourced delivery, shift and staffing models, centralised versus site-based operations centres, and vendor strategy
• Set the roadmap for high-density and AI-ready operations, including liquid cooling, rack-level power increases, and the skills and tooling they require
• Lead the technology and automation roadmap, including predictive maintenance, AI-enabled operations, and consolidation of operational systems
• Provide operational input to market entry and expansion decisions, including site selection, grid and utility strategy, due diligence, and the integration of acquired sites
• Present operational strategy, performance, and risk outlook to executive leadership, investors, and the board

Leadership and People

• Build, mentor, and lead a team of country and site operations directors, facility managers, critical facilities engineers, and technicians across multiple European countries
• Lead teams under varying national labour law and employment practice, including works councils, employee consultation requirements, collective agreements, and working time rules for 24/7 shift and on-call coverage
• Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership, investors, and customers on operational performance, resilience, and risk
• Partner with Development, Engineering, Construction, Commissioning, Procurement, Security, Legal, and Finance to align operations with business objectives
• Establish a culture of accountability, procedural discipline, and operational excellence across every shift and site

Uptime and Reliability

• Own availability and resilience performance across the portfolio, including SLA adherence and customer commitments
• Lead incident management, escalation, root cause analysis, and corrective action programmes, including executive and customer communication during critical events
• Oversee emergency operating procedures, methods of procedure (MOPs), standard operating procedures (SOPs), and change management and permit-to-work for work on live critical systems
• Drive disaster recovery, business continuity (aligned to ISO 22301), and failure scenario testing, including integrated systems and load bank testing

Critical Infrastructure and Maintenance

• Direct preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance programmes for electrical, mechanical, and controls systems, including generators, switchgear, UPS and battery systems, chillers, CRAH/CRAC units, and liquid cooling infrastructure
• Manage lifecycle planning, capital refresh, and asset management strategies to sustain reliability and control long-term cost
• Oversee building management, power monitoring, and DCIM systems, and the operation of network and facility operations centres
• Manage critical spares, long-lead replacement parts, and vendor service agreements to protect restoration times

Capacity, Efficiency and Sustainability

• Manage power, cooling, and space capacity planning in coordination with Sales, Engineering, and Development to support customer deployments, taking account of grid connection constraints
• Support high-density and AI workload requirements, including liquid cooling, rack-level power increases, and changing load profiles
• Set and track energy efficiency and sustainability targets, including PUE, WUE, carbon, and renewable energy commitments (e.g., PPAs and Guarantees of Origin), in line with national and EU requirements
• Deliver statutory energy and sustainability reporting for data centres under the EU Energy Efficiency Directive and national legislation (e.g., Germany's EnEfG), and support CSRD-aligned disclosures
• Partner with transmission and distribution system operators (TSOs/DSOs) and utilities on grid connections, flexibility and balancing services, grid events, and power quality issues
• Evaluate and, where viable, implement waste heat reuse opportunities

Construction Handover and Site Readiness

• Define operational readiness criteria and lead the transition of new capacity from construction and commissioning (L1-L5) to live operations
• Embed operations input in design standards, equipment selection, and commissioning plans to improve operability and maintainability
• Ensure new sites are staffed, trained, documented, and compliant with local permitting and operating requirements before customer ready-for-service dates

Safety, Compliance and Risk

• Lead a zero-incident safety culture, including isolation and lock-out/tag-out (LOTO), permit-to-work, authorised and competent person systems, electrical safety (EN 50110 and national equivalents such as the UK Electricity at Work Regulations and Germany's DGUV V3/VDE 0105-100), and contractor safety programmes aligned to ISO 45001
• Maintain compliance with EU, national, environmental, and customer audit requirements, including refrigerant management under the EU F-Gas Regulation and generator emissions and noise permitting, and support certifications and assurance reports such as ISO 27001, ISO 22301, ISO 14001, ISO 50001, EN 50600, SOC 2, ISAE 3402, and Uptime Institute standards
• Ensure operational compliance with NIS2, the Critical Entities Resilience Directive, and DORA-driven requirements from financial-sector customers, in partnership with Legal, Security, and Compliance
• Identify, quantify, and mitigate operational risks, including supply chain, workforce, utility and grid capacity, extreme weather and heat, regulatory change, and ageing infrastructure exposure
• Coordinate with Physical Security and Cybersecurity teams to protect facilities and operational technology, including any national security vetting or sovereignty requirements of customers

Financial and Vendor Management

• Own the operating budget, cost forecasting, and cost-per-MW benchmarking across the portfolio, managing multiple currencies (e.g., EUR, GBP) and local cost environments
• Manage third-party service providers, maintenance contractors, and OEM relationships, including contract strategy, performance, and pricing
• Support customer contract terms, SLA structures, credits, and dispute resolution related to operations
• Systems and Process
• Select, implement, and govern operational technology and systems (e.g., CMMS, DCIM, BMS/EPMS, ticketing, and ITSM platforms)
• Standardise operating procedures, training programmes, reporting, and KPIs across all sites, while accommodating local regulatory requirements
• Deliver executive dashboards and monthly, quarterly, and board-level operational reporting

Qualifications

Required

• 15+ years of mission-critical operations experience, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role
• Direct experience operating data centres or comparable critical environments, ideally hyperscale, colocation, or AI/high-density facilities
• Proven track record leading multi-site portfolios of 100MW+ (preferably 500MW+) with large, geographically distributed teams
• Experience operating and leading teams across multiple European countries, or comparable multi-jurisdiction environments
• Deep expertise in data centre electrical and mechanical systems, concurrent maintainability, and fault-tolerant design
• Demonstrated success managing SLAs, major incidents, and customer-facing operational performance
• Experience with commissioning, new site turnover, and ramping operations on new capacity
• Strong working knowledge of CMMS, DCIM, BMS/EPMS, and operations reporting platforms
• Working knowledge of the EU and UK regulatory frameworks that apply to data centres, including energy efficiency, F-Gas, health and safety, and critical infrastructure resilience requirements
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Operations, Business, or a related field (or equivalent experience)
• Fluency in English and the right to work in [base country]

Preferred

• Master's degree or MBA
• Uptime Institute certifications (e.g., ATD, ATS, AOS), CDCP/CDCS, Chartered Engineer (CEng) or European equivalent, NEBOSH or IOSH, CEM, CRE, CFM, or PMP certification
• Experience with liquid cooling, high-density power, and AI-driven infrastructure requirements
• Background in both owner-operator and service provider environments
• Experience with sustainability programmes, renewable energy procurement (including PPAs and Guarantees of Origin), waste heat reuse, and grid and utility engagement in European markets
• Experience working with works councils, collective agreements, and multi-country employment frameworks
• Military, nuclear, or other high-reliability operations background
• Experience supporting institutional investors, lenders, customer audits, or public company reporting
• Additional European languages
  
  

Core Competencies

• Strategic thinking: Translates business growth plans and market change into a multi-year operations strategy and an executable roadmap
• Executive presence: Communicates calmly and credibly to C-suite, boards, and customers, especially during critical events
• Operational discipline: Enforces procedures, change control, and accountability in zero-tolerance environments
• Analytical rigour: Turns operational and telemetry data into decisions that improve reliability and efficiency
• Commercial judgement: Balances reliability, cost, and customer commitments in a fast-moving market
• Regulatory fluency: Navigates differing EU and national requirements and builds compliance into how sites operate
• Leadership: Develops talent and builds a high-accountability, safety-first, collaborative culture across countries and teams
• Adaptability: Thrives under rapid growth, increasing power density, and shifting customer requirements

Success Measures

• Delivery of critical operations strategy and roadmap milestones, and operating model maturity across European sites
• Availability and SLA performance across the portfolio, with minimal customer-impacting incidents
• Mean time to detect, respond, and restore during critical events
• Safety performance, including lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR), reportable incidents, and near-miss reporting
• Operating cost and budget performance, including cost-per-MW
• Energy efficiency and sustainability targets (PUE, WUE, carbon), and accurate, on-time statutory energy and sustainability reporting
• Regulatory standing, with no material non-conformances (e.g., energy efficiency reporting, NIS2, F-Gas, operating permits)
• Smooth, on-time operational readiness for new capacity and customer ready-for-service dates
• Clean customer and third-party audit results
• Retention, development, and succession depth of the operations team

Benefits

• Competitive salary range starting at £200,000.00 and performance bonus program
• 4+ weeks of Paid Time Off + Sick time

Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis.

Prime is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All applicants are considered for employment without attention to race, color, age, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, protected veteran or military status, disability status, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local laws and ordinances.

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